"This morning, I feel Kansas City's a better team, and I don't care what the score was."
If Fox Sports host Colin Cowherd is hoping to ingratiate himself with Chiefs Kingdom, he's doing a good job of it following the team's most recent loss—a sloppy performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars in primetime on Monday Night Football that kept them in third place in the AFC West with a 2-3 record.
The Chiefs shot themselves in the foot again and again on Monday, with plenty of unnecessary penalties and weird play calls. While the offense was able to move the chains enough to score 28, the defense was neutered and special teams looked the opposite of "special."
Still, in the face of a loss to a 4-1 Jacksonville team, Cowherd would only lift up the Chiefs when discussing the matchup on The Colin Cowherd Show. In fact, Cowherd went on to defend several aspects of the Chiefs' errors.
Colin Cowherd is a true believer in the Chiefs even after a 2-3 start.
"Kansas City averaged 7.6 yards of play. Before last night, a team that averaged 7.5 yards of play had won 33 straight games.I don't care what the final outcome was. Yards, yards per play, first down, rushing, red zone. Kansas City's a better team," he said.
Even star quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw a pick-six at the goal line to linebacker Devin Lloyd, who took it from one end zone to another for a 14-point swing. Yet Cowherd stated that even Tom Brady did the same thing and said, "It happens."
"Mahomes hit eight different receivers. Mahomes, athletically, in the best shape he's been in, he looked great," said Cowherd.
With regard to the ungodly amount of penalties committed by the Chiefs, Cowherd was even understanding there. Growing pains was his summation.
"I look at Kansas City, and they made a lot of young guy mistakes. This is what happens when you pay Chris Jones a ton, [Patrick] Mahomes a ton, and you pay Travis Kelce a ton. You get top-heavy, and you have to have inexpensive labor, and they had 13 penalties. I think they had five special teams penalties. They're a very young team. Andy Reid is going to coach those mistakes out of them."
Fans can only hope Cowherd is right and not being polyanna about the whole thing. The Chiefs are 2-3 with losses that exposed the offense and defense. Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos and L.A. Chargers are tied for the division lead while K.C. sits at in the 10th seed spot in the AFC—yes tenth.
Cowherd isn't concerned. "I'm telling you, Kansas City's coming, and they're coming fast."