Kansas City Chiefs' dominance makes early season worries look silly
What a time to be a Kansas City Chiefs fan. Fresh off a Super Bowl victory, the Chiefs are 6-1 this season through Week 7, sitting pretty in sole possession of the top seed in the AFC and three games clear in first place in the AFC West.
The Chiefs are the envy of every other team in the league.
The vibe amongst Chiefs Kingdom is overwhelmingly positive—as it should be—a far cry from the sentiments felt by many less than two months ago.
Seven weeks ago the Chiefs lost to the Detroit Lions on opening night and it felt as if the sky was falling. Dropped passes, miscues, and offseason rust plagued Kansas City in a deflating 21-20 defeat.
Oh, how we panicked.
It felt as if every wide receiver was simply incapable of catching a ball that day, and with All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce sidelined with an injury—one that raised the question of whether age was catching up with him—KC’s receiving prospects moving forward looked grim.
The offensive line looked far from settled, with Jawan Taylor’s perceived no-call penalties highlighted again and again, and penalty-prone Donovan Smith was flagged for offensive holding.
We saw a painful pick-six. We saw too much Clyde Edwards-Helaire. We saw that infuriating play concept with Blake Bell featured under center—only to fail—in a costly moment again. We saw the Chiefs continue to struggle in short-yardage situations.
The defense actually looked strong, but even then, we saw its best player in Chris Jones watch on from a corporate suite as the defense came up one stop short in the fourth quarter.
Kansas City looked far from its normal juggernaut self, and if you listened very, very closely, you could almost hear the faint sound of alarm bells ringing. Now, nearly halfway through the regular season, the situation is the polar opposite of how things felt on that Thursday night in September. Looking back, it all seems rather silly now.
To put it simply, the Chiefs are once again the gold standard of the NFL.
Patrick Mahomes has quietly moved into pole position in the race for league MVP, posting a stat line that only seems underwhelming when compared to the own otherworldly expectations he has set himself.
Kelce is coming off his best game of the year, one that proved there are no signs of him slowing down as he chases yet another 1,000-yard season.
Those drops that we saw have more or less dried up too. The Chiefs still lead the league in dropped passes, but a third of those came in the season opener. On the flip side, KC’s receivers rank first in the league in yards after catch, third in total receiving yards, and fourth in touchdowns.
There is supreme confidence in a defense that has been playing lights-out week after week, highlighted by high-level play across the board from the likes of Trent McDuffie, Mike Danna, Nick Bolton, and more, and bolstered Jones’ return to the lineup and the addition of Charles Omenihu.
We have seen Isiah Pacheco carry most of the load at running back and excel at it, and Harrison Butler hasn’t missed a single field goal or extra point.
Add of course, we have welcomed the biggest pop star in the world right now Taylor Swift to Chiefs Kingdom – a music-sport crossover we never would have expected, but one that has elevated Kansas City's popularity to a whole other level.
Sure, things aren’t perfect. But with the Chiefs ranked in the top five in offense, defense, and special teams, it’s almost impossible for them to get much better. With the pieces and people Kansas City currently possesses, the Chiefs will always – always – be competitive and in a position to succeed. As fans sometimes we forget that. Later on, when we go back and look at our reaction in a microcosm, it becomes quite humorous to see just how silly we all were.
What a time to be a Chiefs fan.