Live forever in Groundhog Day but in the best way possible. How many times has the NFL thought that Patrick Mahomes was injured? How many seemed to have a lost game? They are innumerable. But the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback shines on the edge, physically and in the game itself. And he wins again. Their latest lesson, in the victory over the brave Tampa Bay Buccaneers (30-24) after overtime, keeps the champions undefeated. 8-0, the only unbeaten team in the league. And the most fearsome.
Upper part of the table.
It is still early for Playoff cabals and equality is the norm among the contenders. But the Chiefs soar, with a start in which they do not know defeat. And it increases in relevance when reaching the halfway point of the competition (9 of the 18 weeks). No one has achieved a perfect season since 2007, when Brady’s Patriots nailed the regular season (16-0) and only lost in Super Bowl XLII to Eli Manning’s Giants.
But the prevailing feeling is that something big is brewing. They win through dynamics, even if the game is irregular, as happened against the Buccaneers. With two minutes left in the third quarter they lost 17-10, the game went to overtime at 24-24 and Mahomes received several dangerous hits. In overtime, he decided on a Kareem Hunt run. Mahomes closed a good game, the first of the season without being intercepted, with his top in completed passes (34) and touchdown passes (3).
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (8) celebrates his touchdown with quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. ( AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
A streak like no other
When you add two consecutive rings, three total and you lead the NFL, coincidences cease to exist. And luck, even less so. Although something else surrounds the Chiefs who recover, without problem, from adverse games and contexts. In the last eight games, both in the season and in the Playoffs, in which they lost at some point in the second half, they always won. No one else in history had achieved it, the Chiefs did.
And its rhythm causes panic. Although there is room for hope in contenders in the National League, such as the Detroit Lions (only one loss), or the alternatives in the American League, in the form of the Buffalo Bills (two), Kansas maintains its block, wins even more and imposes a sidereal rhythm. The three-peat is on the horizon. The last limit of a team that is already sports history.