Can Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs make a run at Super Bowl 53?
With all the data above at our fingertips let’s see what we can conclude from it. What is needed to become a champion? Does it require a team to be the best at every position or have the best offense, and, or defense in the league?
The best overall ranked offense and defenses are held by multiple teams throughout multiple years. At some point there has been a No. 1 offense and defense to win a Super Bowl. However, the 1972 Miami Dolphins and the 1996 Green Bay Packers are the only two teams to ever win the Lombardi Trophy while having the No. 1 overall offense and defense in the league.
The worst offense to ever win a Super Bowl was the 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers who had the No. 20 ranked overall offense. They did have the luxury of having the best overall defense in the league though.
The team with the worst overall defense would go to the 2011 New York Giants who had the 25th ranked defense and the 9th ranked offense. This alone shows you don’t have to be the best in every statistical category to bring home the ever elusive Lombardi Trophy. Any given Sunday, a team can win.
Below are the averages for offensive rank, passing, and rushing as well as defensive rank, passing, and rushing.
- Offensive Rank Average: 5.8
- Offensive Passing Average: 10.4
- Offensive Rushing Average: 8.9
- Defensive Rank Average: 5.3
- Defensive Passing Average: 10.7
- Defensive Rushing Average: 7.3
If you go with the averages over the last 52 years a team would need close to a top 5 offense as well as a top 10 or so defense.
Let’s take it 1 step further. The NFL is always changing. It is a different league now than it was 52 years ago. Let’s see what kind of averages there are from the year 2000 until now.
- Offensive Rank Average: 10.2
- Offensive Passing Average: 13.2
- Offensive Rushing Average: 13.9
- Defensive Rank Average: 7.4
- Defensive Passing Average: 12.2
- Defensive Rushing Average: 10.2
As you see here the change in pretty significant in most areas. The question still remains can the Chiefs make a run at Super Bowl 53 with the way the defense has looked in the first two weeks of the season.
The Chiefs defense should still finish better than the Giants defense finished in 2011. If the Chiefs offense stays on pace, it could be a historical season.
The answer to the question is yes. The Chiefs have just as a much shot as any other Super Bowl champion has had in the last 52 years. If the Chiefs offense continues at even 75 percent of the current rate it is at through two weeks and the defense continues to make a few key plays, the Chiefs absolutely will be in the discussion for Super Bowl 53 come January.
Next. An apology to Andy Reid and the Chiefs. dark
There’s still a lot of football to be played, but the Chiefs are right in the thick of it and don’t seem to be letting their foot off the pedal.