Why a Slow Start Could be Disastrous For Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs have a tough game in Week 2. Many will call it a must-win, but the Chiefs will not panic if the outcome is not the one they want.

[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Sep 5, 2025; Sao Paulo, BRAZIL; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) reacts in the second half against the Los Angeles Chargers at Corinthians Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amanda Perobelli/Reuters via Imagn Images | Amanda Perobelli/Reuters via Imagn Images

The game that everyone is going to have their eyes on this Sunday is the Super Bowl rematch between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.

These teams met in last year's Super Bowl, and we all know how that game went. But this is a new season, and it is going to be a whole different football game. The Chiefs and Eagles have some different pieces than they had a season ago. It is going to be a good one, but for the Chiefs, is it a must-win?

A lot of people are going to say yes, it is a must-win for the Chiefs. No team wants to start the season off with two straight losses. That will be in a position that they have not been in with quarterback Patrick Mahomes if they do not win on Sunday.

Chiefs against Eagles

But some are saying it can be the teams that they are playing, and it will not be a big deal. The Chiefs want to win and are going to do everything they can to do so. The Chiefs have a plan, and we will see if they can stay on course.

Aug 15, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid reacts to a fourth down stop by the Seattle Seahawks during the first quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Chiefs Slow Start?

"It will not mean much," said Nick Wright on First Things First. "It will not be a 0-2 like the Cincinnati Bengals with their opening schedule. The Chargers are a team that I know some smart people like you really believed in. I think everybody thought it would be good. Nobody was like that the Chargers are going to be a four-win team. They played great. And everyone thinks the Eagles are, you know, somewhere from very good to excellent on that scale."

"This is not an excuse, but a potential explanation of the Chiefs being without their top two receivers, depending on how the game looks, would be another reason that you would not panic about it. And while they have never started 0-2 with Mahomes, they have had bad starts. And I think that is the point I was trying to make earlier. In 2021, they started 3-4, and two of those games were the only two regular season blowouts of Mahomes' entire career.

"What it would mean is for the first time since that year, they do not have a mid-season margin of error."

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