NFL media is bullish on Chiefs’ three-peat chances after win over Ravens

The Chiefs’ quest for the first three-peat in Super Bowl history got off to a solid start with their 27-20 win over the Ravens on Thursday.

Patrick Mahomes and company made quite an impression on national NFL media members (and others).

Here is a bit of what they were saying about the Chiefs and their attempt at a three-peat.

The Ringer’s Danny Heifetz wrote a story with the headline, “The Chiefs Look Ready to Three-peat—and the Ravens Look a Toe Out of Sorts.”

This is a passage from Heifetz’s story: “This Chiefs team, of course, has a number of entrenched advantages. Mahomes is Mahomes. Andy Reid is as good a coach as there is in the NFL. Steve Spagnuolo has quietly put together a potential Hall of Fame career as a defensive coordinator, helping the Giants topple the 18-0 Patriots and then winning three rings with Kansas City (he is the first coordinator to win four Super Bowl rings, which apparently means he can call timeouts). Then you add in Brett Veach as GM, and no other team in the league has this kind of stability.

The Ravens have had three defensive coordinators in four years. The Bills have changed offensive and defensive coordinators in the past two years. The Bengals just lost offensive coordinator Brian Callahan. The 49ers staff is poached as much as that of any NFL team. And so while it’s easy to point to Mahomes as the biggest reason for the Chiefs’ sustained success, they actually have advantages everywhere else, too.”

The Washington Post’s Jerry Brewer wrote a column with the headline, “The Chiefs don’t dominate the NFL. They dissect it.”

Here is an excerpt: “(A) narrow Week 1 victory over the Ravens isn’t the best the Chiefs have got. (Ravens tight end Isaiah) Likely knows that, but competitors need a lot of nerve to take down a dynasty. More than that, they must be adaptable. Besides Mahomes and a creative scheme, the Chiefs’ consistent ability to shape-shift is the one trait that separates them from the Bengals, Bills, Eagles, Ravens and 49ers. Other contenders who have experienced a fruitless chase for a while — the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins among them — have a similar problem. They win frequently because they play a distinct style, but when challenged, they lack the versatility to move past being flustered. ...

“The curiosity of the 2024 season isn’t whether Kansas City can three-peat. It’s already clear what the Chiefs are capable of, even as they’re tasked with doing things differently every year. The burden is on the rest of the contenders to prove what they haven’t during the Mahomes era. For some of the teams that have been chasing the longest, it’s not a request. It’s a command: Adapt or bust.”

Former Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant thinks the Chiefs have a good shot at a three-peat.

USA Today’s Nate Davis picked winners and losers from the Chiefs’ victory.

Here is part of what Davis wrote: “Their bid to become the first team to achieve a Super Bowl three-peat is off to a good start a year after they lost the seasonal kickoff game at home to the Detroit Lions. Three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes didn’t have his best night, but it’s pretty obvious this offense is primed to be far more dangerous than it’s been in recent years.”

Colin Cowherd said NFL teams blew it by not knocking off the Chiefs a year ago.

“Outside of right tackle, and they weren’t good at right tackle last year, this is a better team than last year,” Cowherd said. “Much, much faster offensively, much deeper at wide receiver, much more functional at wide receiver. ...

“My take is this is a much more explosive version of the team that won the last two Super Bowls.”

At NFL.com, Jeffri Chadiha also picked winners and losers from the game.

Here is a snippet of what he wrote about receiver Rashee Rice: “If you’re giving out an award for Kansas City’s Offensive Player of the Game, the second-year wide receiver is a great place to start. He played with a level of physicality and confidence that reinforced what he displayed throughout training camp. It took Rice half a season to figure out how to play with Mahomes in this offense. A full offseason with the star quarterback now has given Rice an even greater sense of how to operate and how the Kansas City coaches can best utilize him.”

NFL Network host Rich Eisen is bullish on the Chiefs’ chances to win a third straight Super Bowl.

“This team absolutely can three-peat,” Eisen said. “One hundred percent, this team can three-peat.”