What does playoff experience look like?

The idea for this post came out of yesterday's postgame thoughts. The Chiefs are a young team that got our first playoff experience for most of our players, including our quarterback and Haley as a head coach.

So what does getting this experience look like? Where could we dream of being in a few years if we build our team the right way?

Here are some case studies:

Indianapolis Colts

It took Peyton Manning six unsuccessful trips to the playoffs before winning the Super Bowl in 2006. Four of those years, they lost their first game. They built a 3-6 playoff record and only advanced to the conference championship once.

New York Giants

It took Eli Manning and the Giants two losing trips before going all the way. They were 0-2, losing both in the Wild Card round. And the first one was ugly.

Pittsburgh Steelers

For the Roethslisburger-era Steelers, they only needed one trip to the playoffs before winning in 2005, going 1-1.

Following their win, they slid to .500. Then they got back into the playoffs, losing for a year and then won it all again.

Baltimore Ravens

Flacco's Ravens have had success right away, going 4-2--all in road games--in their first three years. We'll see if this leads to a Super Bowl eventually or not.

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And, not shown, but last year's winner, the Saints, did lose in the NFC Championship game two years before winning the Super Bowl. So for the last five years, the notion of getting playoff experience does hold up, unless you're Tom Brady.