Brief Bye Week Breakdown of KC's Team Stats

The bye week has arrived, and it came right around mid-season this year, so now is the perfect time to check out the big-picture stats for our 5-4 Kansas City Chiefs. The numbers indicate big, positive changes for KC this season without many steps backwards. Credit, as always, goes to Brett Veach for putting the Chiefs in a position to succeed every year. Patrick Mahomes also makes winning easier, as we all know, and his numbers at this point make him a strong early bet for MVP. The only guy more likely to earn that award, according to DraftKings, is the guy who beat him 28-21 last week.

Through the 2024 reguar season, seven quarterbacks with at least 15 starts averaged more passing yards per game than Patrick Mahomes. Only three QB's with more than two starts this season average more than him now. He threw the ninth-most touchdowns last regular season. His 17 touchdown passes through nine games of this season has only been surpassed by three guys. It's also worth noting that Mahomes compiled 2/3rds of this without Rashee Rice, who just missed six games to suspension.

This improvement must have something to do with the Chiefs' improved ability to protect their aforementioned face of the franchise. KC ranked 19th in QB sacked percentage in 2024, meaning they allowed Mahomes to be sacked more often than average last season. This season, that percentage has dropped to just 5.11%, which ranks ninth league-wide. On the opposite side, the Chiefs sack the opposing QB 7.43% of the time, which is good for 14th right now. That's very similar to last year's percentage in the regular season, when they ranked 15th. 

The overall stats for KC suggest the strong defense has remained strong and the offense has significantly improved. The Chiefs rank sixth in the NFL in yards per game this season and ninth in points per game. Last year, they finished the regular season 17th in yards per game and 15th in points. They're allowing the seventh-fewest yards and fourth-fewest points after allowing the ninth-fewest yards and fourth-fewest points last season. Remember when former defensive coordinator Bob Sutton played that never-changing, bland defense for years and limited the potential greatness of this era of Chiefs football? Neither do I.