For Patrick Mahomes, the comparisons to Tom Brady have always been a benchmark of greatness, but now they carry a more ominous tone. The ghost of Brady’s career isn’t just haunting Mahomes with records to chase, but with a warning of a decade-long championship drought that could start now, especially when the team is currently sitting at 6-6.

As Mike Florio believes, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback might end up following the same mid-career pattern Brady experienced after his third championship, which is a long drought before the 4th title.

“Brady went 10 years between number 3 and number 4,” he said on Pro Football Talk. “Will it be 10 years? Will it happen again? There’s a lot of teams out there that are very good, and the margins are getting smaller and smaller, and this is just a weird year, and for the Chiefs to do what they’ve done in recent years because there isn’t some juggernaut out there (that) they have to worry about.”

Florio’s comparison serves as a stark warning, especially since Brady himself endured a nearly nine-year championship drought after winning three titles with the New England Patriots. He came close by making two Super Bowl appearances during this time, but a title still eluded him.

Brady finally broke the pattern in 2014 with a win over the Seattle Seahawks. And he went on to add three more championships before his retirement. Whether this pattern becomes real or not, the Chiefs have real problems they must fix this season. Their loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving showed that the team has issues on both offense and defense.

Despite Mahomes’ four touchdowns against the Cowboys, the offense struggled with inconsistency and mistakes. The same was true for the defense, which dealt with costly penalties. They had no sacks or turnovers and couldn’t generate pressure. They recorded just 22 sacks this season.

To bounce back this year, the team will need to find a balance between both units, and that’s something coach Reid has been confident about.

Andy Reid is confident about the Chiefs’ playoff chances

The Chiefs are undoubtedly in a tight spot. One more loss could push them even further down the standings and end their playoff hopes for good. Yet even with so much on the line, coach Andy Reid remains confident in his team.

“We’re going to try to tickle on your tonsils on every play, every game,” he said. “That’s the attitude that we’re coming in with. Then you let the chips fall where they may… There’s not a game that I go into that I don’t think we’re going to get after ya.”

As their chance to win the division for a 10th straight year slips away, the Chiefs have understandably shifted their focus to making the playoffs. They’ve managed to make it to the playoffs every season since 2015. The Chiefs have been good for so long that many tend to forget that the team has faced such challenges before.

In 2017, they were also 6-6 before rallying to win their final four games and grab a wild-card spot. Now, in 2025, they’re facing a similar situation. The challenges haven’t shaken Reid or his players, but the growing speculation could certainly be discouraging for the team.