SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Do the Kansas City Chiefs need to win Super Bowl LVII to be considered a dynasty?
It's a question fluttering around Arizona this week, but one the Chiefs have mostly brushed aside as unimportant to the task at hand.
"I don't know about that," coach Andy Reid said Wednesday. "I'm not really into all that. I'll let you guys deal with that. It's important in our world as coaches and players that you try to get better every day. You're only as good as your last game, or your next game, I should say. We're striving to focus in on this thing, trying not to look at all that stuff. That's good when you retire, you kind of go, 'Hey, they said that we were a dynasty,' but right now, you don't let that get in here. You stay away from that."
Given K.C.'s ability to binge wins with Patrick Mahomes under center, it could be argued that the Chiefs are already a dynasty regardless of Sunday's outcome.
Star defensive lineman Chris Jones told NFL.com this week that he views Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles as a legacy-making opportunity for the entire organization.
"I tend to think it is," he said. "Anytime you're able to play in one of these games, it speaks volumes of what type of organization you have and what type of team you have, so we're very fortunate to be here. But as a legacy, it speaks volumes about everyone, Andy Reid, Pat, Frank Clark, the (team) president (Mark Donovan), (general manager) Brett Veach, the organization. So I think as a whole, yes."
Facing Philadelphia marks Kansas City's third Super Bowl appearance in four seasons. The Chiefs have hosted the AFC championship in all five seasons since Mahomes became the primary quarterback.
K.C. has won 74 games over the last five seasons (including playoffs), tied with the 2014-18 Patriots for second-most by any team in a five-year span in NFL history (2014-18 Pats won three Super Bowls, lost one and lost one AFC championship). With a win in Super Bowl LVII, the Chiefs would have 75 wins from 2018-22, trailing only the 2003-07 Patriots (77) for most all time in a five-year span.
Kansas City is only the third team to have 12-plus wins in at least five straight regular seasons, joining the 2010-17 Patriots (eight) and 2003-09 Colts (seven). The 2010-17 Pats went 2-2 in Super Bowls and lost three AFC Championship Games. The 2003-09 Colts went 1-1 in Super Bowls and lost an additional AFC Championship Game (2003).
Many Chiefs players have spent the week deflecting on thinking about where they rank all time.
"I try my best not to (think about it) because, at the end of the day, you can get sidetracked by that," Clark told NFL.com. "I understand what's going on. I understand there's a lot at stake. I understand there is a lot going on for me as well. I hear all the records and all of that stuff, but I've never been focused on that."
Here is how the Chiefs stack up among some of the all-time NFL "dynasties":
- Cowboys: 1992-1995 (four seasons), .787 win percentage (including playoffs)
- Steelers: 1974-1979 (six), .782 win percentage
- Chiefs: 2018-22 (five), .779 win percentage (entering Sunday)
- Patriots: 2001-2018 (18), .762 win percentage
- 49ers: 1981-1994 (14), .738 win percentage
- Washington: 1982-1991 (10), .713 win percentage
- Raiders: 1976-1983 (eight), .702 win percentage
K.C. has racked up wins to rival other dynasties, but it currently trails in Super Bowl victories.
- 2001-2018 Patriots: Nine Super Bowl appearances, six wins
- 1981-1994 49ers: Five Super Bowls, five wins
- 1974-1979 Steelers: Four Super Bowls, four wins
- 1982-1991 Washington: Four Super Bowls, three wins
- 1992-1995 Cowboys: Three Super Bowls, three wins
- 1976-1983 Raiders: Three Super Bowls, three wins
- 2018-2022 Chiefs: Three Super Bowls, one win (entering Sunday)
Super Bowl wins matter in the discussion, but they don't make a dynasty in and of themselves.
Since 2000, four teams have won multiple Super Bowls in a five-year span: Patriots in 2001-04 and 2014-18, Giants in 2007-11, Steelers in 2005-08. No one would consider those Giants teams, which won zero playoff games in the three other seasons, or the Steelers, who won just one postseason game in non-Super Bowl seasons, dynasties.
With Mahomes under center, the Chiefs' Super Bowl window will remain wide open, but even the two-time Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player admitted this week he can't control the narrative about the team's legacy.
"Legacy over time, I just want to be known as someone that left it all on the field," he said. "At the end of the day, I want my teammates to, whenever they look back at the player that I am, know that I gave everything I have. All the other stuff will handle itself. You can't control Super Bowls, you can't control MVPs, you can control your effort every single day, and so that's something I will focus on, and hopefully, when guys look back, they can say I gave everything I had."
A win this week would inch the Chiefs closer to being unanimously declared a modern dynasty.
As Chiefs offensive lineman Andrew Wylie -- one of just seven K.C. players who have been around for the entire five-year run -- put it: "It can only help, right? We're setting out with one goal, and that's to win and go bring a ring home to Kansas City."
