The Kansas City Chiefs are not shy about their desire to reach and win a third consecutive Super Bowl. The latter feat would be a first in NFL history. All-Pro defensive lineman Chris Jones has spoken openly about the team’s conversations about it behind closed doors. Jones says that it has been a source of motivation for the group. They seemingly beat the odds to win their second Super Bowl.

Not everyone is on board with the idea that the Chiefs can secure the Lombardi again.

Stephen A. Smith Doubts Chiefs’ Potential for NFL’s 1st 3-Peat

Stephen A. Smith Taking ‘Field’ Over Chiefs

“Did anybody ever think about employing this strategy: as great as Patrick Mahomes is, you know the one thing he can’t do? Catch the football for you. We know that from the 44 drops that Kansas City Chiefs committed last year, alright? Maybe if Travis Kelce wasn’t open all the damn time, maybe if Xavier Worthy isn’t considered the second coming of Jerry Rice,” ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said on “First Take on September 2.

“You can look at a Patrick Mahomes, know how phenomenal and great he is. But because you got studs on your crew as well, okay, you can find a way to soften up the other cats around them, okay? Because Kansas City didn’t look great last year throughout the regular season because cats were dropping passes. And oh by the way, that defense led by Spagnola that has elevated themselves to a top-two defense in the National Football League. There’s some potent offenses out there that got the potential to expose them. I’m going with the field because I respect the players the other players in the NFL and their greatness as well.”

Smith’s take included chiding of fellow panelists Marcus Spears and Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe, who agreed he could not bet against Mahomes and the Chiefs but did note that there is a reason no team has won three straight Super Bowls.

DraftKings listed the Kings as favorites to reach the Super Bowl as of August 29.

Marcus Spears Backs Chiefs for Super Bowl 3-Peat Due to Patrick Mahomes

“I believe so. Look, I bet against the Chiefs last year,” Spears said. “And let me be clear: the Chiefs were not the best team in the NFL last year. They weren’t they just have a guy that can overcome anything and I’m going to go ahead and fall into the vein of, ‘Patrick Mahomes can’t be stopped unless Patrick Mahomes stops him himself.’”

Mahomes admitted to being more of a game manager in 2023. The season saw the Chiefs deal with several signs of a Super Bowl hangover. Most notable among them was inconsistency, especially at wide receiver.

Jones also missed the entire offseason, preseason and Week 1 with a contract dispute. The two sides only reached a true resolution with a historic contract extension this offseason.

The Chiefs still won, though, and Mahomes was certainly the catalyst offensively.

“There is real evidence that we may be in an era right after Tom Brady that we may see the a better quarterback than him. There’s a real possibility of that happening now.

“I think it’s a real chance … that 15 may supersede all of the greatness that we saw from Tom Brady in his run of winning Super Bowls, and doing it in an era where it’s a lot of really good quarterbacks. Remember when we were used to have these conversations with Tom Brady? It was him and Peyton Manning. It was him and a couple other guys would ascend every once in a while.

“There wasn’t a constant quarterback situation like you have right now with the athleticism, the way the game is changed, the way the game is being played.”