The Chiefs are playing their best football of the season. It couldn’t have come at a better time. These five players will make or break the next Super Bowl run.
The Kansas City Chiefs just might be clicking at the right time. After weeks of having an unbalanced attack, with either an offense that sputtered out or a defense that couldn’t make a stop. After a blazing 41-14 victory in Las Vegas, the tables may have just turned.
The Chargers have been stumbling over their own feet in recent weeks and the Chiefs now have the tiebreaker over the Raiders. At the moment, it appears that the Chiefs are in the driver’s seat for the AFC West. Now, they face some of their toughest challenges yet. Here is the schedule for the remainder of the 2021-2022 season:
- Week 11: Dallas Cowboys @ Kansas City Chiefs
- Week 12: BYE
- Week 13: Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs
- Week 14: Las Vegas Raiders @ Kansas City Chiefs
- Week 15: Kansas City Chiefs @ Los Angeles Chargers
- Week 16: Pittsburgh Steelers @ Kansas City Chiefs
- Week 17: Kansas City Chiefs @ Cincinnati Bengals
- Week 18: Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos
This means that of the eight total matchups against the AFC West, four of them remain in their last seven games. It is officially crunch time for Kansas City. With matchups against the Cowboys, Bengals, and Steelers also on the way, the Chiefs will need to continue playing their best ball.
Here are the five most (under-the-radar) key players to keep them on track.
1. Josh Gordon
This sounds like a bit of a running joke as Gordon has failed to make a significant impact on the field at this point during his tenure with the Chiefs. When prompted, coaches say that he is “close” to being an effective part of the offense. It is unclear whether or not he will ever put it together this season, but if he does, it could pay dividends for the Kansas City offense.
After the Chiefs put up 41 points on the back of Patrick Mahomes who tossed 5 touchdowns, Josh Gordon had a quiet evening. That being said, if Kansas City’s offense were to be at its highest production, Gordon would likely be a key reason why. If Gordon can find some chemistry with Mahomes and clearly understand his assignments, the Chiefs’ offense could be impossible to slow down.
Gordon is a unique player to the wide receiver room. While there are a number of smaller speedsters on the roster, Gordon provides a massive target. Standing 6’3 and weighing 238, Gordon is almost a hybrid between a tight end and receiver. The Chiefs could utilize his talents in the red zone and never stall out at the end of a long drive. Between Gordon and Kelce, the red zone offense down the stretch has a chance of being electric.