The bye week is typically a week in the season that ushers in a much-needed tea break for not only NFL teams but their fans as well. After all, a 17-game season is a complete mental and physical grind for the players, and without question can be taxing on the mental and emotional health of respective fanbases as well. So once a team gets through 7, 8, or 9 games to kick off their schedule, a little time off is just what the doctor ordered for NFL players and fans alike. A time to rest achy bones, recalibrate for the stretch run, and get those chores around the house done that you've been putting off since August.
So what happens when the bye comes after just 5 weeks? Well, the Chiefs and we, their fans, are finding that out in 2024. After just 5 weeks of action and a 5-0 start after defeating the New Orleans Saints in one of the closest blowouts of all time last Monday night, the Chiefs slid into their bye week the earliest in a season since 2016 when they were off in Week 5. Have we learned anything about the 2024 version of the Chiefs just yet? More importantly, have the Chiefs learned anything about themselves? While the defensive side of the ball appears to be near dominant yet again, the offense is on its third or fourth version of itself already with injuries to key players like Marquise Brown, Isiah Pacheco, and Rashee Rice.
Typically the question for fanbases going into the bye, which over the last few years has been nicely situated towards the middle of the schedule for Kansas City is, "How do the Chiefs come out for the stretch run of the season?" Well, this year classifying the last 12 games of the season as the stretch run would be, well, a stretch. The Chiefs have the meat of their schedule ahead of them with plenty of tough opponents left to conquer. Coming out of the bye, in fact, the Chiefs will travel to San Francisco for a Super Bowl 58 rematch with the 49ers.
It doesn't get a whole lot easier after that as the Chiefs' next four opponents include two division rivals (the Raiders in Week 8 and Broncos in Week 10) with the Tampa Bay Bucs in between in Week 9 and a trip to Buffalo surely on the mental horizon in Week 11. The schedule eases up a touch from there, but ends strong with games against AFC division leaders in Pittsburgh and Houston in 2 of the season's final 3 weeks.
Let's come back to one question: what do we know about the Chiefs so far in 2024? Well, the answer is, unfortunately, not much. But we have to remember that while there is fear in the unknown, there is also an inherent lack of control. Worrying about who the Chiefs are or aren't so far this season is irrelevant. Instead of getting in our heads and overanalyzing every limited and injury-stricken bit of football we've seen so far, let's take some time to reflect on what we need to remember about the team during this week off.
1. The Chiefs defense is elite, again
If I'd have told you in 2018 that in 2024 the Chiefs would have 3 Super Bowl titles, Patrick Mahomes would redefine greatness at the quarterback position, Travis Kelce would cement himself as (arguably) the greatest receiving tight end of all time, and the Chiefs would have the best interior offensive line in football, would you have believed me? That answer could be yes.
If I told you immediately after that the team would be a defensive juggernaut in the NFL and that's where they have found a good bit of their success in the last two Super Bowls? I don't see as many heads nodding after that one.
The Chiefs defense with the mad scientist mind of Steve Spagnuolo coupled with the continued dominance of the league's best defensive lineman in Chris Jones and speed at nearly every position on the field have been staggering thus far in 2024, and still haven't received as much love as they probably should. The Chiefs defense has yet to allow an opposing RB1 to reach 4 yards per carry in any game this year, and they've faced some big names:
- Derrick Henry - 13 rushes, 46 yards
- Zack Moss - 12 rushes, 34 yards
- Bijan Robinson - 16 rushes, 31 yards
- JK Dobbins - 14 rushes, 32 yards
- Alvin Kamara - 11 rushes, 26 yards
That's 169 yards in 5 games for opposing premier backs thus far for KC's defense. To put that in perspective, Kareem Hunt has rushed 171 yards after being signed off the street in just two games for Kansas City. The Chiefs have done just as well against the top wideouts they've faced. Zay Flowers racked up 37 yards, Ja'Marr Chase 35, and Chris Olave 10 to name a few. Chris Jones, Nick Bolton and the rest of the front 7 on the Chiefs defense have been bruising, to say the least, and Trent McDuffie doesn't get noticed, which is just about the best thing you can say about a cornerback.
The Chiefs have also had a few bright spots from young players throughout the first 5 weeks on the defensive side of the ball. Safety Chamarri Conner looks like he's going to be a problem for opposing offensive coordinators and Jaylen Watson has stepped in nicely in place of departed Pro Bowler L'Jarius Sneed. If Spagnuolo's crew has injury luck on their side, this unit will be considered the league's best by the end of the season.
2. Patrick Mahomes is still Patrick Mahomes, stats be damned
This one is going to stroke a lot of Twitter "experts" the wrong way. Mahomes' statistics have been nowhere near his best to begin 2024. Far from it, actually. At times he has made all of us shake our heads and scream "What the hell?!" at our TVs. He's even taken out his best offensive weapon unintentionally.
So is this the year that we finally, finally see some regression from Mahomes? Eventually, even a rocket reaches its peak trajectory. While we may not see a 5,000-yard and 50 passing TD season from Mahomes, I think we have to remember that the most impressive thing that he's done for Kansas City is turn a traditionally loveable loser into the NFL's most dominant and seemingly most hated team in a matter of 6 years. The key to that? Winning.
