UPDATED 3 FEB 2023
After guiding the Chiefs to their second Super Bowl appearance in his time as quarterback in Kansas City, Patrick Mahomes now has his eyes set on something more ambitious.
Mahomes told Bleacher Report that with the addition of the 17th NFL regular-season game, he wants his Chiefs to be the first team to go a perfect 20-0, capping off the regular season with his second Super Bowl ring.
The most wins during a full year — regular season through postseason — is 18 from the New England Patriots in 2007, when they went undefeated during the regular season before falling to the Giants in the Super Bowl.
.@PatrickMahomes wants to make history next season going 20-0 🔥
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 30, 2021
From B/R x @CoorsLight #madetochill @15andMahomies pic.twitter.com/7PafymYp7j
"The only record I have my eyes set on breaking, which would be new this year, would be going 20-0," Mahomes said, according to Bleacher Report. "It's not really a record to be broken, I guess you would say —19-0 is the record right now — so being able to go 20-0 and being the first one to do that, that would be awesome."
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Running the table on a full NFL slate is hard to do. Since 1932, only four teams have gone undefeated during the regular season and only the Miami Dolphins of 1972 have come away with a Super Bowl title. The 1934 Bears (13-0) and the 1942 Bears (11-0) both lost in the NFL Championship and the 2007 Patriots (18-1) lost to the Giants in the Super Bowl after nearly winning all 19 games in which they played.
If odds were being taken for teams to run an undefeated season, chances are the Chiefs would be at or near the top of the list of the most likely teams to do it. Kansas City had the NFL's best record a season ago at 14-2 and reached the Super Bowl, only to fall to Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.
But the Chiefs return plenty of the star power that got them to Tampa Bay, including Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Tyreek Hill. They'll face a stiff challenge, though, as their schedule features plenty of tough teams — particularly early in the season — that should pose a challenge on the path to perfection.