Why the Kansas City Chiefs need to shift their focus to the future
The Kansas City Chiefs were dominated from the opening kickoff to the final whistle on Sunday as the Tennessee Titans manhandled them 27-3. We could spend this entire column talking about the negative takeaways from this specific game, but for me, this game brought a bigger picture issue into focus. The Chiefs entered the 2021 season with their sole focus being on winning another Super Bowl this season. With the Chiefs now being 0-4 against the four best teams in the AFC, it’s time to shift that focus.
Before I get to the big questions that the Chiefs need to answer as the season plays out, let me make something very clear. I am not a doom-and-gloom fan overreacting to one loss. I still believe there is a ton of talent on this team. I believe that with their remaining schedule, they still have a chance to win more games than they lose this year.
Some of you may find that hard to believe after what we just saw but look at K.C.’s remaining schedule. If they can beat the New York Giants next week, beat the Steelers in Arrowhead, sweep the Denver Broncos, and just split their games with the Las Vegas Raiders, that’s five more wins right there. That would take them to 8 wins and they would probably just have to find a way to go 2-2 against the Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Chargers, and Cincinnati Bengals to make the playoffs.
That’s not impossible. The question is if that is what is in the best interest of this team for the long term? If the Chiefs squeak into the playoffs by primarily beating bad teams and then lose right away to a better team, will they be motivated to make the kind of big changes that I think most of us fans believe they need? I think the priority should not be finding out a way to sneak into the playoffs for some tiny chance of getting hot at the right time, but to focusing on how you fix this team for the long term. I get it, some of you are thinking if you have Patrick Mahomes you have a chance, so just get to the playoffs and who knows what can happen. The problem is that we have seen that this team has both major talent and real major flaws. For the past two seasons, the talent was enough to overshadow the flaws, but the scales seem to have tipped in the other direction.
Some might argue that the Chiefs should try and go out at the trade deadline and make a move or two to try and right the ship. I would argue that’s a bad idea. This team shouldn’t be mortgaging any future picks for band-aids. There isn’t a band-aid big enough to fix these issues. The issues have to be worked out in-house and that is what the Chiefs need to shift their focus onto. This is no longer a question of what do we need to do to win the Super Bowl this season. It is now what do we need to do to fix our problems long term.
I understand Patrick Mahomes is off right now (we’ll talk about that more in a minute), but having him locked up long-term gives you a long-term Super Bowl window. Mortgaging the future for a band-aid for a season in which there are too many in-house issues to cover up would be a mistake for the long-term Super Bowl chances of this team. Why mortgage pieces that could help fix the long-term issues only to squeak into the playoffs and lose? Then they’re just in worse shape going forward. It’s a bad investment. Instead, turn the spotlight on yourself and ask the hard questions. Who is part of the problem and who is part of the solution?
If the Chiefs can start to answer those questions and make progress this season that leads them to the playoffs, great. But if they can’t, that’s a sign that they need to make more drastic changes this offseason so that the same thing doesn’t happen next season. I would say that if you want another shot at a Super Bowl before Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill start to decline, you can’t just write this year off as a fluke and try the same thing next season. You’ve got to get these questions answered and start fixing these issues before those two elite weapons start to fade.
So what are the biggest questions that the Chiefs need to prioritize over staying focused on a Super Bowl this season? Well, let’s start at the top.