The Chiefs’ Revival Has Given the NFL Its Marquee Team Back
Patrick Mahomes is back to zipping passes like an all-time great quarterback. Travis Kelce is making catches from his tight end spot and prompting cheers by Taylor Swift as she looks on. Andy Reid is orchestrating all of it from the sideline while drawing ever closer to the legendary leaders in career coaching victories.
The NFL has its marquee team back. The Chiefs are winning again following a dismal 2025 season that included a major knee injury for Mahomes. Fans may like it or they may hate it. Either way, they’re paying attention. That is likely to continue, and the NFL’s viewership numbers stand to benefit handsomely.
The Chiefs beat the Chargers, 22–6, Sunday to improve their record to 5-0. Mahomes amassed 272 passing yards. Kelce had four catches. Swift was in attendance in a suite at Arrowhead Stadium, with Caitlin Clark nearby. Reid got his 312th win as an NFL head coach, including the postseason, to move within 35 of Don Shula for the most ever.
This is how it’s supposed to be, right?
“Now we’ll keep building from here,” Mahomes told CBS on the field after the game.
It was a far from flawless performance by the Chiefs, who made enough mistakes to keep the winless Chargers relatively close. But the defense led the way. And running back Kenneth Walker III, the Super Bowl MVP in February for the Seahawks, ran for two touchdowns Sunday for the Chiefs. He’s been a major addition after being signed in free agency in March to a three-year, approximately $43 million contract.
The Chiefs, 49ers, and Vikings are the NFL’s only remaining unbeaten teams. The Niners play Monday night.
Among those, the Chiefs truly move the needle. Their win over the Raiders in Week 4 in Las Vegas drew an average of 28.5 million viewers on CBS, the NFL’s largest audience through the season’s first five weeks. The NFL was averaging 18.8 million viewers per game through the Week 5 games, the highest average on record through a season’s first five weeks.
The Chiefs already have played two prime-time games this season, wins over the Broncos and Colts. They have prime-time games remaining against the Seahawks, Bills, Rams, and Patriots. They have games in the Sunday at 4:25 p.m. Eastern time window left against the Broncs, Bengals, and 49ers. Assuming that Mahomes remains healthy and in the lineup and the Chiefs stay firmly in the Super Bowl-contending mix, those could be viewership blockbusters for the NFL.
It remains to be seen whether last season’s woes marked the conclusion of the Chiefs’ dynasty or were merely an interruption of their run of greatness. Their success early this season suggests it was just dynasty, interrupted rather than dynasty, ended.
The Chiefs went 6-11 last season. They finished third in the AFC West and missed the playoffs. Mahomes suffered tears of his ACL and lateral collateral ligament (LCL) in his left knee during a Dec. 14 defeat to the Chargers. The Chiefs ended the season on a six-game losing streak and went 1-8 from November onward.
Prior to that, they reached seven straight AFC championship games. They played in five Super Bowls in a six-year span, winning three. The Chiefs succeeded the Patriots of Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and Robert Kraft as the NFL’s latest dynasty. Like the Patriots, they became the franchise that fans either loved or loathed. The Chiefs—and Mahomes in particular—inspired conspiracy theories that they received favorable treatment from officiating crews.
Owner Clark Hunt did not become as publicly recognizable as Kraft is. But Reid and Mahomes became leading corporate pitchmen in TV ads. Kelce gained prominence as a podcaster with his brother Jason, the former Eagles center who’s now an NFL analyst for ESPN, and had his level of celebrity explode well beyond football with his relationship with Swift, the pop music mega-star who is now his wife.
The NFL embraced Swift’s presence at Chiefs games and welcomed the new fans and increased attention that she brought to the sport.
Amid the dynastic run, the Chiefs surpassed the Cowboys as the NFL’s biggest viewership draw. And when those two teams were on the field together, watch out. The Chiefs-Cowboys game on Thanksgiving Day last season averaged 57.2 million viewers on CBS, making it the most-watched regular season game in league history. That was just before the Chiefs’ 2025 season came undone.
Mahomes got his 100th win in his 131st career regular season start Sunday, matching Brady for the fastest ever to reach 100 victories.
“It’s awesome because, I mean, he’s the GOAT, man,” Mahomes said. “He’s the one that has kind of shown us how to do it, winning the Super Bowls and winning every single week. And so it’s always an honor if you’re mentioned [with] his name. But it seems like every time I win a game, I’m tying him. So I’m gonna keep winning.”
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