Chiefs Greece
By Qwame Skinner on

The Kansas City Chiefs have been one of the most dominant teams in NFL history over the past decade. Led by the legendary trio of head coach Andy Reid, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and tight end Travis Kelce. The Chiefs entered this season having won the AFC West for nine consecutive seasons.

The run of dominance seemed to come to an end with Kansas City’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, which dropped the Chiefs to 6-8 and officially eliminated them from playoff contention, and saw Mahomes tear his ACL in the final minutes of the game. However, the cracks were in the foundation long before Sunday.

In retrospect, we should’ve known that something was awry in February, when Kansas City lost in blowout fashion to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, but it was hard to write off dominance. For their part, the Chiefs were well aware that things had to change this year from previous ones. Mahomes admitted as much before the season.

“I think for me I have to be better at throwing the ball down the field,” Mahomes said in July. In recent seasons, thanks in large part to the success Mahomes had terrorizing defenses down the field, defenses have shifted to more Cover-2 shell coverage, which has prevented Kansas City from threatening deep the same way it did in the first half of Mahomes’ career.

“I mean, obviously, we weren’t good enough there. We’ve had success in prior years, but these last few years we haven’t done that. In order for our offense to be great, you have to be able to complete those passes. It opens up everything else. So, if teams are going to challenge us at the line of scrimmage, if teams are going to challenge us to throw the ball deep, we have to show that we can do that. If we can do that, first it starts with me and giving guys [chances]. And if we can do that, I think it is really going to open up the offense and make us a better team in general.”

Unfortunately, that success never really materialized this season. Kelce had a bounce-back season of sorts in production after what was a down year, but outside of him, the Chiefs’ pass catchers struggled to consistently produce, and Mahomes’ rhythm wasn’t improved any by wide receiver Rashee Rice’s suspension to begin the season.

The Chiefs are also victims of thier own success, enduring more stress than any other franchise over the course of their dynasty, on account of all the deep postseason runs and the physical toll that playing late into the winter season takes on the body.

Last season saw the Chiefs win an inordinate number of one-score games, and that number had to regress back to the mean eventually. It just so happened that this was that season.

Things are looking bleak now for Kansas City, but they shouldn’t. This may be the end of the line for a magnificent career for Kelce, who returned this season for the last year of his deal with the franchise. Mahomes will return, eventually, and if history is anything to go by, his return will be just as successful as the first half of his career, if not more so.

Brady was a legend even without his security blanket, Rob Gronkowski, and Mahomes will be as well.

Andy Reid, regardless of what some fans erroneously call for, isn’t losing his job. He’s as elite a head coach as exists in the league today, and his playcalling helped push an underperforming offense to the Super Bowl just a season ago.

Next year will look very different for the Chiefs, with it being unclear exactly when Mahomes will return from surgery and rehab on his ACL. However, that could be just what this franchise needs.

A down season could serve as a soft reset, allowing the Chiefs to restock on weapons via the draft. Imagine Mahomes throwing to future first-rounder Jeremiah Smith, who is getting ready for a title run with the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Next year probably won’t look the way fans have become accustomed to, but the fact of the matter is, the Kansas City Chiefs are not going anywhere.

About Qwame Skinner

Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.

View all posts by Qwame Skinner