Nov 22, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid smiles during the fourth quarter against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
But you can make the same case against these Chiefs as was made against the team that tarted 9-0 back in 2013. Their wins have included a lot of teams which simply aren’t very good – only two of their opponents had a winning record. And those two opponents were the Broncos with a heavily impaired Peyton Manning, and the Steelers without Ben Roethlisberger. If you wanted to try and argue those excellent stats above are in part due to lack quality opponents, you would have a leg to stand on.
Per Arrowhead Addict’s Chris Clark, the wins are nice, but the current offense is not going to cut it come January. The reason he points out is predominantly coach Andy Reid’s willingness to return to very conservative play calling and let opposing teams hang around for too long.
It is a long known issue for Chiefs fans. Even when winning, Kansas City does not tend to look like an unstoppable juggernaut. And while that may be good enough for the regular season, how well can it withstand the higher quality of opponent once the playoffs begin?
Alex Smith ended the game against Baltimore going 21-of-25 for 171 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. Charcandrick West had 76 yards on 16 carries. Exactly half of those yards came on a single 38-yard run. Jeremy Maclin had 50 yards on seven catches, and Travis Kelce had 73 yards on six catches. Nothing to lead off SportsCenter, but once again very effective.
And that has been the story for this winning streak. In the eight victories the Chiefs are riding Smith has attempted 30 or more throws only twice. And though Kelce was able to lead the team with a great showing this past Sunday in Baltimore, he has not been at the forefront of the offense since the Chiefs turned things around. In fact, it does not seem like anyone really has.
Maclin’s best game of the season was the win against Buffalo. But he has very little impact in the victories at Denver and San Diego.
Next: More talk and what it means...