Is everything all right with the Kansas City Chiefs? The AFC juggernaut is 0-2 after Week 2's 20-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in a Super Bowl LIX rematch.
Many have heard about the idea of a Super Bowl loser curse, but the Chiefs are only the eighth such team to start the next season 0-2. Even more shocking is that Kansas City last started 0-2 in 2014, which was coach Andy Reid's second season with the team and three years prior to quarterback Patrick Mahomes' arrival.
So where do the Chiefs stand all time among the 0-2 Super Bowl losers? Does it give us any idea how the rest of the season will play out? And what are their chances of making it back to the big game? We looked at all eight below, based on performance and using DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) and opponent quality -- and sized up what happened next.
Jump to where the 2025 Chiefs rank
8. 1980 Los Angeles Rams
Lost 31-19 to Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XIV
Week 1: 41-20 loss vs. Detroit Lions
Week 2: 10-9 loss at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
How they got to 0-2: The Rams went 9-7 in 1979 before an improbable playoff march to Super Bowl XIV. And they had a 20-10 lead in the middle of the second quarter in Week 1 after a touchdown plunge by Elvis Peacock, one of the all-time greatest-named running backs. But the Lions came back and destroyed the Rams with 31 straight points to win at Anaheim Stadium. In the end, the Lions had 494 total yards, plus three takeaways.
The loss to Tampa Bay -- who the Rams had beaten in the previous season's NFC Championship Game -- was much closer. The Rams outgained the Bucs 360 yards to 183, but quarterback Vince Ferragamo threw four interceptions. (The Rams also fumbled twice but recovered both.) The loss looks like a bigger deal because of the Buccaneers' slide to finish the 1980 season 5-10-1 and 24th in DVOA. The Rams are the only one of these eight teams to lose to a team that finished the season in the bottom half of the league in DVOA.
What happened next: The Rams got hot with five straight wins, including a 51-21 dismantling of the Green Bay Packers in Week 3. They finished the season 11-5 but second in the NFC West, ending their streak of seven straight division titles. The Rams lost 34-13 to the Dallas Cowboys in the wild-card round. The franchise would not return to the Super Bowl until after the 1999 season -- a 23-16 win over the Tennessee Titans.
7. 1999 Atlanta Falcons
Lost 34-19 to Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII
Week 1: 17-14 loss vs. Minnesota Vikings
Week 2: 24-7 loss at Dallas Cowboys
How they got to 0-2: A loss to the Vikings in an NFC Championship Game rematch started the Falcons' 1999 season. It was close, and the Vikings had actually come in as favorites. Atlanta fumbled three times and Minnesota recovered all three. But the real problem was that quarterback Chris Chandler strained his hamstring late in the game and missed three of the next four games.
The Falcons started Tony Graziani at quarterback on "Monday Night Football" in Week 2, but he went 7-of-16 for 90 yards with a pick. They benched Graziani in the third quarter for Danny Kanell, who threw another two interceptions. Even worse, running back Jamal Anderson tore his ACL early in the game and was lost for the season. "Right now, it's a state of emergency," cornerback Ray Buchanan said after the game.
What happened next: The injuries just kept piling up, and the Falcons started 0-4. That turned into 1-6 and then 2-9 before Atlanta finished 5-11. The 1998 Super Bowl appearance ended up as a blip and the team didn't have a winning record again until 2002.
6. 2022 Cincinnati Bengals
Lost 23-20 to Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI
Week 1: 23-20 loss vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (OT)
Week 2: 20-17 loss at Dallas Cowboys
How they got to 0-2: The Bengals getting off to a slow start? Never! (According to ESPN Research, prior to the 2025 season Cincinnati was an NFL-worst 1-11 in Weeks 1-2 since Zac Taylor became the coach in 2019.)
Week 1 was the infamous game in which the Bengals were about to beat the Steelers thanks to a Joe Burrow-to-Ja'Marr Chase touchdown pass with two seconds left ... and then kicker Evan McPherson's extra point was blocked. That sent the game to overtime and neither team could score on two possessions apiece before the Steelers knocked down a 53-yard Chris Boswell field goal as time expired. Cincinnati outgained Pittsburgh 432-267, but Burrow threw four interceptions and lost one fumble. He was also sacked seven times, including three by Alex Highsmith.
