It was over from opening kickoff. The Philadelphia Eagles devoured the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive line to the point where generational star quarterback Patrick Mahomes could not do anything about it. The other team the Chiefs got annihilated in a Super Bowl in the Andy Reid/Mahomes era was when they went up against Todd Bowles’ unrelenting pass rush from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020.

Clearly, how last season ended was simply not good enough for the Chiefs. They made it a point to get better in the trenches this offseason. Kansas City used the last pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft on former Ohio State Buckeyes offensive tackle Josh Simmons. He is immensely talented, but missed the better part of last season, including their entire run through College Football Playoff.

That was not all the Chiefs did. They opted to move the consistently inconsistent Kingsley Suamataia into guard to replace Joe Thuney going to the Chicago Bears. It may be easier to move in than kick out for an offensive lineman, but keep in mind that not everybody can do this professionally. All the while, we have to wonder if the cost of paying Mahomes a fortune was the state of the offensive line.

Mahomes did seem to handle pressure better than most, but it is proof that he is, in fact, quite human.

Look. This is always going to be a challenge for a contending team in a hard salary-capped league. Every resource is precious. Where an NFL organization chooses to overspend in one area of the team will directly result in another part having to do without. Kansas City won Super Bowls when Mahomes was still under his rookie contract. Now that he has been paid a ton, it has hurt the offensive line a bit.

Of course, Mahomes does seem like the type of guy who will take a hometown discount to help get his teammates paid more. Then again, he does not have much say in who the Chiefs draft and sign in free agency as much as you would think. Suamataia has not been up to par. Losing Thuney is less than ideal. While Simmons is a terrific player, he is coming into the NFL without a clean bill of health.

Do I think Mahomes and the Chiefs are done winning Super Bowls? No, but the same issue persists. Tom Brady may have won seven Super Bowls, but he did it in clusters. His first three came very early when he was with the New England Patriots. He had to wait another decade to get his next three with the team. After that, he had to leave in free agency and win his seventh and final one with Tampa Bay.

So much is riding on Simmons’ health and Suamataia’s improvement for the Chiefs this offseason.