Back in 2018, the Giants were quite bad. I mean, they still are, but they were bad then as well. During this time, I started to also root for the Chiefs for fun. They were coming off of a 10-6 season and had a solid QB in Alex Smith and a great coach in Andy Reid. They were also in the AFC and didn’t really compete much with the Giants. The Chiefs offered a team to watch that was decent but not elite, with some potential upside in the future. Who knows, maybe they’d win a Super Bowl down the line… However, I don’t think I ever expected for the Chiefs to become as good as they did.
In the 2018 season, second year QB Patrick Mahomes took the field for the first time. The Chiefs ended up being good, really good. Patrick Mahomes threw for over 5,000 yards that year and 50 touchdown passes. He lit up virtually every defense he played against and took the league by storm.
In the divisional round of the playoffs, the Chiefs faced off against Andrew Luck and the Colts. It wouldn’t be close. The Chiefs dominated the game, with twice as much time of possession compared to the Colts. They won 31-13 with a strong defensive performance and a great running game.
The week after that matchup would prove far more difficult. The Chiefs faced off against 5 Time Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady and the Patriots. Mahomes played as good as he could for what was essentially his rookie year. Although the Chiefs were playing at their home stadium, facing the Patriots was still extremely difficult. It seemed as if Belichick and the Pats had everything under control from the start. The Chiefs only converted 4/9 of their 3rd down plays. On the other hand, the Patriots converted 13/19 of their third downs. And whereas the Chiefs had dominated the clock in the previous game, this week New England had the ball twice as long.
Although the Chiefs struggled to hold the ball, they still played well. Mahomes threw for 278 yards and 3 Touchdowns. However, the game came down to the Chiefs’ defense which was their Kryoptinte. A penalty ended their chances and sent the game to OT where Tom Brady marched down the field and won the game. Although the Chiefs lost this game 37-31, they did something that many teams were able to do, almost beat New England.
This 2019 conference championship would be the beginning of their dynasty. Ever since 2019, the Chiefs have made the conference championship every single year. Every single time. From 2019-2024 the Chiefs have yet to miss out in playing for the Conference. So far, they’ve won 3 Super Bowls, two against San Francisco and one against Philly. Without Brady in their way, the Chiefs would quickly ascend to become one of the league’s premier teams. Although Brady would get in the way of the team in 2021 when the Bucs defeated the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, this was a one time occurrence and the Chiefs have continued to dominate.
Just recently, the team clinched their 9th consecutive division title with their 12-1 record and 19-17 victory over the Chargers. Despite this, people are saying the Chiefs are vulnerable. Many critics claim that the Chiefs are the weakest they’ve ever been and will soon lose in the playoffs. However, I don’t see this. Are they worse than past years? Sure, but it’s not like they have 5 or 6 wins. Additionally, the same talk was said about New England in the past or whoever was the best. Besides, the team hasn’t lost their two top talents: QB Patrick Mahomes and HC Andy Reid. Similar to the Patriots, the Chiefs have taken a similar philosophy in building a winning team. They have focused on building everything around their QB and the offensive scheme of their HC Andy Reid.
Patrick Mahomes has racked up 3 MVPs in his career. Andy Reid has coached 42 playoff games with the Chiefs. You read that right, 42 playoff games, winning 26 of them in the process. And although many of the games they play are close this year specifically, they almost always manage to win them. In the NFL the only thing that matters is winning, it doesn’t matter what the score is. Similar to the New England Patriots, they’ve built a culture of winning where the only thing that matters is finishing the game.
When I look at their competition this year, it’s good, but is it good enough? For starters, the Bengals, who the Chiefs have faced twice in the Conference Championship in the past 5 years, beat the Chiefs once, and lost once. But given a myriad of reasons it’s unlikely that they will be much of a threat for KC this year. For starters, the Bengals have the 26th ranked defense in the league. Their lack of defensive talent continues to cost them games. They rely too heavily on Joe Burrow who is having an MVP year. However, Burrow also doesn’t have help with the run game. The Bengals have one of the worst run games in the league coming in at 29th. Perhaps in a few years they’ll be able to challenge the Chiefs again but not yet.
The biggest threat to KC this year is likely not the Bengals but the Bills. The Bills are looking good and seem like the most likely to beat the Chiefs. However, Kansas City got the upper hand in the playoffs a few years back at Arrowhead, when they won, 38-24. Although Buffalo seems like the most well rounded team to beat KC, they’ll have to do it by going through Arrowhead which will prove quite difficult.
There’s also the Ravens. They are winning games with their high powered offense led by Lamar Jackson and the elite Running Back Derrick Henry. But their Defense is ranked as the 23rd in the League when it comes down to Rush and Pass Yards allowed per game. Additionally, Jackson hasn’t proven his ability to come through when it really matters. He’s a great player in the regular season but he’s 2-4 in the playoffs. On the other hand, Mahomes has been 15-3 in the playoffs in his career, consistently finding ways to win.
There are a few more teams that could challenge the Chiefs but if the Bills and Ravens can’t beat them, it’ll be far more difficult for other teams to. Remember when everyone hated the Patriots and they were the team to beat? Well, New England won 6 Super Bowls in 19 years. The Chiefs have won 3 in 5 years. The Patriots dynasty has died out, and without Brady and Belichick, they are now one of the worst teams in the league. But as one hated dynasty falls apart, another has emerged in its place. The only question left is who will dethrone the Chiefs?
