Chiefs Visit Jerry World for Tough Turkey Day Test

On this very special holiday, I'm reminded of everything that makes me thankful. I'm thankful for friends, for my family, for my wonderful pets, and I'm thankful the Chiefs didn't blow it last weekend and ruin their whole damn season. After KC survived that nailbiter on Sunday, the odds-makers now have the Chiefs as the third-likeliest team to win the Super Bowl and the betting favorite to win the AFC. That's one hell of an accomplishment for a team that seemed to be on the brink of missing the playoffs.

Andy Reid and his staff clearly thought highly of Indy's tandem of talented cornerbacks in former Chief Charvarius Ward and recently acquired Sauce Gardner. KC's offense approached that game with their most rush-heavy gameplan in several seasons. Kareem Hunt carried the ball 30 times while KC held the Colts' powerful offense to just 20 points. An even bigger surprise came from what running backs did not accomplish on Sunday, as KC held MVP candidate Jonathan Taylor to under 60 rushing yards. That brings the Chiefs' average for rushing yards allowed per game down to 97.6. Every team with a lower average than KC is currently on pace to make the playoffs, aside from Houston, who is the currently the last team out and two spots ahead of the Chiefs.

Moving the ball on the ground successfully was especially important for KC last Sunday when Patrick Mahomes continued his unusual slump. It's safe to say Mahomes still hasn't been his best. He missed on some potentially big plays downfield, his QBR didn't reach 70, and his Passer Rating didn't reach 80. That's three games in a row of Mahomes not reaching a Rating of 80, which he's only done once, and not since mid-season of 2021. Despite this rare multi-game slump, Mahomes is still putting up some big numbers. Actually, both teams meeting in Dallas today have QB's who could be considered the most productive in their conference.

Patrick and Prescott have the two highest averages for passing yardage in the NFL. ESPN's QBR stat ranks Dak first league-wide and Mahomes third. Passer Rating doesn't think either guy is even a top-six quarterback because Passer Rating is kinda dumb, but I'll focus on that some other time. Prescott is playing an elite level of football that's keeping Dallas alive far longer than the Vegas odds-makers and pro analysts predicted. The Cowboys rank first in yards per game and fourth in points with Prescott at the helm.

The defense is their obvious flaw. Dallas allows the fourth-most total yards and the second-most total points in the NFL. They rank 23rd in rushing yards allowed and 30th in passing yards, resulting in the fourth-most total yards allowed per game. Only the Bengals allow their opponents to score more points. Maybe Dallas has some newfound confidence after defeating the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles last week, but that was the first win they've collected over a good football team. Their only other victories came when facing the Giants, Jets, Commanders and Raiders.

I don't expect KC to take their foot off the pedal any time soon, especially not in front of the whole country on Turkey Day. I also don't expect the best football player ever born to keep struggling like he has lately. When the weather gets cold and the games matter most, Mahomes delivers. I'm predicting a 29-24 victory for Kansas City. I hope you get to enjoy today with people who love football and love you. Have a happy Turkey Day.

Can Motivated Mahomes Outmatch Dominant Denver Defense?

One of their most important regular season games in years awaits the 5-4 Kansas City Chiefs this afternoon. Without a win today, KC will almost certainly fail to win their division. This would force them to play road games in the playoffs. It would also force fans like us to consider the possibility that the Chiefs don't make the playoffs at all, which would make for an unprecedented low-point in the Mahomes-Reid era. To dismiss all these concerns today, the Chiefs must find a way to score against a defense that's on pace to be one of the all-time greats.

The 8-2 Denver Broncos' dominant defense is the reason they're leading the AFC West. The Chiefs aren't too far behind in many important categories, though. KC ranks sixth in total yardage allowed per game, and Denver ranks third. The Broncos also rank third in points allowed per game, but the Chiefs are right behind in fourth place league-wide. The biggest difference comes in these teams' abilities to attack opposing quarterbacks.

Denver has 46 sacks, which is a total that only seven teams reached in the entire 2024 regular season and 14 more than any other team this season. Three different Broncos have at least six sacks. Nick Bonitto has 9.5 and a strong case for Defensive Player of the Year. So, if the Chiefs are facing a divisional opponent with a Super Bowl-winning coach and a defense that's historically great on paper, why am I not worried?

