How the Kansas City Chiefs of Today compare to the Dynasties of the 70s and 80s

Ok, we witnessed the Kansas City Chiefs win their third Super Bowl in five years, so they are officially a dynasty, I guess, but are they a dynasty or just the best product in a devalued time?

Free Agency started in the late 80s/early 90s, which was great for players. I am all for that, but in the long run, that was the beginning of the end for all-time great teams. Sure, we had the Patriots of the 2000s, but that dynasty was also a partial product of a changing landscape in the NFL. Today, the NFL is about the owners making as much money as possible. The commercialization of the NFL is way over the top. A case can be made that the 1969 Kansas City Chiefs were an even better team than these recent Chiefs teams.

The Kansas City Chiefs Are Making HISTORY..

The Patriots were an outstanding team, but do people think that those Patriots teams were all-time great teams? How do they match up against the Steelers of the 70s the 49ers of the 80s, or the Cowboys of the 90s? The answer to that is not very good. Those all-time great teams from years past were more complete and better coached than what we see today.

In the 1970s, there were multiple dynasties. You had the Cowboys, Dolphins, Raiders, Vikings and Steelers. I know the Vikings never won it all, but that tells you how great that decade was. The Steelers were the top dynasty winning four Super Bowls in six seasons, and it may have been 5 out of six if not for an injury in 1976 that cost Terry Bradshaw over half of that season.

If you were the Dolphins of the early 70s, you had to get past a great Colts team, the Raiders and Steelers, to get a shot at the Cowboys or the Vikings in the Super Bowl.

In the 1980s, the 49ers, Redskins, Raiders, Giants, and Bears controlled the Super Bowl, and how many Super Bowls would the 49ers have won if the Giants and Redskins didn’t exist. The Chiefs beat good teams in the Super Bowls, but this year’s 49ers and last year’s Eagles are far from great teams. The best competition that the Cjhiefs have faced was against Tom Brady and Joe Burroe, and his record in playoff games against those two was 1-3.

The 1990s saw the Cowboys, 49ers and Packers have legendary teams, but the competition started dropping off because of further expansion and free agency gaining steam.

The Game was Different Back Then

In the 1970s and 80s, the Quarterback was fair game, and few rules existed to protect the quarterback. Until the mid-late 70s, Defensive Backs could hit the receivers until the ball was thrown, and offensive linemen were not allowed to use their hands.

The Quarterback depth in the ’70s and ’80s was deeper. In the 70s, you had Staubach, Bradshaw, Fouts, Anderson, Tarkenton, Stabler, Namath, Griese, Kilmer, and Unitas; those were all elite quarterbacks. Today, the elite quarterbacks are Mahomes, Burrow, Allen, and Jackson, with CJ Stroud looking to join that group with another year like his rookie season.

Now I will say this: the salary cap has made it tougher today than it did back then because you end up losing 25-33 per cent of your roster each year, but once again, that fact also points to why you had more complete and better all-around teams in the past.

1970’s Steelers Dynasty Highlights (Final Version)

The Rules were different.

Defense was reigning supreme during the 1970s. Receivers and quarterbacks alike were frequently targeted with physical hits from opponents; uin 1978, when the current “bump and run rule” limited defensive contact to five yards off the line of scrimmage only (bump-and-run rule), receivers suffered greatly under this tactic. Pass Interference was illegal but wasn’t called out as often or severely by officials either. At that time, quarterback injuries likely reached unprecedented levels. QBs of today would likely find playing in the 1970s terrifying when few of today’s protection rules, such as illegal contact with quarterbacks or offensive lineman limits, existed. It was an all-out brawl, and today’s offensive players would find it impossible to comprehend why defense could have had such an advantage at that time.

Many of the greatest defenses in NFL history flourished during this decade, boasting memorable nicknames such as Pittsburgh’s Steel Curtain, Dallas Doomsday Defense, Minnesota Purple People Eaters, Miami No Name Defense, Soul Patrol Raiders, and the Grits Blitz in Atlanta. Teams such as the Rams helped define this decade’s Deadball Era.

The 1980s saw the great Chicago Bears defense, and the Giants and 49ers were also loaded.

70s NFL That Wouldn’t Fly Today

Are the Chiefs a Dynasty?

The Chiefs have won three Super Bowls in five years, so yes, they are a dynasty, but where would that dynasty rank? Check out these rankings of the NFL’s Greatest Dynasties and let us know where these Chiefs would rank.

The Steelers and Dolphins are well ahead of this Chiefs dynasty. The Steelers in the Super Bowl beat the Cowboys twice and the Vikings and Rams once each in Super Bowl play. The Chiefs beat the 49ers twice and the Eagles once, which means they beat Jimmy G., Brock Purdy, and Jalen Hurts in the Super Bowl. The Steelers beat Tarkenton, Staubach(Twice) and Vince Ferragamo. I think three wins over Tarkenton and Staubach are more impressive.

The Chiefs have an average offensive line because the game has changed, and the NFL coaching is not as good as it was even twenty years ago. If you go back to the 70s and 80s, the top coaches were Landry, Noll, Gibbs, Parcells, Allen, Phillips, Brown, Flores, Maddem, Shula, Grant, Coryell, and Reeves. Now compare that list to the top coaches of the last decade; the 70s and 80s will run away with that comparison.

Top 10 Coaches Of The 80s

Comparing is unrealistic

Everything has changed so much in the NFL today that you can’t compare different eras anymore. The rules are different, and the attitude of society as a whole is so different. What we have seen with the Chiefs over the last five years is an excellent team with a great quarterback who dominates average competition. It’s not the Chiefs’ fault, and I am not saying some of the rule changes were good because players need to be protected, but when you hear somebody under the age of 30 start to explain to his buddy how the Chiefs are the greatest team or dynasty ever you need to tell them to take a deep breath and tell them about the 70s Steelers, 80s 49ers or the 90s Cowboys. Those teams were legendary. What we see today is an excellent team beating up decent competition.

Remember that athletes today may be bigger, faster, and stronger, but back in the day, they were much tougher and better coached. The NFL has become a pussified place where politics are important; hell, they may be the most crucial thing in today’s NFL. With that and gambling, the NFL is a large corporation today. It was also back in the 70s and 80s, but it was nothing like we see today.

We will never see the teams we had in the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. Those days are gone, and with how society is trending, the NFL may not exist like it is today in twenty years. So, let’s enjoy our version right now because the league will do nothing but get softer and softer as our society continues to deteriorate.