Since Kansas City held off Tampa Bay 30-24 in overtime on Monday Night Football, there has been increased chatter surrounding the question of whether Andy Reid’s team can go a perfect 17-0. “I don’t think it’s realistic they can stay undefeated,” former NFL coach Phoebe Schecter exclusively told talkSPORT on the Run Down.

“Truthfully, does it matter? Do they need to stay undefeated? “Because what they’ve proven is, all we need to do is win in the postseason.” There’s previously only been one undefeated, Super Bowl-winning team in NFL history. The Miami Dolphins won all of their games during the 1972 season.

Yet as impressive as the Dolphins’ perfect mark is, Miami only played 14 regular-season games and achieved that record during a very different era for pro football. More than 50 years later, Kansas City has the potential to become the first 17-0 team in NFL history.

The NFL added an extra game for the 2022 season. In reality, 20-0 is the real perfect number for Travis Kelce, Mahomes and Reid. As soon as Kansas City won its second consecutive Super Bowl, the best quarterback in the modern game began talking about a historic three-peat.

That’s the primary goal for the Chiefs in 2024, and it directly ties into their current undefeated campaign. If Kansas City does go 17-0 during the regular season, the Chiefs would hold homefield advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. That means Mahomes would receive a bye during the wild card round, leaving only Divisional and Conference Championship playoff games standing in Kansas City’s path before a third consecutive Super Bowl trip.

If the Chiefs were to win it all at the Superdome in New Orleans on Feb. 9, 2025 — they’re currently No. 2 in talkSPORT’s Super Bowl contender rankings — that would give Kansas City the first-ever 20-0 record in NFL history. With a 17-0 regular-season record and 3-0 run in the playoffs, Kansas City would instantly leap over the famed 1972 ‘perfect’ Dolphins and undeniably become the greatest team since the NFL began.

There’s a long way to go for Mahomes, including tough upcoming road games against the Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos. “The Bills are going to be probably the biggest challenge,” Schecter said. Home contests against the Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans and Las Vegas Raiders await.

The last time the Chiefs lost a game was Christmas Day in 2023 against the Raiders, which was a 20-14 home defeat to Mahomes’ biggest rival Maxx Crosby and Las Vegas.