Bo Nix is the reason. He's an objectively below-average QB at this point. ESPN's QBR thinks he's just normal-bad, while the Passer Rating algorithm thinks he's worse than Justin Fields. That Denver defense is incredible, and they're an eight-win team, and I still don't believe in them at all. I know they can only play the teams on their schedule, but the amount of duds on that schedule makes their record seem like a mirage.

Jalen Hurts' Eagles are the only good team with a good quarterback the Broncos have beaten so far. They played two early-season games against teams with quarterbacks considered good this season - Indy's Daniel Jones and the Chargers' Justin Herbert - and they lost both games. They held a potent Cowboys offense to 24 points and posted 44 on that awful defense in late October. Aside from these four games with capable QBs in which the Broncos went 2-2 and looked flawed, Denver has feasted on mediocrity.
 
They faced Cam Ward, Jake Browning, Justin Fields, Jaxson Dart, Davis Mills (Stroud got hurt after 10 pass attempts) and Geno Smith. They beat the Jets, Giants, Texans and Raiders by nine points combined. The've played more teams that are currently in last place than teams that currently have winning records. That victory over Philly is Denver's only victory against a winning football team.

In a must-win moment, trusting Patrick Mahomes is my nature. Trusting Bo Nix more in that kind of moment is incomprehensible. It may be ugly, it may not impress all the Chiefs' critics, but the Chiefs aren't losing a game this important against a team so accustomed to facing inferior competition. I'm picking the Chiefs to win a tense 20-17 battle.

Will Chiefs' Changes Make Them Better In Brazil?

Football is back, and the Kansas City Chiefs' regular season begins in Brazil. What kind of changes can we expect to see on the field this time around? Many of the pieces that make KC a championship contender every season remain in place. Today, I'll take a quick look at the biggest changes on the Chiefs roster this season. While the loss of a couple key players from 2024 may generate some concern, the offseason changes on the offensive line should result in an immediate improvement.

The Chiefs traded away future Pro Bowler Joe Thuney before the new league year began on March 12th. KC still comes into this season with a better offensive line, thanks to the signing of Jaylon Moore and the savvy decision to sign Josh Simmons in the first round. The struggles at left tackle last year were well-documented, and all signs point to Simmons being the Chiefs' answer at that position for many years to come. Kingsley Suamataia should look much better at left guard, between Simmons and elite center Creed Humphrey, than he did when struggling at left tackle last season. This is all good news for a Chiefs offense that ranked 22nd in rushing yards per game in the '24 regular season and 18th in sacks allowed per game.

Losing the guy who played 90% of snaps at the strong safety position is undoubtedly difficult to overcome. Chamarri Conner looks good, but he now has big shoes to fill, and losing your only backup SS on the roster is also a significant obstacle. Safety is probably the team's weakest position now, but strides from young talent like Conner, Bryan Cook and Jaden Hicks could compensate nicely for this. All in all, it's the only place KC objectively downgraded, as long as you like Omarr Norman-Lott as a long-term improvement over Tershawn Wharton, who just got his big payday from the Carolina Panthers. Every other position group, in my opinion, stayed roughly the same or got better. How does Brett Veach keep doing this?

KC obviously isn't alone when it comes to dealing with injuries and roster changes. The Chiefs' Week 1 opponent will miss their elite left tackle for the season because of a torn patellar tendon. As if losing Rashawn Slater wasn't enough, the Los Angeles Chargers' newly acquired lineman Mekhi Becton was on Friday's injury report with an illness that now makes him questionable for tonight's game. Even without these health issues, the unique context of this game prevents me from predicting flawless execution of the game-plan from either team. It's a stand-alone Friday night game in Brazil, and it's only the second game of the NFL season. I think the Chiefs and their coaching staff are better-equipped to deal with this weirdness than practically any other team in the league. 

I'm predicting an exciting 24-20 victory for Kansas City. The Andy Reid script for the first several plays on offense should include context-specific stuff that should give the Chiefs an early advantage. If the playing field is rough, it's always worth remembering that the offense knows where their feet are going, while the defense does not. This bodes well for the man who is probably the most creative offensive play designer of all time. Welcome back to football season, Chiefs Kingdom. Enjoy it!

