Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs initially struggled vs. these five teams.
The Kansas City Chiefs are the reigning Super Bowl champions, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t seen their fair share of struggles against teams even with their domination over the last few years.
Of course, the asterisk to any conversation about teams having the Chiefs number is that Patrick Mahomes is still in the infancy of his NFL career. He’s the best quarterback in football and as we saw in 2019, no lead is safe when he’s on the field.
This is a look at the entire Andy Ried tenure in Kansas City, one that has experienced its fair shares of ups and downs. While it certainly seems like the Chiefs days of struggling against anyone are over, there are still a handful of teams they have scores to settle with.
Whether that be tough records against that team or a team that plays the Chiefs closer than we may expect. Think of this less as teams that are better than the Cheifs and more teams that — while über-confident with Mahomes — still make fans take even the briefest of pauses when they see them on the schedule.
What teams have the Chiefs struggled against the most since Andy Reid took over in 2013?
5
Denver Broncos
Record since 2012 9-5
Believe it or not, the Broncos had the Chiefs number for a fleeting moment.
Despite beating the Broncos in each of their last nine meetings, the Broncos had Kansas City’s number when Reid first came to town, losing the first five times the two squared off. After starting Reid’s tenure in Kansas City 0-5, it’s been almost total domination as far as wins and losses are concerned. It is worth noting that early in Patrick Mahomes‘ career, the Broncos were one of the few teams who could slow him down.
In 2018, after the Chiefs had rolled to an undefeated start, they traveled to Denver for a Monday night game. The Broncos were the first team to catch up with the Chiefs that season and were it not for that now-infamous crazy left-handed pass by Mahomes, Denver probably would have handed KC their first loss of that season. Instead, the Chiefs squeaked by with a four-point win.
It’s been a one-sided rivalry as of late, but early on in Reid’s Chiefs tenure, Denver had the Chiefs’ number and they’ve still been able to slow down Mahomes more so than several other teams.