Why a Denver win is important for the Kansas City Chiefs

I hate the Denver Broncos.

I would love to be a big enough person to congratulate them on a great season and tell them that they deserve to be world champions….but I can’t.

I’m not happy for them. I’m not able to appreciate Peyton Manning getting to add another Super Bowl win to his storied career. I’m certainly not happy for John Elway. I can appreciate how well Von Miller played, but I still can’t stand the guy. Aqid Talib is even a former Kansas Jayhawk, but I think I hate that guy more than anyone else on that team. Seeing the Denver Broncos win a Super Bowl is pretty much the worst thing in the world for someone that bleeds Red and Gold.

That all having been said, if you put the emotions aside, the Broncos winning the Super Bowl the way they did is not all bad for fans of the Kansas City Chiefs. The main reason for that is you can now see a path to the Super Bowl for a team like the Chiefs. The Broncos were not an offensive powerhouse this season. In fact, they flat out struggled on offense at times this season including in the playoffs and even the Super Bowl. This was a team that was flat out carried by their defense. Peyton Manning is a huge name at quarterback, but that’s all he was. A shell of his former self that was only on the field because of his leadership and the famous name on the back of his jersey.

Ever since the Chiefs traded for Alex Smith there has been an endless debate as to if he is good enough to win a Super Bowl. The argument against him has always been that Smith is a game manager and in today’s pass happy NFL you can’t win a Super Bowl with a game manager. You have to have a great quarterback. The days of winning with a great defense and a Trent Dilfer or Brad Johnson at quarterback were supposed to be a thing of the past. This Denver win shows that isn’t the case. Alex Smith is currently a MUCH better quarterback than Peyton Manning. Now, some may argue otherwise based on Manning’s career achievements, but he was BAD this year. Look at the 2015 numbers:

Peyton Manning: 59.8% completions, 6.8 YPA, 224.9 yards/game, 9 TDs, 17 INTs, -6 yards rushing

Alex Smith: 65.3% completions, 7.4 YPA, 217.9 yards/game, 20 TDs, 7 INTs, 498 yards rushing

It’s not like he set the world on fire in the playoffs either. Compare their playoff numbers this year:

Peyton Manning: 55.4% completions, 5.9 YPA, 179.7 yards/game, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 10 yards rushing

Alex Smith: 63.9% completions, 6.1 YPA, 218 yards/game, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 71 yards rushing

Now, I don’t think even the biggest Alex Smith supporters would argue that he is a guy that can carry an entire team on his back. The argument for Smith has always been that if you built a strong team around him he is good enough to get the job done. After seeing what Denver did this year I don’t see any way you can argue that fact.

Now, in order to win without a star quarterback you have to have a fantastic defense. The Denver defense these past two games was one of the most impressive I have ever seen in my lifetime of watching football. That’s not an easy thing to achieve. However, I think we saw points in this past season where a fully healthy Chiefs defense looked to be as dominant as Denver’s was. Now, the Broncos stepped up and took care of business when it counted so KC can’t claim to be on their level…..yet. My point is that the Chiefs were on the right path to having that kind of dominant defense and they need to keep working to make that happen.

After watching the Broncos these past two games (against New England and Carolina) I am all the more convinced that the Chiefs number one offseason priority should be keeping their defense intact. I wrote a couple of weeks ago that KC fans should probably kiss Sean Smith and Jaye Howard goodbye. My thought has been that KC would likely re-sign Eric Berry and then give short, team friendly deals to Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali. If the Chiefs can find a way to add Smith or Howard (and maybe Husain Abdullah) to that list of guys they bring back I would be thrilled.

The Chiefs already have offensive playmakers on their roster in Jamaal Charles, Jeremy Maclin, and the recently re-signed Travis Kelce. If the Chiefs can just bolster the offensive line a little more I think the offense can get the job done without any major additions, but that’s only if they are accompanied by a great defense. The Chiefs have the foundation of a great defense in place. They have an elite pass rusher in Justin Houston. They have a great defensive tackle up front in Dontari Poe. They have one of the top young cover corners in the NFL in defensive rookie of the year Marcus Peters. Those guys aren’t enough to win a Super Bowl on their own, but its a core that if you bring back most of those other key free agents and maybe add another player or two, I think they can be an elite defense next season.

The Broncos showed that’s enough to bring home the Lombardi trophy, even in today’s pass happy NFL. That’s a comforting thought for Chiefs fans, even if we had to suffer through watching a hated rival win it all to get to that realization.

So what do you think Addicts? Am I grasping at straws to keep myself from total devastation? Do you think this is encouraging for the current make up of the Kansas City Chiefs? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!