As if six straight AFC Championships and back-to-back Super Bowls wasn’t great enough, the Chiefs look ready to make a run at the NFL’s first three-peat in the Super Bowl era. Welcome back to another edition of ‘The Super Bowl Race In The Perspective of Chase’, and today we will preview the Kansas City Chiefs 2024 season.
2023 Season
I mentioned how Kansas City took home the Super Bowl last year, but it wasn’t your ordinary championship season like we had seen from them in previous seasons. Kansas City lost their opening night game against Detroit, and then got hot again. But it wasn’t pretty. Taylor Swift started dating Travis Kelce, keeping them as the most viewed team in the league. And they were blowing opportunity after opportunity, with the receiving core struggling and Mahomes unable to make things happen against teams like Las Vegas. They were 9-6 on Christmas: not your Super Bowl-winning team. But like every year, they elevated their play in the playoffs on all levels. Kelce was fantastic, Mahomes was playing the best we’ve ever seen anyone play, and the Chiefs won three games away from home as an underdog to find their way as a Super Bowl champion. Perhaps their worst regular season and worst overall team in the Mahomes era still captured the end goal. That’s Mahomes and Kansas City for you!
Offseason Additions and Losses
Going into the offseason, the main job for Kansas City was trying to retain their main pieces. And they were able to retain most of them. That started with making Chris Jones the highest paid interior lineman in history, and keeping him as the captain of their defense. They also improved the receiving core, as KC brought back JuJu Smith-Schuster, added former 1,000 wideout Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, and drafted Xavier Worthy, who ran the fastest 40-yard dash time in history at the draft combine. However, KC had to give somewhere, as they had to let go of star cornerback L’Jarius Sneed. But overall, the Chiefs got better. And considering that they won the Super Bowl last year without these improvements, it’s pretty scary for the rest of the league.
X-Factor: Xavier Worthy
I mentioned how KC needed wide receiver help. And Worthy is one of their premier additions in the offseason, and he is a dangerous weapon with Patrick Mahomes. He’s very similar to Tyreek Hill in a sense. A shorter, super speedy and quick receiver who creates separation from his defenders and gains yardage after the catch. And again, his speed is the key. Whether he’s ready to be consistent or not, he’ll figure out ways to make a difference because teams will have to game plan for him and his uncanny abilities. and when he does get the ball, I think Mahomes and him will have a field day against opposing defenses.
Reason for Concern: They Were a Flawed Team Last Year
Everyone talks about how Kansas City struggled throughout the season last year and yet still came home with the Super Bowl. But that is not sustainable. A lot of luck went into that run. If Tyler Bass makes a field goal, there is no guarantee KC advances out of Buffalo. If the Ravens don’t panic, they would’ve ran all over the Chiefs sub-par run defense. And many forget about this: if Ray-Ray McLoud III doesn’t fumble a punt return which led to a quick KC touchdown, I’m more than convinced that the 49ers are reigning champs. This is not trying to make excuses. Mahomes came up without important drives and plays that separated him and KC from their opposition. But a lot also went their way. And if they’re a fraudulent team again, it’s going to be harder to 3-peat.
Reason for Promise: No One Can Outplay Mahomes in January & February
The Chiefs have some good players on their roster. There’s an argument that they have three of the top ten players in the sport in Mahomes, Kelce and Jones. However, the Chiefs are Mahomes. All of the success that runs through this organization during this time comes from Pat, and that showed after he’s won two consecutive Super Bowls after losing Hill in the 2022 offseason. Kansas City has not had the best team in back-to-back seasons. They’ve had the best player. Look at every playoff game over these last few seasons, and try to pick out one game where Mahomes was outplayed. He’s gone against 2x MVP Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Brock Purdy, Tua Tagovailoa, and others, and no one has come away with victory. Because at the end of the day, those guys can’t be better than Mahomes. And until someone can be, it’s going to be hard to knock them off.
Prediction
I’m not saying Kansas City is going to three-peat, but I’m also not going to be the person who bets against them. Until someone says otherwise, I’m putting my money on the team with the best player of this generation, and a player who could turn into the best of any generation when it’s all set and done!
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