Kansas City Chiefs A Playoff Sleeper
This past Sunday, famous rapper Kendrick Lamar narrated a commercial short about the Kansas City Chiefs. It was a surprising moment. After all, if you live in Kansas City or happen to find yourself sporting red and gold every Sunday, chances are you’ve got a bit of a complex about your underrated, under-appreciated, under-analyzed team. But things are different right now. The Chiefs are 10-2 in their last twelve games, including a division clinching win over the San Diego Chargers in week 17. Aided by a rather expected late season melt down from division rivals the Oakland Raiders–more specifically by the season ending injury of QB Derek Carr–the Chiefs secured the second seed in the AFC Playoffs, which includes a bye week, home field advantage, and a gift basket from Edible Arrangements. And, pun fully intended, it’s a been a fruitful year for Kansas City.
Now they’ve got a chance to rest up before facing either the Raiders or the Dolphins. The way the Raiders played against the Broncos portends that the Dolphins will win in the Wild Card round. Rookie Connor Cox didn’t exactly look like playoff quality. Then again neither did the Dolphins in a 35-14 loss to the Pats.
So what exactly has the Chiefs suddenly looking like a Super Bowl favorite? Well honestly it’s not that sudden. But if you look at what’s changed over the season, one name sticks out above the rest. And it rhymes with bye week thrill. Still don’t know? It’s Tyreek Hill, dummy. Hill has emerged as a major threat for the Chiefs, and has many people reminiscing on Dante Hall and his ridiculous explosiveness. But it’s more complex than simply returning punts for 95 yard touchdowns. Since Hill has exploded onto the NFL scene, the Chiefs offense has transformed dramatically. It seems for half the season Alex Smith was playing check down football. Touchdowns seemed rather sparse. Field goals a way of life. The offense looked like a nice little clam shell. Pretty, and relatively flawless. Plus, it could occasionally pop out a shiny pearl or two. But rarely did it move much on its own. Then Hill happened.
Sometime around midseason Andy Reid realized he had a secret weapon in his arsenal. Tyreek Hill could do it all. He could return a punt. He could set the team up with fantastic field position. He could take screen passes the distance. He could spread the field. He could act as a rushing option–which he did by averaging 11.1 yards on 24 carries and three touchdowns. He has made it so teams literally have to punt away from him, which inevitably forces short punts. He’s like a big cushy pillow the offense can always rely on. In week 17, the Chargers tried to double team him and he still found a way to gut them for a 95 yard punt return and . To say the least, Tyreek Hill is a two-phase player. He can excel on offense and special teams. With that kind of weapon in your pocket, you’ve got room to surprise your opponents and open up your playbook.
Tight end Travis Kelce has also been a huge offensive force this year. In his third season as a Chief, Kelce has emerged as Alex Smith’s number one option. In his first two seasons he hovered around 70 receptions and 875 yards each year. This year, he’s caught 85 passes for 1,125 yards. He’s second in the league in yards after the catch with 647 yards. And he’s consistently become a major hand on third downs.
But probably the biggest reason for the Chiefs’ success is their incredible defense. Eric Berry. Marcus Peters. Justin Houston. Dee Ford. Dontari Poe. Chris Jones. This unit is stocked full of muscle and talent. Up front, Poe and Jones have given interior linemen fits all year long. On the outside, Houston and Ford terrorize the tackles and give quarterbacks anxiety. Then when they throw the ball, they have to constantly guard against the very real possibility of an Eric Berry or Marcus Peters interception. They combined for 10 picks this year. And Berry took two of those to the house.
The Chiefs are probably one of the most well rounded squads in the playoffs. The way Alex Smith is playing, throwing downfield, completing the tough passes, spreading his options, making few mistakes, not to mention presenting an extra force on the ground (he’s got five rushing touchdowns this season) the Chiefs have a legitimate shot at the Lombardi Trophy. Combined with their juggernaut defense who’s made a real hobby of forcing turnovers, and a Tyreek Hill-led special teams unit, they’ve got all three phases covered. Few other teams in the playoffs can say that.
Now, no matter who they play in the Division round, they’ve got a bit of an upper hand weather-wise. If you don’t know, it’s cold as hell in Kansas City right now. Two weeks from now, it’s probably going to be a lot worse. Their two possible opponents play in the cozy confines of warm climates. Plus it’s the playoffs. Arrowhead Stadium is going to be louder than any volume-related metaphor you could possibly think of. Fans would be wise to bring earplugs and heavy gloves as they scream their heads off and eat giant barbecued turkey legs. Cause it’s going to be loud, and it’s going to be cold. And those two factors will undoubtedly give the home team a helpful boost.
The rest is up to the players. If they pull it out, they’ll head to an equally cold New England to face Tom Brady and the Patriots. In a rematch of the 2015-16 Division round, Andy Reid will have a chance to redeem his terrible clock management with a team that’s looking far better than last year. And apparently worthy of Kendrick Lamar’s gritty voice narrating their success. This time around, the Chiefs are a much more frightening, much more complete opponent.
