Results say Kansas City has way more substance than luck and wild conspiracy theories
By now, we have heard all of the excuses (and conspiracies) for why the Kansas City Chiefs have become the dominant force in the NFL. If it’s not the league telling the officials to be favorable towards the Chiefs, it’s the thirst to keep Kansas City in the spotlight. Everyone knows pop star Taylor Swift, who’s currently the girlfriend of tight end Travis Kelce, brings a whole new audience the NFL might not have otherwise (the Swifties), and the networks have to make sure they get Swift’s reaction to every Kelce catch, adding fuel to the fire of haters everywhere. Regardless of the crazy reasons thrown out to the world of gossip, there’s no denying the results on the field. Kansas City is on the way to their seventh straight appearance in the AFC Championship Game, with a third consecutive Super Bowl title still in play. With that amount of success, there has to be some skill making that happen, and most importantly, consistency in the leadership positions to continue building upon.
Of course, leadership goes filters from the top down, but on the field of play, it helps to have one of the best coaches ever in Andy Reid. Not too long ago, Reid was known as a coach who couldn’t win the “big one” during his days with the Philadelphia Eagles. Now, he’s creeping up on the all-time wins list, securing his 300th when the Chiefs defeated the Houston Texans in the AFC Divisional round last weekend. At quarterback, Kansas City has Patrick Mahomes, who is the best in the league, and like Reid, is becoming one of the best ever at his respective position. Together, Reid and Mahomes have set the foundation for the rest of the roster to be constructed, which is saying a lot considering how quickly people want change when the first sign of adversity hits. One more thing, the Chiefs’ defense has become the strongest part of their team. Math can be a difficult subject, but hall-of-fame head coach, combined with great QB and defense, equals championship formula.
This isn’t breaking news about Kansas City being the standard in the league, but attempting to beat them becomes much tougher when a loser mentality enters the equation. The Texans, after being sent home by the Chiefs, made it clear they felt they were going into the game feeling like they had to beat Kansas City and the officials. There were a couple of controversial calls in regard to contact on Mahomes, but simply put, Houston is not good enough to beat a team on a championship level. When a team goes into something with a built-in excuse, they’re probably already defeated before the game starts. When the inevitable loss happens, the blame goes on everything else besides where it should go, on themselves. The Texans had plenty of opportunities to potentially win the game, but simply didn’t make enough plays. C.J. Stroud being sacked eight times has nothing to do with officiating, and everything to do with the offensive line getting whooped in the trenches. The inability to cover Kelce, who had seven catches for 117 yards and a touchdown, falls on a bad defensive game plan letting the Chiefs’ main target get wherever he wanted on the field. All of that gets forgotten in the cesspool of excuse-making, but that’s what happens when people don’t want to face the reality of not being ready for prime competition.
Clearly, being a cooked team isn’t part of the formula to beat Kansas City, but what is? Belief tops the list, but there’s also evidence that says it’s possible. The Cincinnati Bengals were able to come into GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium and beat the Chiefs during their run to the Super Bowl in the 2021-’22 season. Big picture says Kansas City has the championship rings for the last two seasons, but a deeper dive says a few plays could have literally altered history. In the 2022 run, their margins of victory were seven (Jacksonville Jaguars), three (Bengals) and three (Eagles), respectively. 2023 was more of the same. After beating the Miami Dolphins 26-7 in a rare wild card appearance, the wins were by three (Buffalo Bills), seven (Baltimore Ravens) and three (San Francisco 49ers). In other words, the Chiefs haven’t been an unbeatable freight train that blows out everyone who steps on the field with them. More often than not, teams have chances to make the money plays, but Kansas City beats them to the punch.
So here we are, in the NFL’s version of the Final Four, and we’re asking the same question we have for years about anyone having what it takes to dethrone the Chiefs. The Bills will get another shot Sunday evening, and they believe the team they’re bringing to Kansas City this time is the best equipped for the task. The mentality alone give them a better chance than Houston ever had, and belief is a powerful thing. Something else that probably won’t be heard when Buffalo’s players get interviewed leading up to the game is built-in excuses. Whether they can break through Chiefs Kingdom or not is another question, but if the Bills lose, it won’t be because the belief wasn’t there. Losing is never an easy thing to deal with, but having a loser mentality before stepping onto the field makes it worse. That’s something the Texans have to face, and if they stay with the status quo, it’s difficult to see where they can get past winning the AFC South.
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