Record Setting Performance

Well, it's official. The Kansas City Chiefs are in soul possession of most consecutive playoff losses in NFL history.

Now the first thing I want to say is that we cannot blame the 2010 Chiefs for this infamous record.

Since the last time the Chiefs have won a playoff game (not including the Todd Haley era), we have had four head coaches, three of which made it to the playoffs, two of which won Coach of the Year multiple times, one of which who had won a Super Bowl with a previous team.

We have had five playoff berths, three bye weeks in the playoffs (meaning they finished in the top two in the AFC and earned a week off).

We have had two MVP's at quarterback (one at the end of his career [Montana], one that got his start to his career and then we traded [Gannon]), five 1,000 yard rushing seasons from a running back, nine 1,000 yard seasons from a receiver, many perennial Pro Bowlers, and plenty of Hall of Famers and future Hall of Famers.

We've had offenses that could light up the scoreboard. We've had defenses that could shut out an opponent.

We had 17 years since our last playoff win going into Sunday's game.

But none of those things led us to a playoff win. If anything, it made the playoff losses that much more hard to swallow.

Successful seasons sadly get forgotten, only the bitter taste of failure remains. The Chiefs were dominant in the early 90s, yet all we seem to remember is the disappointment. The 2003 team put up ridiculous amounts of points on their opponents, looking like they could outscore anyone, yet their 13-3 record is overshadowed by their postseason letdown.

This can be said for all sports teams. Until you win it all, you linger on the defeats, you linger on the what-could-have-beens. A lot of great players have worn Chiefs jerseys since our last playoff win, and it's uncertain how many more will wear the red before we win another. Hopefully, not very many.

Fortunately, there is still hope. The record doesn't have to be ours forever. Before our playoff loss on Sunday, we were tied with six other teams for the record. Only one other teams streak was active: the Detroit Lions. If we can win our next playoff appearance and if Detroit can ever make it back to the playoffs and lose, then we would only share this unwanted record. Problem is, it's the Lions.