Cincinnati then lost on the final play again in Week 2. The Bengals came back from being down 17-3 to tie things up against the Cowboys with 3:45 left. After the teams traded punts, Dallas backup quarterback Cooper Rush got the ball with 57 seconds left and moved the team 33 yards to set up a 50-yard Brett Maher field goal.
"No panic," Burrow said at the time. "We've lost two games before. We lost two straight games several times last year. There's a lot of football to be played."
What happened next: The Bengals righted the ship with wins in their next two games and eventually won eight straight to go from a 4-4 start to a 12-4 finish. They lost 23-20 to Kansas City in the AFC Championship Game.
5. 1969 Baltimore Colts
Lost 16-7 to New York Jets in Super Bowl III
Week 1: 27-21 loss vs. Los Angeles Rams
Week 2: 52-14 loss at Minnesota Vikings
How they got to 0-2: It's tough to know where to rank this one because we don't have DVOA for the 1969 season. But the Colts lost to arguably the two best teams in the NFL that season.
The problem in Week 1 wasn't yardage, where the Colts and Rams were basically even, but rather turnovers. Johnny Unitas threw three picks, and the Colts also lost a fumble. Still, Baltimore managed to keep it close until the end.
In Week 2, Baltimore did anything but that. The Vikings were clearly the best team in the NFL in 1969, and they destroyed the Colts. Minnesota's Joe Kapp passed for 449 yards and seven touchdowns. The Vikings brought in their backup quarterbacks, and Gary Cuozzo and Bob Lee combined for another 89 passing yards. Overall, the Vikings outgained the Colts 622-235.
Still, as bad as that game was, the Vikings were doing this to a lot of opponents in 1969. They later won games 31-0, 27-0 and 51-3 but eventually lost 23-7 to the Chiefs in Super Bowl IV.
What happened next: The Colts won their next three games but lost twice to the division rival 49ers and finished the season 8-5-1, missing the playoffs after a second-place division finish. Coach Don Shula departed for Miami in the offseason, but the Colts won Super Bowl V the following season with Don McCafferty as their coach.
4. 1984 Washington
Lost 38-9 to Los Angeles Raiders in Super Bowl XVIII
Week 1: 35-17 loss vs. Miami Dolphins
Week 2: 37-31 loss at San Francisco 49ers
How they got to 0-2: As with the 1969 Colts, the opponent quality really mattered in this ranking. Washington started off by losing to the two teams that met in that season's Super Bowl.
Washington kept the yardage close at home in Week 1, thanks partly to 98 rushing yards and a touchdown from fullback John Riggins. However, Washington turned it over three times, including two Joe Theismann interceptions. Miami's Dan Marino didn't turn the ball over, was not sacked and had five passing touchdowns in a victory.
The next week in San Francisco, Washington fell behind 27-0 before Mark Moseley hit a 38-yard field goal right before halftime. Washington slowly climbed back into it and made the score 37-31 following a 12-yard touchdown pass from Theismann to wide receiver Virgil Seay. San Francisco got the ball back with 3:44 remaining, and Washington could not make a stop. The game essentially ended after a personal foul penalty on defensive end Dexter Manley gave the 49ers another first down with 1:52 left.
What happened next: Washington won five straight in a run that included victories over three NFC East rivals. The team finished the season 11-5 but lost to the Chicago Bears 23-19 in the divisional round. The franchise returned to the Super Bowl after the 1987 season, beating the Broncos 42-10.
3. 2015 Seattle Seahawks
Lost 28-24 to New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX
Week 1: 34-31 loss at St. Louis Rams (OT)
Week 2: 27-17 loss at Green Bay Packers
How they got to 0-2: The Seahawks are ranked this high partly because they were the only team that was on the road for both losses. Week 1 also required overtime for the Rams, who finished the season ranked 13th in DVOA, despite a 7-9 record.
The Rams had a 24-13 lead over Seattle going into the fourth quarter, and the Seahawks came back with three straight scores. Then, a 37-yard touchdown pass from Nick Foles to tight end Lance Kendricks sent the game into overtime. In extra play, the Rams got the ball first, and Greg Zuerlein kicked a 37-yard field goal. Seattle had a chance to answer, but running back Marshawn Lynch was stuffed on fourth-and-1 at the Rams' 42-yard line.
A Sunday night game in Week 2 resulted in the Seahawks' largest loss of the season. They had a 17-13 lead in the third quarter, but the Packers scored the next 14 points to win. Still, the game was fairly close on the stat sheet, as Green Bay outgained Seattle only 361-324 and had one turnover to Seattle's two.
