It’s been a week since the Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl.
One big thing I took away from last Sunday night’s game? The Kansas City Chiefs should be feeling optimistic about their future.
The talking heads had to find something to talk about during the two-week break between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl and one that was beat into the ground was the possibility this could be the start of Part II of the New England Patriots dynasty.
A young quarterback in Drake Maye keyed a 14-3 regular season and run through the playoffs to the Super Bowl. The Patriots were back and NFL fans had to deal with it.
Uh, no.
The Patriots did win three playoff games to advance to the big game, but they took advantage of a beat-up Chargers team, then needed a bad game by Texans quarterback CJ Stroud to win their first game, then faced a backup quarterback in beating the Broncos in the AFC Championship Game.
It’s true it doesn’t matter how you get there, only that you get there. But there was no reason to believe the Patriots had played anyone the quality of the Seahawks.
The Patriots’ defense is fine, not elite. And the offensive line got exposed last Sunday night as the Seahawks got to Maye early and often in what turned into a 29-13 Seattle victory.
So are the Seahawks the next NFL dynasty?
Seattle also was 14-3, but it was a different 14-3 than the Patriots. They won the NFC West, the best division in football, and got past the likely second-best team in the NFL in the Rams to win the conference title.
Defense keyed the title run for the Seahawks. But defenses don’t key dynasties.
The 1985 Bears won with defense. The 2001 Ravens won with defense. The 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers won with defense. But they were also one-year wonders, in no small part as they also won with Jim McMahon, Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson at quarterback.
Defense may win a championship, but not championships. Do you think Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, who has a propensity to turn the ball over at a rate among the worst signal-callers in the NFL, can win another title? I don’t.
If the Chiefs have one thing in their favor, they have a quarterback who can win multiple Super Bowls.
There are questions for the Chiefs, starting with the health of Patrick Mahomes. He missed the final three games of the season with a torn ACL and his availability at the start of the season is definitely a question mark. There have been nothing but positive reports about his rehabilitation so far, but I wouldn’t expect they would publicly say anything else. If he is out for maybe the first month of the season, that’s not a death sentence for the season.
The offense also needs an infusion at running back, whether that comes in the draft — at pick No. 9 with Jeremiyah Love of Notre Dame or in free agency — such as Breece Hall of the Jets.
The offensive line took a hit when the Chiefs traded Joe Thuney to the Bears prior to last year’s draft. But Kansas City appears to have found a left tackle for the next few years in 2025 first-round pick Josh Simmons and 2024 second-round selection Kingsley Suamataia — thought to be a bust after struggling in his rookie season — thrived in Year 2 with a move to replace Thuney at left guard. The line could always use some help, but it shouldn’t be the top priority.
The defense can use a pass rusher or two, the draft is supposedly deep at that spot.
The Chiefs are among the betting favorites to get back to the Super Bowl next season. I wouldn’t bet against them.