The Kansas City Chiefs have accomplished so much in the last six-plus seasons. Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid have helped lead Kansas City to three Super Bowl wins in the last five years. And at this point in Mahomes' career, the Chiefs have reached the conference championship with him as the starter. Though, he and his team have now completed a new feat with a win on Christmas Day. The Chiefs set a franchise record for wins in a regular season with their 15th victory on Wednesday.
Despite many close victories, Kansas City had its largest margin of victory in Pittsburgh. And if the last two games were any indication, the offense and defense may be playing as complete parts at the right time. Kansas City has a goal of a historic three-peat in mind. But with a 15-win season now clinched, the Chiefs can continue to etch themselves into a rare piece of NFL history.
What was the significance of this 15-win season for the Kansas City Chiefs? Plus, how have others in NFL history fared in the postseason after earning that many wins in a regular season?
Comparing 2024 to the Chiefs' winningest seasons
This 2024 campaign has been the sixth time in franchise history where Kansas City has won at least 13 games, via Pro Football Reference. It is also the third time that the Chiefs have won at least 14 games. In all three of those seasons in which K.C. has won at least 14 games, Mahomes has been the starting QB, also doing so in 2020 and 2022.
To put the trio of 13 win-seasons in perspective, Andy Reid was still an assistant coach on the Green Bay Packers staff in two of those years (1995, 1997). Simply put, he and Mahomes have been near the top of the leaderboard in some of the top seasons in Chiefs' history.
If you dig further on just this combination of quarterback and head coach, last season was the only year in which Kansas City did not achieve at least 12 wins. The Chiefs were 11-6 in 2023. But out of the five times where Kansas City has hit exactly 12 victories in a year, Mahomes and Reid led three of those campaigns.
The first to 15 wins
As mentioned by Chiefs Senior Team Reporter Matt McMullen, Kansas City became the eighth team in NFL history to win at least 15 games in a regular season on Christmas Day. The last team to do so was the 2015 Carolina Panthers. As a result, Kansas City is the first team to win at least 15 games since the NFL increased the regular season schedule from 16 games to 17 games.
Interestingly, there is going to be another 15-win team in the NFL this year. Barring a tie, the winner of Sunday's Vikings-Lions matchup will finish 15-2. That will mark the first time in NFL history where multiple teams reached 15 wins in a single regular season.
Of the previous seven teams to win at least 15 games in a regular season, six of them finished 15-1. The list of 15-1 teams includes the 2015 Panthers, the 2011 Green Bay Packers, the 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers, the 1998 Minnesota Vikings, the 1985 Chicago Bears, and the 1984 San Francisco 49ers. Of course, the 2007 New England Patriots were a perfect 16-0 in their regular season. New England averaged the most points per game (36.8) of those seven previous teams to win at least 15 games, via StatMuse.
Playoff results for past 15-win teams
Winning that much in the regular season is not always met with the same success come playoff time. But for the Chiefs, they are currently enjoying a dynastic run, with this franchise record for wins in a regular season now attached. They do not want to come up short, obviously. However, some of those other seven teams that have achieved at least 15 wins only had one rare shot at breaking through to win a Super Bowl.
How did those previous seven teams fare in the playoffs after winning at least 15 games in the regular season? Four of the seven teams reached the Super Bowl. Two of those four emerged victorious, in order to hoist a Lombardi Trophy. Each of those was in the 1980s, with the '84 49ers and the '85 Bears each dominantly winning the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, the 2015 Panthers and the 2007 Patriots came up short in the Super Bowl.
Elsewhere, the 2004 Steelers and the 1998 Vikings both lost in their respective conference championship games. Those conference championship losses were each on home turf for Pittsburgh and Minnesota. Amazingly, the 2011 Packers did not even win a playoff game. They lost in the Divisional Round at home against the New York Giants following their first-round bye. That was a stunning loss for Green Bay, given they averaged 35 points per game.