What happened next: Seattle rebounded in Week 3 with a 26-0 shellacking of the Bears, but it struggled with close losses all season. The Seahawks finished the season 10-6, with five of those losses coming by six points or fewer. They made it to the divisional round but lost 31-24 the Panthers, who eventually fell in Super Bowl 50 to the Broncos.
2. 2002 St. Louis Rams
Lost 20-17 to New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI
Week 1: 23-16 loss at Denver Broncos
Week 2: 26-21 loss vs. New York Giants
How they got to 0-2: The Rams dominated the 2001 season before they were upset in the Super Bowl, so it was a real surprise when they started the next season with two losses -- though they were very close.
In Week 1, the Rams outgained the Broncos 327-291, with each team turning the ball over twice. However, the Rams struggled to get the ball into the end zone, with just one touchdown. Eventually, they kicked a 39-yard field goal from the Denver 21-yard line with 2:17 left to move within a touchdown. But they couldn't recover the onside kick, and the Broncos finished out the game with a first down. Denver went on to finish sixth in DVOA that season, so this loss was to a very good opponent.
In Week 2, the Rams outgained the Giants on a per-play basis (6.2 to 6.0 yards) but turned the ball over four times. The Rams lost two fumbles and quarterback Kurt Warner threw a pick-six to cornerback Jason Sehorn. The Giants went on to finish that season 15th in DVOA.
What happened next: Things didn't get better for the Rams despite the close nature of their losses. The Rams lost their next three games, finishing off with a 37-13 drubbing at the hands of the 49ers in Week 5. Warner got hurt early in a Week 4 loss to Dallas, returned in Weeks 12-13 and then was out again for the rest of the season with an injury to his right hand.
By the end of the season, the Rams had used four different starting quarterbacks. Marc Bulger helped the Rams win five straight to even their record at 5-5, but he got hurt as well. They finished the season 7-9 and missed the playoffs. The Rams rebounded in 2003 to finish 12-4 with Bulger at quarterback. The franchise's next big game appearance was in Super Bowl LIII -- a 13-3 loss to the Patriots.
1. 2025 Kansas City Chiefs
Lost 40-22 to Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX
Week 1: 27-21 loss at Los Angeles Chargers
Week 2: 20-17 loss vs. Philadelphia Eagles
How they got to 0-2: Without opponent adjustments, the Chiefs are ranked 18th in the NFL with a minus-6.6% DVOA. If we used last season's opponent adjustments, Kansas City would be 11th in DVOA, easily the best of the 10 teams that have started 0-2 in 2025.
The Chiefs were outgained by the Chargers by 50 yards, but Kansas City outgained the Eagles in Week 2 (294-216). The Chiefs have gained more yards per play than their two opponents (5.6 to 5.1) and only thrown one interception -- the ball that glanced off Travis Kelce's hands for an end-zone interception against Philadelphia.
What happens next? We don't know yet how good the Chiefs' two opponents will be for the entire season, but the Chargers ranked ninth in DVOA last season and easily handled the Raiders on Monday. And obviously the Eagles are the defending Super Bowl champions.
None of the previous teams got back to the Super Bowl in the season in question. Can the Chiefs be the first? It's tough to compare them to the other teams on this list if we want to learn from history. Teams such as 1983 Washington, the 1968 Colts and 2001 Rams were more dominant than the eventual champions during their respective regular seasons, making their 0-2 starts the next season surprising. The 2021 Bengals were a young team on the rise, not seasoned champions like the Chiefs. And the 1998 Falcons were a one-year wonder.
Domonique Foxworth shares his frustration with the Chiefs' offense and explains why Patrick Mahomes looks visibly angry.
Good health will be important if the Chiefs hope to turn things around. The 1999 Falcons and 2002 Rams, for example, were significantly hurt by injuries to their most important players. Kansas City clearly misses wide receiver Xavier Worthy when it comes to stretching the field, but it's hard to imagine the team putting up a losing record as long as Mahomes stays healthy.
The biggest problem for Kansas City is its schedule. The Chiefs are heavily favored over the Giants this week, but they play the Ravens, Lions and Bills before their Week 10 bye. However, it gets easier after that. According to ESPN's Football Power Index, the Chiefs still have a 6.4% chance to make it to Super Bowl LX and a 3.5% chance to win it all. So don't count them out yet.