The 2026 Chiefs Already Have Something That Last Year's Team Never Secured

Three weeks into the NFL season, the Kansas City Chiefs have plenty of things to fix. The pass protection has been up-and-down. The wide receivers could be better. The pass rush needs to be more consistent. The list could go on, as it does for every team around the league.

However, after a trio of season-opening victories, the 2026 Chiefs have something that last year's squad never had en route to a playoff-missing campaign. This team has a little bit of breathing room.

Good football analysis goes far beyond a quick glance at the final score, but there are no style-point bonuses for a blowout win or a flawless effort. Your place in the postseason is determined by your record. Then, the season effectively begins anew in the playoffs. If you've forgotten the merit of a victory, go back in time one year.

In the first two games of the 2025 season, the Chiefs lost two one-possession games: first to the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil, then at home to the Philadelphia Eagles. Even after going 5-1 in their next six games, the Chiefs had very little margin for error the rest of the way. One-score losses to the Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys were enough to all but sink the ship, even with an overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts in the midst of that run.

Yes, Kansas City's flaws in 2025 that were exposed early in the year were a canary in the coal mine for the rest of the season. However, if they had started 2-0 instead of 0-2 and changed no other results through Thanksgiving, they would have entered December 8-4, firmly in the hunt for a playoff spot, with an edge over the Chargers for second place in the AFC West.

None of this should discount any of the evident flaws of the 2026 Chiefs. They—again, like every other team—have several things to improve on after three games. But if one of those issues costs Kansas City a game in the weeks to come, it will be a ding to the armor, not a fatal blow. If, for example, pass-rush consistency improves as rookies Peter Woods and R Mason Thomas get more reps and become increasingly acclimated to the speed of the professional game, their early-season snaps will have been an added bonus of early wins rather than a faint silver lining of a disastrous loss that sent the team spiraling down the standings.

Now, Sunday's upcoming game against the Las Vegas Raiders will be a true test of two teams who should both share this attitude. The 3-0 Raiders haven't been flawless while beating three teams that have won a combined total of one game so far this season, but the wins are what make them dangerous. The AFC West won't be decided for either team's sake on Sunday; whoever loses will have a chance for revenge when they face off again in Week 18. The victor, however, will have sole possession of the top spot in the division.

Perhaps it's poor taste to say this at the start of Raider Week, but Al Davis' iconic catchphrase always said it well. Just win, baby.

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