Five former NFL stars who were in a Super Bowl on Chiefs’ three-peat chances

Starting Thursday and likely continuing into the playoffs, one of the biggest stories in the NFL will be the Chiefs’ quest for the first Super Bowl three-peat.

The Chiefs kick off their shot at history with Thursday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Pundits have discussed whether the Chiefs can make NFL history, but I thought it would be interesting to hear from former star players.

Here is what five players, all of whom played in the Super Bowl in their careers, had to say about whether the Chiefs can three-peat.

Steve Young

Young, who won a Super Bowl in his playing days, sees the Chiefs as having a one-in-six chance of getting the three-peat.

“I’ve said for years that to be any good in the NFL,” Young said on “The Rich Eisen Show,” “you have to have one of these elite quarterbacks that can be a great processor, guys that can get the ball out, who can run and throw it all over the field, and they’re all in the AFC. Josh Allen, C.J. Stroud, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Patrick Mahomes, you really don’t have those guys in the NFC.

“And the AFC guys are going to beat each other up. Now, Patrick Mahomes has beat those guys up in the last few years. It’s going to be Joe Burrow, it’s going to be Josh Allen, it’s going to be that way in the AFC Championship. So three-peats are really about getting through those guys and then getting the NFC (in the Super Bowl), and then hoping that they can continue to beat it down.”

Young added: “The truth of matter about the Chiefs three-peating, there’s only four teams in the AFC they’ve got to worry about and then one or two teams (in) the NFC, so you have one in six chances to three-peat. It’s pretty good.”

Devin McCourty

McCourty, the former Pro Bowl Patriots defensive back who is now an analyst for NBC Sports, sees the Baltimore Ravens as the Chiefs’ biggest threat to a three-peat.

While on “The Rich Eisen Show,” McCourty talked about teams that will give the Chiefs “a run for their money.”

“I don’t think they’ll get in their own way,” McCourty said of the Chiefs. “I think this team knows how to win. They know how to start a certain way, but (also) get better throughout the season and always keep their eye on the last game, on the playoffs. I think they’re always focused on getting to that point.

“Nobody else in the NFL wants to see a three-peat other than Kansas City and their fan base. So it’ll be a tough test, but I think they have a great team, and what they’ve been able to establish, you’re going to have to really go knock them off. They’re not going to lose on their own.”

Tom Brady

The seven-time Super Bowl champion couldn’t win a three-peat and he talked about the challenges facing the Chiefs while on “The Herd With Colin Cowherd.”

“To win a Super Bowl is extremely challenging as we know, even when you look at the way the Chiefs won the Super Bowl last year against the 49ers, it was an incredible comeback, so to speak,” Brady said. “They played really well at the end. The margin of error was razor thin. And that’s the way it’s going to be this year for them as well. It’s very rare.”

Brady mentioned the 2007 New England Patriots who were undefeated going into the Super Bowl but lost to a Giants team that had a 10-6 regular-season record and finished second in their division.

“All these teams in the NFL are very competitive. They’re all well-coached,” Brady said. “The margin of error is razor thin, so to win one Super Bowl is extremely difficult. To win two back to back which the Chiefs have done, in the history of the sport, nearly impossible to win three in a row. There’s a reason why no one’s done it. The reason why we haven’t won three in a row, because it’s hard to win one in a row. So to put three of those together in back to back to back seasons, with drafting last, a very hard schedule, all the turnover and free agency, guys continuing to be motivated, it’s a big challenge.

“And that’s nothing to say that the Chiefs couldn’t accomplish that. Believe me, everybody would probably put them as one of the odds-on (favorites) to do it. But even that, there’s not a 50% chance of that happening. There’s way less than that. Those players are going to have to show up every day. They’re going to have to put the work in like they have.”

Andrew Whitworth

The former Rams and Bengals All-Pro offensive lineman turned Amazon Prime analyst sees two teams from the AFC North as being the Chiefs’ biggest threat.

“The best thing of this whole entire season,” Whitworth said on “The Rich Eisen Show,” “is that not only are the Chiefs possibly going to win a third Super Bowl, but nobody’s willing to really step out there and say, ‘Is there anybody that’s really that better than the Chiefs right now?’ So it really looks like all year long, we’re going to think this is a possibility. I look at the AFC North ... I think that division is going to be really good. I think the Baltimore Ravens are going to be special again.

“So I think it’s going to come down to Cincinnati and Baltimore. And I think the winner of that division can unseat the Chiefs. I really do believe they can, and I think they’re built to. I think Cincinnati obviously over the last few years, has gotten the best of them in the totality of the matchups, and I believe that they think they can beat them, and there’s obviously a lot of animosity between those two. So I think Cincinnati can do it.”

Greg Olsen

The three-time Pro Bowl tight end turned broadcaster who played in Super Bowl 50 with the Carolina Panthers, said on “The Rich Eisen Show” that the Chiefs have a great shot at winning a third straight Super Bowl.

“I think the only thing stopping them is them, right? I think as long as their best players are heavily engaged, which they show no signs of not (being engaged). Continuing to be committed to doing things at a high level, committed to being professionals. As long as they’ve got Mahomes and Kelce and Chris Jones and that I mean that young defense is off the charts. ...

”They have things that everyone else doesn’t have, so they can kind of weather the ups and the downs. As long as Mahomes is there, as long as Andy Reid is there, as long as Kelce (stays) there, and as long as that defense stays young and active and (defensive coordinator Steve) Spagnuolo is blitzing guys from all over the place, come next year in the AFC, it doesn’t matter who the fun team is, who the story (is). When it comes down to it, until proven otherwise, the AFC goes through Kansas City.”