No one wants to lose. No one likes to lose. No one is ever going to cheer for a loss.
At the same time, losses are bound to happen in the National Football League, and before the 2024 regular season started, you would have been hard-pressed to find any Chiefs fan who truly believed the team was going to run the table. That's because, as much as we don't want our favorite team to lose, we know that they will. It's part and parcel of life in the NFL.
So why did a nine-game win streak to start the year (and a 15-game one going back to last season) somehow change our minds on this?
Again, no one wants to lose, but one glimpse at the online chatter surrounding Sunday's loss to the Buffalo Bills would have a person believe the Chiefs' chances this season were largely sunk.
That's not to say the Chiefs are beyond criticism. That's not the case at all and multiple things should be called out after that game. The players were the first to admit as much. Defenders know they missed tackles. Pass rushers know they have to get home. Patrick Mahomes knows he has to avoid mistakes. Xavier Worthy knows he has to master the details.
The coaches will undoubtedly follow suit with the players and own their part in all of this as well. Questionable plays will be pored over. Philosphies examined. Tendencies doubted.
When a well-coached team loaded with talent aiming for a Super Bowl hosts another well-coached team loaded with talent defending its Super Bowl wins, then it means a well-coached team loaded with talent and Super Bowl hopes is going to take a loss. There's just no way around it.
But some fans have lost all perspective here. Suddenly Andy Reid doesn't know how to coach and the defense sucks. Patrick Mahomes has lost his touch and Travis Kelce is washed. Xavier Worthy is a bust and Veach failed this team at the trade deadline.
Say what?
What's funny is that some of these same fans are likely the ones championing the idea that the Chiefs just coast through the regular season and even hold things back until the postseason where it matters. Well, if that's true, then where's that conspiracy theory as to why they lost to the Bills?
Here's the truth: everybody loses (unless you're part of that annoying 1970s Dolphins team that played less games in a less competitive league). Every team is going to take an L from time to time and walk away knowing they've gotta alter their course a bit.
In fact, it's entirely possible this loss could be a good thing for the Chiefs, a rallying point to snap out of some practices and to institute some others. Last season, the team credited their Christmas Day loss to the Raiders as a wake-up call and they went on to win their second consecutive Super Bowl. Could this loss to the Bills not serve the same purpose?
The Chiefs are still in full control of their own destiny and sit all alone in first place in both the division and the conference. They just lost to one of the 3-5 other teams in the NFL with the goods to win the Super Bowl as well, and that was their only blemish on a perfect record in a season in which they've lost a half-dozen starters to long-term injuries and then some.
Losses are part of the game. Trust the Chiefs.