When it comes to the 24-7-365 nature of covering the National Football League, there's no such thing as "too early", which is why we're already seeing odds for the 2024 NFL season debut immediately after the bow was tied around the 2023 campaign. And the early odds posted aren't exactly surprising with the Kansas City Chiefs looking favorable in several ways.
For our purposes here, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes just won his third Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award to go with his two regular-season wins. And while he endured a bit of a down year statistically speaking in the regular season in '23, Las Vegas oddsmakers are keen on a rebound campaign in '24.
It will be interesting to see what toys Brett Veach delivers for Mahomes this spring.
The Chiefs offense sputtered considerably last year, but very little of that was on Mahomes' shoulders. While it's true he did try to force things on occasion, which led to more turnovers than normal, the truth is that his receivers dropped far too many passes and made way too many mistakes on routes. The lack of offensive chemistry with so many new or young receivers also hurt things early.
Even more, the Chiefs suffered injuries that affected the overall offensive unit in myriad ways and playcalling was suspect in several games. Then of course there were the numerous penalties racked up by tackles Jawaan Taylor and Donovan Smith.
Next year, the Chiefs will have Travis Kelce back for another run along with a seasoned Rashee Rice, which is already a step forward from how they began this season. What's going to be even more heartening is knowing that general manager Brett Veach is undoubtedly going to rewire the WR position to include some new playmakers who can round out the corps with more reliable options.
Basically, if a team was ever going to get the best of Mahomes, it was in 2023 and the Chiefs still walked away with a third title in five seasons. If Mahomes is given a new set of young weapons to go with those already in house, the resulting fireworks are going to be exciting—and they might just deliver a third MVP for Mahomes.