It took 50 years, but the Chiefs are back in the Super Bowl.
Despite all their recent success, the Chiefs actually had one of the longest Super Bowl droughts in NFL history before beating the Titans Sunday to reach Super Bowl LIV. Kansas City had not reached the Super Bowl since the 1969 season when they beat the Vikings, 23-7.
Only three other teams now have a longer drought than the Chiefs: The Lions, Browns — neither of which have ever reached the Super Bowl — and the Jets.
It’s been a harrowing stretch for both the Jets’ and the Chiefs’ fanbases during their Super Bowl-less seasons. Both teams watched 22 other franchises compete for a championship since either the Jets or Chiefs played in the Super Bowl, with 15 teams hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy before they even had the opportunity to play for one again.
After winning Super Bowl III, the Jets made the playoffs 12 times but only sniffed the Super Bowl four times when they reached the AFC title game in 1982, 1998, 2009 and 2010. All four championship games ended in devastating losses: Either the Jets blew leads, failed to mount comebacks or just fell flat in the face of better opponents.
The Jets haven’t even made the playoffs since their wild card run to the AFC Championship in 2010, thanks mostly to inconsistent coaching and quarterback play.
Similarly, the Chiefs made the playoffs 17 times during their 50-year Super Bowl drought, but only reached the conference title game twice during that span. They made the AFC championship the year they traded for five-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Joe Montana in 1993 and then most recently in 2018 with a roster not unlike the one that just made the 2019 Super Bowl.
A key difference, though, in the suffering of both fanbases is the consistency to which both sides competed in the postseason.
The Chiefs enjoyed long stretches of playoff appearances as well as long stretches of not making the playoffs at all. They made the postseason every year from 1990 to 1995, and then again from 2015 to 2019. But besides those two streaks, they failed to make the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.
The Jets, meanwhile, have been sporadic with their postseason appearances. While they’ve had a couple of multi-season playoff streaks, the Jets mostly were one-season wonders during a plethora of coaching changes between 1968 and 2019. Besides their back-to-back AFC title game appearances, the Jets only reached the postseason in two consecutive seasons twice since making and winning the Super Bowl.
Coaching plays a huge part in both droughts. The Chiefs had 11 different coaches since their Super Bowl win before Andy Reid took over in 2013, while the Jets have hired 16 since 1968 – including Adam Gase. Consistency on the sideline would inevitably equate to postseason success.
Reid, who has 207 career coaching wins with 28 playoff games, will be looking to break a drought of his own as he attempts to win his first career Super Bowl. Despite his illustrious career, he’s only coached in the Super Bowl one other time – in 2004 when his Eagles barely lost to the Patriots.
The Chiefs have been on the rise ever since Reid was hired, so it only makes sense this team led by 2018 MVP Patrick Mahomes and a bounty of offensive stars would be the team to break the drought. They will have a tough task against the 49ers, though, who boast one of the best all-around teams in the league anchored by a top-flight defense and a formidable rushing attack.
Super Bowl LIV should be an exciting one. It will also be a Super Bowl Jets fans will once again watch from their homes, wondering when their drought will end.