The last time I checked, the Chiefs were 5-0 this season. They've won 11 straight overall. Mahomes and the Chiefs are not behind the 8-ball, they are the 8-ball. Everyone in the league is chasing the Chiefs, and in every game, Kansas City is going to get the best shot from their opponents. So far Mahomes and the Chiefs have stood in the ring, taken haymakers to the jaw, and have still won every fight. Even with Mahomes pedestrian-for-him stat lines thus far, he is still the betting favorite to win the NFL MVP at +275. If the sharps are saying it, maybe we should listen.
Mahomes has not been great to start the year, but how can you be fresh when you've played nearly an entire extra season (15 games) in the last 5 postseasons? We'll talk more about that later. But Monday night was a pretty clear reminder that you're more than likely not going to have the conversation with your kids this year about Mahomes Magic not being real. Save that for Christmas when you decide to quit lying to them about Santa. Mahomes is alive, well, and still dealing dubs in the Kingdom. What more can we ask for, honestly?
3. The offensive skill positions will inevitably improve
This is not to say that everything at the offensive skill positions will just magically fix themselves. There is work to do and the answers don't reside in one move or another. It's a combination of factors that will aid Kansas City in a return to offensive prominence. But the Kansas City Chiefs we've watched in Weeks 1 through 5 are not the Kansas City Chiefs we'll watch late in the season and into another playoff run.
For starters, the backfield will get an injection of fresh legs soon with the return of Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Isiah Pacheco will be back at some point this season. Travis Kelce has gotten better as the season has progressed and will only continue to get better when weather conditions get grittier and his beard continues to grow back. And let's not lose sight of the fact that the Chiefs are likely going to be active in the trade market with Rashee Rice officially out for the season.
Let the defense carry the Chiefs for as long as they need. Assuming the offense can lean on the ground game behind Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, and Joe Thuney and keep the clock battle in their favor, the defense should hold up. When Mahomes gets some reinforcements on the perimeter, this offense could skyrocket. Don't rule it out.
4. The Chiefs' offensive tackles will settle into their roles
If there has been one glaring issue with the Chiefs' roster this season, it has been the offensive tackle spots. Kingsley Suamataia has already been benched. Wanya Morris has done little more than intrude on Patrick Mahomes arm angles. Jawaan Taylor is still very much a penalty machine.
We said all of these things about Donovan Smith and Jawaan Taylor a year ago. Smith was washed and Taylor led the league in penalties. Taylor eventually settled in and was strong in the team's playoff run, especially in the run game. The benefit of this season? Morris and Suamataia are not washed, they're just inexperienced. Both players possess not only the ability but the frames to hold up throughout the course of a season.
When Eric Fisher appeared to be a bust in his first two seasons, his biggest issue was both fundamental and mental. It didn't seem he trusted his strength at the NFL level, and his pass-blocking sets showed that. Big Fish was able to morph into a Chiefs legend. While things have started poorly for the combo of left tackles the Chiefs have trotted out thus far, the more reps these young guys see, the better they are going to be.
5. The worst is yet to come
I couldn't be all sunshine and rainbows here. You all need a dose of reality. There has been a ton of noise about how "sloppy" the Chiefs have looked to start this season. They've kept every game thus far closer than it should have been and, frankly, they're a bit lucky to be 5-0. These things are all partially true, but let's look ourselves in the mirror. The Chiefs are one of only two 5-0 teams in the league, the only one in the AFC, and have the league's biggest target on their back. Arguably the biggest target of all time considering what a three-peat would mean historically.
Yes, they're 5-0. I hate to be the one that has to break this to you, but 17-0 isn't happening—not with this schedule, this team, and these high stakes. The Chiefs will play in 12 straight weeks to end the season, and they are playing a lot of those games on shorter rest than their opponents. They will also do it on the heels of another extended Super Bowl run—their first four-game run to a title yet.
Mahomes and the Chiefs have spent the last 5 seasons racking up 3 Super Bowl championships and compiling a 13-2 playoff record in the process. That's absolutely unbelievable, but also comes with a price. The Chiefs have gotten less rest than the rest of the NFL by a mile over the last 5 offseasons, and will play on 6 different days of the week this year, with four of the last 12 coming on less than 7 days rest. Eventually, a little fatigue is certain to set in.
Hiccups will happen. Calls will not go the Chiefs' way. One week soon, an opponents who is juiced out of their mind to slay the dragon will eventually result with a tick in the loss column. There may even be 2-3 of them that happen in consecutive weeks. But in 2019 the Super Bowl champion Chiefs had a 1-3 stretch in the middle of the season and Chiefs just a year ago the Chiefs went 3-5 over an 8 game stretch, capped off by a Christmas Day loss to the Raiders at home.
They haven't lost since. But they will again, and things will seem hopeless. You may even think or say things like "This team, they ain't it" or "Three-peat my ass". That's ok. But just remember those thoughts should be fleeting, as history tells us that even when they stumble, the Chiefs typically tend to rise to the occasion when it matters the most.