Turns Out, The Chiefs Are Good
Good enough to three-peat, though? We shall soon see
Pictured above is the best quarterback in football. I don’t know how many people seriously wavered on that this year. There were moments when either Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen might have topped some lists, and that’s alright. It was easy to watch the two-time champs in Kansas City, seemingly sleepwalking through the regular season, and wonder: are they really all there?
Well, they’re back again. For the fifth time in the last six years, they’re in the Super Bowl. So I guess we just shouldn’t be surprised by that anymore. And yet, I’d still be a little surprised if they really pulled this off. Wouldn’t you? With how shaky this team looked at points of their somehow 15-2 season? With that receiving corps? With Mahomes having another frankly underwhelming season?
Except for the part where he led five 4th quarter comebacks and seven game-winning drives. Seven! His Chiefs have won 17 consecutive one-score games. 17. For an entire season of football, they win close games. I’m someone who believes that winning is itself a skill, and I’m also someone who believes the Chiefs exhibit this skill better than most teams I’ve seen.
This may be the preeminent flip the switch team of our time. The AFC Championship, against the tragically bridesmaid Bills, was the first game all season in which the Chiefs scored more than 30 points. It hasn’t mattered.
They have an envious combination of what it takes to win these games more frequently than they probably should. They have an all-time head coach in Andy Reid, who always seems to have an answer when they need one. They have an all-time defensive coordinator drawing up the sort of blitzes that will give Josh Allen nightmares for the next ~11 months. And they have the best quarterback in the sport, making a spirited (and, admittedly, still very early) run at the best of all time.
At times, they are touched by football angels. The season-opening win against the Ravens and the Black Friday win against the Raiders come to mind. But you can’t fault the fact that they’re pretty much always in a position to win.
I don’t know if Mahomes is Jordan — again, it’s still early, so let’s take it easy there — but he’s verging on the inevitability that LeBron was for the East for all those years. Every damn year he has been the starter in Kansas City, he has made the AFC Championship. If he does it again next year, he will tie the Brady/Belichick Patriots’ record of eight in a row. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t think we’d see a run like that again so soon.
I know you’ve heard it all by now, but on the Bills real quick. What’s crushing about the Bills losing, again, is that the game they played against KC beats anyone else in the league. In every round of the playoffs since 2020, teams that score four or more touchdowns without a turnover have gone 21-2. Both times are the Bills losing to the Chiefs at Arrowhead.
I have my quibbles. From my admittedly uninformed vantage point, I found much of the Bills’ playcalling felt predictable. It was tough to watch the keepers for Allen getting stonewalled all day. And when the surprises came, I didn’t like ‘em. How about that third-down goal-line call for a fade to Keon Coleman, the rookie, guarded by Trent McDuffie, the All-Pro? Then James Cook bailed them out with a magical TD, and throughout the second half, I thought he should’ve gotten more of the carries that went to Johnson and yes, Josh Allen, instead. By the end, the poor man’s tush push was more of a hindrance than an asset. So. Those are among my quibbles.
But I should clarify. The Bills didn’t do enough to win. They were outschemed all day, so I don’t want to hear the refs thing. There were some calls in there that I wasn’t thrilled with. I have no idea how that ball to Xavier Worthy was ruled a catch, though I’m not sure the Chiefs don’t score there anyways. I also cannot believe that we still rely on the naked eyes of line judges for something as crucially important, and measurable, as where to spot a football. Soccer has this figured out. Use a friggin’ laser, guys! Do something. I refuse to believe this can’t be solved.
For all that, though. That still wasn’t it. The Chiefs got whatever they wanted, start to finish. After Christian Benford went down (with a pretty frightening concussion, so I hope he’s alright), it became clear that Buffalo couldn’t guard what’s been an underwhelming receiving corps for the Chiefs all year. Didn’t matter. They were picking on Kaiir Elam like he was Trae Young in the pick and roll. They didn’t even need Kelce, who caught two passes for 19 yards. Of course it was always going to be Worthy, who was all over the place after the Bills memorably traded down to give the Chiefs that pick.
This Sunday, the Eagles present a tougher test. It’s an excellent roster. I love the young corners, who — you’d think — should have a much better time than Buffalo manning up. In Jalen Carter alone, I see a potential game-wrecking issue looming. I feel similarly about Saquon Barkley, who seems to get loose twice every game these days.
You’ve really gotta hand it to Howie Roseman. They draft well, they trade well, they sign well. I’m not much of a Sirianni guy myself, but it doesn’t matter what I think. They’ve been playing great for him since it seemed like this team was on the brink of collapsing in the first quarter of the season. They have every ingredient to win this rematch, including a quarterback who is capable — capable, if not guaranteed — of taking a game over himself.
And yet. With apologies to my new friend Hemo, who I just paid a visit to near U. Penn this week — highly, highly recommend a cheesesteak stop there should you ever find yourself in the neighborhood — I can’t do it. I think the Eagles are better. I really do. But then I thought a lot of teams were better than the Chiefs. And guess who’s here?
For whatever reason, Super Bowls have gotten tighter over the years. In the last 19 editions of the big one, nine have been decided by one score. I’ll take the Chiefs, one last time. But there better not be a proposal. I can only take so much.
🏀 I got to join another one of
’s 5x5 roundups this week, this time on the trade deadline. Check that out here, and I’ll quickly roll through a couple more moves since we last talked. There were a few.After getting Luka Doncic, the Lakers had enough left in the cupboard to go and get a legit center in Mark Williams, and they still haven’t had to deal Austin Reaves.
The Spurs are gonna give this an early go with DeAaron Fox. He strikes me as a third option rather than a second one, and maybe the Spurs agree, but I think I like the move in terms of recognizing how good Wemby already is.
The Cavaliers added DeAndre Hunter, which could end up sneakily being the biggest move for this year’s title picture?
The Bucks gave up on Khris Middleton, which is a sad one. To do it for Kyle Kuzma makes it considerably sadder.
The Nuggets did nothing, because of course they did.
And, praise be, the Heat got Jimmy Butler out of town. I foresee absolutely zero issues between him and Draymond Green.
🧑⚖️ Shohei Ohtani’s former translator, Ippei Mizuhara, was ordered to pay back the $17 million he stole from him and sentenced to 57 months in prison. This remains an insane story, but — semi-serious question — how do you land on 57 months? You didn’t want to just round up to five years, guys? Legal professionals, please advise.
⛳ Is there a PGA-LIV deal in the offing? Finally? As he is wont to do, President Trump talked a big game about solving this dispute, and now, apparently, the PGA has gone straight to the Oval to see about sorting this out. It comes at a time when Trump is also taking some… let’s say curious steps towards another deal he’d like the Saudis to strike, so I’m not holding my breath.