Strike 3: It wasn’t surprising that Denver Broncos Country reacted with glee when the hated Kansas City Chiefs went down hard in Super Bowl LXII. The longtime Broncos AFL-turned-AFC West rival has become a dynasty in the sport, replacing the Brady-Belichick New England Patriots as public enemy No. 1 by going to five of the past seven Super Bowls and winning three of them.

Broncos fans hate the Chiefs. Fine. But postgame dialogue regarding the death of the Kansas City Chiefs is being greatly exaggerated, especially around here.

Sure, the Chiefs showed not just weaknesses, but gaping holes during the season (even while going 15-2) and especially against the more talented Philadelphia Eagles. But do Broncos fans really expect the Chiefs to just fold up their tents now and cower in the corner while Bo Nix and the Broncos take their mantle next season? Really?

It’s a sure thing that Sean Payton and the folks that have offices at Dove Valley aren’t looking at it that way. They know to expect that the Chiefs and star quarterback Patrick Mahomes are hearing all the noise coming from Denver and elsewhere, and are making plans for a big time bounceback. After playing in five of the past seven Super Bowls, you can rest assured that Mahomes and Co. are making plans to go back again next February.

They have plenty of reasons to feel confident. Even if future hall of famer Travis Kelce retires, the Chiefs still have plenty to work with. In fact, getting blown out by the Philadelphia Eagles will likely provide a new sense of purpose and focus for an outfit that was likely dealing with some complacency. It will inevitably force them to take a hard look at what they have and what they need to do to get back on top.

And they have a role model of sorts to look back at for inspiration and guidance.

Just look at the last dynasty, those Brady-Belichick Pats teams from the previous two decades for an indication of what could very likely lie ahead.

The Pats won three of four Super Bowls played between the 2001 and 2004 seasons. Then they faltered a bit, and it looked like that dynasty was dead. But as the man on TV says, not so fast my friend.

The Pats went on to win the AFC (going undefeated during the regular season) again but lost the Super Bowl at the end of the 2007 season. That was followed by two more non-Super Bowl seasons.

Dead dead? Hardly.

Three more non-Super Bowl seasons before another big game loss to the New York Giants after the 2011 season. Surely that was the nail in the coffin, right? Wrong.

While the Broncos surged during the Peyton Manning years, the Pats were right there with them.

After Manning retired with his second ring after the 2015 season, all Brady and Belichick did was win two of the next three Super Bowls.

That’s how dynasty’s tend to work. You don’t win every season unless you’re the Boston Celtics in the 1960’s when the NBA had 14 teams and a lot fewer playoff games. You stay in the hunt every year, and in a lot of years, you end up on top. More like the Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980’s.

The Mahomes-Andy Reid Chiefs are not dead yet. Not by a longshot.

At this moment, the Denver Broncos still have far more holes to fill this off season than the Chiefs. If the season started today, KC would still be the overwhelming favorite to win the AFC West, the AFC title game and return to the Super Bowl.

So for Broncos Country, it’s time to put away the dancing shoes and step away from the gravesite. There’s no dancing to be done just yet.