NFL icon Ryan Fitzpatrick reveals the real reason the Chiefs are struggling... as he weighs in on Tom Brady's broadcast backlash

Five games into the NFL season, the Kansas City Chiefs' dynasty appears to slowly be being eroded. The dominating champions of the past few years are a mere shadow of the team that saw the Super Bowl as a guarantee.

But the Chiefs may only have their success to blame. That's according to NFL legend Ryan Fitzpatrick.  

Patrick Mahomes and co. have reached the mountain top in five of the last six seasons. Now, it appears that they have - abruptly and strangely - lost their ability to win a game. 

The Chiefs, who have hoisted the Lombardi Trophy three times in the last six years, started the season on a quest for Super Bowl revenge, following their crushing defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles in February. 

Five games in and they have managed to win just two - one of which was a scramble past the lowly New York Giants - leaving the NFL stunned. 

However, NFL star-turned-analyst Fitzpatrick suggested that the shock at the Chiefs' lack of success is perhaps unwarranted. Instead, they have simply set nearly impossible standards. 

'There's a lot going on with the Chiefs,' he told The Daily Mail during an event for T-Mobile at the Ryder Cup. 

'I think they've been so good for so long, the standard is they're going to make it to the Super Bowl or it wasn't a good year. So they've created unrealistic expectations.

'And they have seemed to meet them every year, but there has been a lot of struggles with them this year so far, and I think this is going to be a tough year for them.' 

And after years of monopolizing dominance, the Chiefs' struggles may have blown the AFC wide open with Fitzpatrick convinced that one of his beloved former teams may finally have a shot at the Super Bowl. 

'I think the Chiefs have certainly been a thorn in the side of the [Buffalo] Bills for many years now, and there is a bit of an opening,' the former quarterback said. 

'I know there are a lot of Bills fans that are hoping the Chiefs don't make it into the dance. I think it's the Buffalo Bills' year.' 

The Bills weren't the only team that Fitzpatrick suited up for. The retired signal caller, who was embracing greeting fans during a Q&A at T-Mobile's Ryder Cup Club Magenta lounge, played for a record nine teams throughout his 17 seasons in the NFL - the most in league history. 

Yet, since hanging up his cleats, the 42-year-old has transitioned from the football field to the broadcast booth, working alongside Tony Gonzalez, Richard Sherman and Andrew Whitworth as well as host Charissa Thompson on Amazon Prime's Thursday Night Football.    

'I consider myself very lucky, because I still get to stay around the game,' Fitzpatrick admitted when asked about adaptation to life as an analyst. 

'I made a lot of great friends over the years with all the teams that I played on, not just players, but coaches and staff as well. So to be able to keep up with them as we travel from week to week, and then provide a perspective from a guy that was on nine different teams and played for 17 years, I feel like that's important to be able to provide that to the fans.' 

Fitzpatrick is, of course, not the only retired quarterback to have made the jump to broadcast. Most recently, Tom Brady has dominated headlines thanks to his 10-year, $375million contract with Fox Sports. 

However, the six-time Super Bowl champion, who is in his second year of the blockbuster deal as the network's lead NFL color commentator, faced severe backlash during his rookie season. 

But Fitzpatrick was quick to leap to Brady's defense, telling the Daily Mail: 'The one thing you know about Tom is that he's going to work really hard to become great at it, and you can certainly see that he's putting in the work.'