But the reality of the situation is that every year is different, and Andy Reid had some work to do in his locker room after a 43-14 blowout loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night.
"We're 2-2," Reid said, via the team's official site. "It's not the end of the world, even though it feels that way. That's how things are in the National Football League. We've got a week to step back, analyze and fix some of these issues."
Quarterback Alex Smith seemed to echo those sentiments on Monday.
"We have to look at this and look at ourselves in the mirror and move on," Smith said. "At the same time, you can't let it linger. It's just one game and it's a long season."
The Chiefs don't play again until Oct. 16 against the Raiders in Oakland, which means that Reid will have plenty of time to game plan for a divisional matchup that could quickly erase the stink of a loss that very well could have been a 40-point nationally televised shutout. It could also be too much time for the Steelers game to linger.
Given Denver's unexpectedly good start and the talent curve finally catching up in Oakland, this could be Reid's toughest challenge in Kansas City to date. After inheriting a turnaround-ready franchise in 2013, Reid has never posted a losing record with the Chiefs and has made the playoffs twice in three years, but seeing how he rebounds from the Steelers game could be indicative of how much farther he can take this franchise as its currently constructed.