I don't think that's fair. Having followed those awesome years in the 90s and surviving the playoff drought and New England domination, I'm thrilled to have this team to pull for. The offense didn't show up until the game was all but over and we were still in it, even with the defense decimated by injuries. It used to be that McDermott gets blown out in losses, now the criticism is he loses close games.
We've lost some games but won lots more than we've lost with McDermott... and we've been playoff favorites for the last few years. Having suffered through Brady's Pats and looking up at a deeper Chiefs roster, I think some fans compare and see anything less than doing what those teams did/do as failure. We won't be out of the playoffs by Halloween and for that, I'm happy.
This team will make the playoffs and might win it all... just have to see how it plays out. We've got one of the best QBs in the game, lots of really good position players, and a very good defensive minded coach. Having to fight harder might make this team tougher and more dangerous.