Can the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl?

2 of 5

Dec 8, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith (11) looks to pass during the second half against the Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs won 21-13. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /

Let’s get this out of the way to start with….

It is easier to win a Super Bowl with an all time great quarterback. No one will argue that fact. Having an all time great quarterback makes winning easier and can make up for other roster deficiencies. Alex Smith is not an all time great quarterback. So the Chiefs don’t have that luxury. However, that doesn’t disqualify them from Super Bowl contention. Teams have made and won Super Bowls with worse quarterbacks than Alex Smith.

One needs to look no further than last year’s Super Bowl champions to prove that point. Yes, Peyton Manning is one of the all time great quarterbacks, but he was that in name only last season. Manning’s play on the field was not good at all. Here are Peyton Manning’s numbers last season compared to Alex Smith’s numbers so far this season.

2015 Peyton Manning: 59.8% completions, 224.9 yards/game, 6.8 yards/attempt, 9 TDs, 17 INTs, 24 passes of 20+ yards

2016 Alex Smith: 67.3% completions, 235.9 yards/game, 7.1 yards/attempt, 12 TDs, 5 INTs, 32 passes of 20+ yards

There is simply no argument here, Alex Smith in 2016 is a far superior quarterback than Peyton Manning was in the Broncos’ Super Bowl winning season last year. So clearly you can win a Super Bowl with Alex Smith as your quarterback. The actual question is how good of team do you need around him in order to win the Super Bowl? We’ll get to the defense in a minute, first let’s look at the offense around him.

I would argue that the Chiefs have as good of playmakers (when healthy) as Denver did last year. In 2015 Denver’s three top pass catchers were Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, and Owen Daniels. Their running backs were C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman. I would put the trio of Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, and Jeremy Maclin right there with Denver’s.

The Broncos get an edge at wide receiver but the Chiefs have a huge advantage at tight end with Kelce. Then at running back the duo of Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West may be slightly below Denver’s duo last season, but if Jamaal Charles were to be back by the playoffs then that deficit would be surpassed. So I would argue that the Chiefs do have the playmakers needed to win the Super Bowl. Travis Kelce is emerging as THE best tight end in the NFL now that Gronk is out and Tyreek Hill has proven to be a huge big play weapon.

When looking at the overall production on offense here is how the Chiefs stack up with last year’s Denver team.

2015 Denver Broncos: 22.2 points/game, 355.5 yards/game, 5.4 yards/play, 35% third down conversion rate

2016 Kansas City Chiefs: 23.2 points/game, 332.5 yards/game, 5.4 yards/play, 35% third down conversion rate

Those are pretty similar numbers. The Broncos have an advantage in yards per game but otherwise they look very similar on paper. My opinion is that this KC offense can win a Super Bowl if they get a great performance out of their defense.

Let’s move on to the second question about these Chiefs.

Home/Kansas City Chiefs News