Kansas City Chiefs: How much have they improved?

Nov 1, 2015; London, United Kingdom; Kansas City Chiefs running back Charcandrick West (35) is defended by Detroit Lions cornerback safety Glover Quin (27) and cornerback Nevin Lawson (24) during game 14 of the NFL International Series at Wembley Stadium. The Chiefs defeated the Lions 45-10. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Does this mean that I’m ready to throw all my concerns out the window and hop back on the 2015 Chiefs bandwagon? No, I still have some concerns with this team and if I had to put money on them making the playoffs I would still put all my money on them missing out again this year.

Yet, as you look around the AFC you see a whole lot of teams with issues that they need to overcome in order to make the playoffs so Kansas City is not alone. So as we ask ourselves just how much the Chiefs have improved it might be valuable to look at specifically where this team has improved during this short winning streak.

I looked at almost every imaginable stat in the Chiefs first eight games. The problem is that with many stats you can get into a “chicken or the egg” type of argument. For example, in Kansas City’s three wins they averaged 31 rushes per game while in their five loses that number was just 22.4. So did the Chiefs win because they committed to the run more or did they run more because they were winning and ran the ball to eat the clock? I believe in establishing a run game, but I don’t think we can use those numbers to simply say if the Chiefs run the ball more they’ll win more.

Next: It all starts up front...