Chiefs Long Haul: Victory Over Ravens Not Critical – In life, it’s easy to get stuck on the thing directly in front of us. After week one, the only question was: could the Kansas City Chiefs go undefeated? A week later, fans are parsing through a whole different set of questions: was the LA Chargers game a trap game? Is there a blueprint to stop Patrick Mahomes? Can the Offensive Line be good enough, by the end of the season? How can the Chiefs beat the Baltimore Ravens, if the Chargers gave them that much trouble?
Those are all good questions for the immediate future, but the Chiefs aren’t focused on that. “Run It Back” refers to one thing: the Super Bowl. K.C. isn’t trying to run back their 2018 stat-line, or their 2019 record against the Ravens. Frankly, these early season games — which fans live and die for — are just not that critical. Here are a few reasons why.
Defensive Improvement
In 2019, the defense started out poorly and, gradually, developed into a top 10 unit. In the first eight games last year the Chiefs allowed their opponent to score at least 26 points, five times. In the next eight games, that happened only once. In three postseason games, it happened just once, against the Houston Texans, and 68% of those points came in a fluky first quarter.
The Chiefs finally have a great defensive coordinator. They do. Barring massive injury problems, this group is only going to get better and they’ve already started the year better than last year… though a poor showing, by the offense, plus injuries… masked it on Sunday. With injuries piling up and no preseason games, would a poor showing against the Ravens be cause for concern? Absolutely not. This defense has barely scratched the surface on what they can be, and will be.
Health and Chemistry
Every job has collaborative elements. There are things that simply can’t be accomplished, or can’t be efficiently accomplished, by one person. Tyrann Mathieu gave a nod to this in something he chirped at the Chargers, on Sunday: “Ya’ll lucky there’s not 11 of me out here!” The Chiefs will be at their best with Willie Gay, Charvarius Ward, Khalen Saunders, Mike Pennel and Bashaud Breeland on defense.
On offense, K.C. will improve as Patrick Mahomes gains chemistry with Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Mecole Hardman, and his new Offensive Line. These players are going to get healthy, and eventually, they are going to get in sync. The Chiefs defeated the Chargers and Texans without playing their best football. If that continues, late into the season, the Super Bowl will be out of reach, but I don’t expect it to. Getting a boost from some key contributors should take the Chiefs to another level, but it’s going to take time.
New Playoff Format
Playoff seeding has been massively impactful, for much of the NFL’s history. Since 1990, 60 teams have made it to the Super Bowl, and 48 of them had a first round bye. However, the playoff format has changed, this year, adding an extra team, from each Conference and eliminating two of the four playoff byes. On the one hand, this makes earning the single playoff bye for each conference much harder… on the other hand… it means Chiefs path to just making the playoffs is incredibly easy. In 2019, the Pittsburgh Steelers finished 2nd, in their division with a record of 8-8. Under the new rules, that’s a playoff team. Even dropping a series of games, due to injury, a wildcard spot would be well within reach.
The difference, then, between an 11-or-12 win season and a 9-or-10 win season, isn’t that big. The Chiefs would love to have a first round bye, but earning one isn’t the be all and end all that it once was. That’s especially true this year, as most teams won’t have fans in their stadiums, making home-field advantage less of a factor. A win against the Ravens is only likely to be significant if the two teams finish with the same record. Could Chiefs go 14-2 and miss out on the first round bye if they lose on Monday Night? Sure. Does that mean they can’t win three games to get to the Super Bowl instead of two? Of course not. The last time the Ravens had a playoff bye, they came out flat and got smoked by the Tennessee Titans. The Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes now, so good luck is not a requirement. A challenging path to the championship just means extra opportunities to watch him work.
Conclusion: Victory Over Ravens
For the first time in decades, fans can stop being nervous. A less than dominant performance is not a recipe for more playoff ineptitude, it just means the Chiefs haven’t hit their stride yet. Patrick Mahomes is 5-1 in the playoffs and, under the new rules, getting at least a Wildcard spot seems like a foregone conclusion. An Andy Reid team in Kansas City, has never finished with a record worse than 9-7.
For Chiefs fans, stress and doubt have been familiar friends. Times change. New companions are in order: patience and confidence. Unless a cataclysmic event keeps them out of the playoffs, Reid and Mahomes should be favorites to run the table, in the postseason. With an improved defense, new contributors, and the chemistry that comes with time, expect this undefeated Chiefs team to look a lot better in the second half of the season, whether they lose a few games along the way or not. Good things come to those who wait. Go Chiefs.
Ransom Hawthorne — ArrowheadOne
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