The 2017 Kansas City Chiefs were a fever dream. Seriously. If you look at the raw win-loss record, it looks like a standard, successful NFL campaign under Andy Reid. 10-6. AFC West Champions. Another home playoff game at Arrowhead. But if you actually lived through those four months of football, you know it was one of the most volatile, confusing, and ultimately prophetic seasons in the history of the franchise. It was the year the "Old Chiefs" died and the "New Chiefs" were born, though we didn't quite realize it at the time.
Alex Smith was the guy. People forget how good he was that year. He wasn't just managing games; he was torching defenses. He threw for over 4,000 yards for the first—and only—time in his career. He had a 104.7 passer rating. He looked like an MVP candidate for the first six weeks. And yet, there was this kid sitting on the bench. A rookie from Texas Tech with a cannon for an arm.
That’s the weird duality of the 2017 Kansas City Chiefs. It was a season of massive "what-ifs" and a very specific kind of heartbreak that only Kansas City fans truly understand.
The Night the World Stopped in Foxborough
The season opener was insane. It’s hard to overstate how much of a "statement" that Thursday night game against the New England Patriots was. The Pats were raising another banner. They were the defending champs. The Chiefs went into Gillette Stadium and didn't just win; they embarrassed Bill Belichick. 42-27.
Kareem Hunt, a rookie third-rounder from Toledo, fumbled his very first NFL carry. You thought, oh boy, here we go. Then he went out and racked up 246 yards from scrimmage. It was the most productive debut in league history. Tyreek Hill was outrunning everyone. Alex Smith was dropping dimes deep down the sideline. For a moment, it felt like the Chiefs were the best team in the world. Honestly, they were. They started 5-0. They looked invincible.
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Then the wheels fell off.
That Bizarre Mid-Season Collapse
The NFL is a long grind, but the 2017 Kansas City Chiefs took "streaky" to a whole new level. After that 5-0 start, they lost six of their next seven games. Six out of seven! You had losses to the Raiders, the Giants, and the Jets. The Giants game was particularly egregious—a 12-9 slog in the Meadowlands where nobody could score.
Fans were screaming for Patrick Mahomes. Every time Smith threw a check-down or the offense stalled in the red zone, the "Start Mahomes" chants grew louder. Andy Reid, being Andy Reid, stayed the course. He even handed off play-calling duties to Matt Nagy for a stretch to jumpstart the rhythm. It worked, kinda. They finished the season on a four-game winning streak to clinch the division, but the vibes were... off. It felt fragile.
The Patrick Mahomes Preview (Week 17)
We have to talk about Week 17 in Denver. The Chiefs had already locked up their playoff spot. It was a meaningless game in the standings, so Reid finally unleashed the kid. Mahomes started. It was cold, it was messy, and he was playing with backups.
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He threw an interception. He didn't have a passing touchdown. But man, you saw the flashes. That one throw to Albert Wilson while Mahomes was rolling to his right—the kind of throw that shouldn't be physically possible—told everyone in Kansas City that the Alex Smith era was ending in a matter of weeks. It was a 27-24 win, and even though Mahomes didn't set the stat sheet on fire, the eye test was undeniable. The future was here, even if the present was still technically Smith's team.
The Forward Progress Game
The playoffs. Arrowhead Stadium. January 6, 2018. If you want to ruin a Chiefs fan's day, just say the words "forward progress."
The Chiefs were up 21-3 on the Tennessee Titans at halftime. It was a blowout. Marcus Mariota looked lost. Then, the weirdness started. Mariota threw a pass that was batted back into his own hands, and he ran it in for a touchdown. Then there was the sack on Mariota by Derrick Johnson. The ball came loose. The Chiefs recovered. It should have been Kansas City ball. Instead, referee Jeff Triplette ruled that Mariota's "forward progress" had been stopped before the fumble. It was one of the most controversial calls in playoff history.
The Chiefs collapsed. Travis Kelce went out with a nasty concussion. The offense went silent. The Titans won 22-21. It was a classic "Chiefs playoff exit"—unlucky, frustrating, and seemingly cursed.
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Why 2017 Still Matters
You can't understand the current Chiefs dynasty without 2017. It was the necessary bridge. Without Alex Smith’s career year, Mahomes doesn't get a year to sit and learn how to be a pro. Without that heartbreaking loss to the Titans, the front office might not have felt the absolute urgency to move on from a "good" quarterback to chase a "great" one.
Think about the personnel. This was the year Tyreek Hill transitioned from a return specialist to a true WR1. This was the year Chris Jones started becoming a force on the interior. The DNA of the 2019 and 2022 Super Bowl teams was being sequenced during this chaotic 2017 run.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Historians
If you're looking back at this season to understand how teams evolve, here are the real takeaways:
- Mentorship over ego: Alex Smith knew Mahomes was his replacement, yet he had his best season anyway. That professional transition is rare and vital for a young QB’s success.
- The "Play-Calling" Shift: Watch the tape from the first five games vs. the last four. You can see Andy Reid and Matt Nagy experimenting with RPOs (Run-Pass Options) that would become the staple of the Mahomes era.
- The Hunt Factor: Kareem Hunt led the league in rushing as a rookie with 1,327 yards. Studying his 2017 tape shows exactly the kind of "contact balance" the Chiefs still look for in backs today.
- Volatility is a teacher: That mid-season slump forced the coaching staff to simplify their protections, a lesson that helped them in later deep playoff runs.
The 2017 Kansas City Chiefs didn't win a ring. They didn't even win a playoff game. But they changed the trajectory of the NFL forever. They were the bridge between "pretty good" and "legendary." If you go back and watch the highlights now, you'll see the ghosts of what was about to happen. You'll see the foundation of a dynasty, built on the heartbreak of a 22-21 loss on a cold January afternoon.