4 nightmare scenarios for the Chiefs offense in 2023
Let me be the first to say that this absolutely kills me to even write this blog. I am potentially the most superstitious sports fan on the face of the planet. I've documented this previously both on this site and other publications, but the combination of undiagnosed OCD coupled with my great-grandmother-instilled classic Southern wives-tale mindset puts me in a mental pretzel any time I think something is going to jinx me or someone that I love. The Kansas City Chiefs are squarely in the "someone I love category", so I will apologize now—months in advance—if I manifest any of the following terrible things into existence with this blog.
With that disclaimer out of the way, let's get to it. We all know the feeling of heading into a Kansas City Chiefs season with little to no hope. A stretch like 2007 to 2009 or the 2012 season comes to mind right off the top of my head, and I'm sure there are fans several years my senior that remember some pretty lean years from the '70s and '80s. The good news? Those days are a distant memory in the Patrick Mahomes era.
The Chiefs are riding a seven-season AFC West championship streak, have appeared in 3 of the last 5 Super Bowls, and took home the belt last year in Super Bowl LVII. There is no hyperbole in saying that this has been, without question, the most golden of eras in Kansas City Chiefs' history.
What could go wrong? The Chiefs have the league's best at its most important position, a first-ballot Hall of Fame head coach and tight end, an offensive line considered to be among the league's best heading into 2023, and a young, revamped defense that has added personnel that seems to fit more and more with the "pin your ears back" style of play that defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo prefers to deploy. In fact, if there was a year to count on a "down season" from K.C., it would've been last year after Tyreek Hill was traded to the Dolphins and players like Tyrann Mathieu and Charvarius Ward departed in free agency. Lucky for you and I, the rumors of the Chiefs' demise were greatly exaggerated.
So what could possibly keep the Chiefs from doing the exact same thing—Patrick Mahomes yet again torching the league and the Chiefs leading from the front from start to finish—from happening again in 2023? Well, there are a number of things in all three phases of football that could contribute, but my primary focus here is to examine what could happen on the offensive side of the ball. Some of these things will be troubling to read. Some of these things will seem downright unlikely. But they could happen, and if they do, we will all likely be looking to 2024 as a year we all seek redemption.