KC Chiefs fans can’t forget that 2022 was a retooling year
By Grant Tuttle
It seems as though the sky is falling in Kansas City. Patrick Mahomes has finally lost to someone other than Tom Brady three times. While the loss cannot be placed squarely on one player or position group, the Chiefs, in one way or another, seem like they cannot get out of their own way when it comes to the Bengals.
The first matchup last season took a Herculean effort from Ja’Marr Chase to beat the Chiefs. The second matchup last year was the “Mahomes meltdown” game in the AFC Championship game. Now we are left with the loss this year after a Travis Kelce fumble and a defense that seemed less-than-interested in tackling.
No matter how you look at it, the loss on Sunday was embarrassing. The Chiefs’ defense talked a big game throughout the week and then didn’t show up. The Chiefs turned the ball over and missed a field goal. They couldn’t even put a hit on Joe Burrow despite the horrid offensive line play from the Bengals. There is a lot to be upset with, but many of us are getting ahead of ourselves because this year was supposed to be a year of developing a new culture and retooling the roster.
It’s important for Kansas City Chiefs fans to remember that this year was about retooling while contending and they’re doing just that.
If we take a close look at the Chiefs roster, we will notice a few things right away. First and foremost, they are very young. Some of the best players on the roster outside of Kelce and Mahomes are young guys that haven’t quite made their mark yet. Secondly, there are some parts of the roster that are elite. Chris Jones is a blue chip player, L’Jarius Sneed is closing the gap between red and blue chip, and of course, the Mahomes and Kelce connection is historic. Finally, the Chiefs have a lot of areas that they need to improve and they might just have the cap space to do that next offseason.
Now, let’s not get this out of sorts. The Chiefs are certainly still contenders. In fact, they should be considered one of the top three or four teams in the NFL in terms of Super Bowl chances this season. The Chiefs just have room for growth and could be even more formidable after this season.
Let’s take a step back. Remember the media narrative this offseason? “The Bills are pushing the chips to the center of the table to land Von Miller to help take down the Chiefs.” The Bengals have completely revamped their offensive line.” “The Chargers have the best team in the AFC West.” And so on and so forth. What was the narrative surrounding the Chiefs? “How will they do without Tyreek Hill?” “Who’s going to rush the passer?” This was supposed to be a year where the Chiefs got a little worse, but that just simply didn’t happen. They are just as good as last year, if not a little better.
The moves that the Chiefs made this offseason outside of the draft were minor. A good bargain safety replacement for Tyrann Mathieu, a one-year “prove it” deal for a solid receiver to replace Tyreek Hill, and an older veteran added late to help with the pass rush. Next season, they could be even better. The Chiefs will have cap room and capital to push their chips to the center of the table. Let’s take a look at the ways that the Chiefs could be even better after this season (which is still a Super Bowl contender type of season).