You want a dominant champion? So do I. However, even if our 2015 Kansas City Chiefs win the rest of their games this season, including the Super Bowl, it’s unlikely that they’ll ever be remembered as, “A Dominant Champion.” Why? The answer to that lies not so much in the number or margin of their victories this season but, by the manner in which they have won their games: late, by single digits and with the game on the line until the sounding of Archangel Gabriel’s final horn (because determining the outcomes seem to take forever).
So, what is a dominant champion? One definition is → a team that wins many of their games going away — by double digits — and puts the game away early and often.
Let’s check that out against the most recent Super Bowl Champion: the New England Patriots. Were they dominant champions?
The Pats finished the regular season at 12-and-4 and won 6 regular season games by more than 3 touchdowns and two other games by more than 2 touchdowns. You could easily say they dominated half of their regular season games. In the playoffs they won by 4 over the Ravens, won by 38 over Indy and then squeaked out another Lombardi Trophy vs. the reigning Super Bowl Champion Seahawks by 4 on a memorable last minutes goal line stand.
While only one-third of their playoff victories were dominant, half their regular season victories were. So, to answer the question — were the 2014 Pats a dominant champion? — you’d have to say… somewhat. The reason you can not say “Emphatically yes,” is that they didn’t win the Super Bowl convincingly (to say the least) and the average margin of their regular season losses was by nearly two touchdowns (13.3) including a 27 point dismemberment by Arrowhead’s ax men. Two of their losses were by double digits and two were close games. A very, very good season? Yes. A totally dominating season? Probably not.
I know that many get tired of hearing about New England.… so pardon my protracted Patriots preamble. However, it may serve to help understand that their aren’t many teams in the history of the game who can just… cruise to victory by large margins… week in and week out, as many Kansas City fans have expressed a desire for their Chiefs to do.
That sort of crusin’ is an illusion.
Instead the 2015 Chiefs performances, have created widespread hypertension placing the health of many a fan in grave danger (“You said he was being transferred because he was in grave danger. You said he was in danger, I said, ‘Grave danger?’ You said, ‘Is there any other kind?” ~ A Few Good Men) but this approach has also produced a 10-win (thus far) season. These Chiefs have placed more fans in ER than they have players on IR… and that’s saying something.
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