Excellent Eagles Cannot Prevent Unprecedented Chiefs Three-Peat

Our Kansas City Chiefs are just hours away from their chance to do something never done before. These Chiefs have the opportunity to become the first ever team to win three consecutive Super Bowls. No back-to-back champs have ever made it back to The Big Game for a shot at #3. Standing in Kansas City's way is an imposing Philadelphia Eagles team with a superior defense, offensive line, running back and better wide receivers. Philly also has an offensive coordinator who succeeded so much in his role that he'll reportedly become the New Orleans Saints head coach once this game is over.

Eagles OC Kellen Moore deserves tons of credit for building an elite offense around Saquon Barkley and an elite offensive line. His scheme helped Saquon become just the ninth player in league history to run for 2,000 yards in a season. Philly leaned heavily on the offensive line and running back to great success this season, even when it disgruntled A.J. Brown and anyone else wanting them to air it out more often. Despite his frustrations, Brown still ranked fourth out of all qualifying receivers in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. PFF also has Devonta Smith ranked in the top-20 after he led the league in catch rate this season.

All those weapons on the Eagles' offense, and especially Barkley, gave Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo plenty to think about these past two weeks. Derrick Henry faced off with Spags' defense in the first week of this year's regular season, and he ran for just 46 yards on 13 carries in that game. Bijan Robinson ranked third in rushing yards this season behind only Henry and Saquon, but when he faced Kansas City in Week 3, he averaged only 1.9 yards over 16 carries. Bucky Irving, who ranked 10th in rushing for Tampa Bay, ran for 49 yards on 10 carries when the Chiefs beat the Bucs in overtime in Week 9. Carolina's Chuba Hubbard, who ranked 8th in rushing this season, ran for 58 with his 16 carries when he faced the Chiefs in Week 12.  That's four of the league's ten best running backs, and all of them averaged less than five yards a carry when they played Kansas City.

While KC excelled facing elite running backs, Saquon's stats against elite rushing defenses looked pedestrian. He looked good against Tampa's fourth-ranked rushing defense, averaging 8.4 yards per rush, but Philly's early  24-0 deficit in that game led to Saquon getting only 10 carries. He also faced Pittsburgh's 5th-ranked rushing defense, Green Bay's 6th-ranked rushing defense and #1-ranked Baltimore in the regular season. In all those games, he ran between 19 and 24 times and never averaged more than 4.7 yards per carry. Another Saquon performance like that today would be great news for Kansas City.

If Philly wants to keep this game competitive, they need to score way more than 19.2, which is the Chiefs' average points allowed per game in this regular season. The Eagles scored 27.2 per game in the regular season, which is good for seventh in the NFL, but that would not be enough to keep up with Playoff Mahomes. Playoff Mahomes is an absolute monster. He's simply the best at everything among everyone ever when it comes to the playoffs. Vic Fangio coordinated an excellent Eagles defense this season, but it won't be enough to stop Mahomes and Andy Reid from succeeding today.

The Eagles have a great, young secondary, a strong linebacker core led by PFF's "Breakout Player of the Year" Zack Baun and an elite blitzing attack led by edge rusher Nolan Smith and All-Pro defensive lineman Jalen Carter. These studs helped Philly allowed the least total yards and passing yards in the regular season. They ranked second behind the Chargers by just 0.1 points in scoring allowed. They held eight of their last nine regular season opponents to under 21 points. Only three of the Eagles' opponents, through the regular season and the playoffs, scored more than 23.

Mahomes told media that him vs. Fangio is "going to be a chess match", but it's really been like a chess match between Magnus Carlsen and a third-grader. Mahomes is 8-0 against Fangio-led defenses, with six of the wins coming against Fangio as head coach of the Broncos, and the other two occurring when Fangio was Miami's DC. The Kansas City Star's Blair Kerkhoff pointed out, however, that Mahomes has never faced a Fangio team this good before. Those Fangio teams scored about 12 per game, and while those Broncos and Dolphins defenses never ranked above 13th in DVOA, or Defensive-adjusted Value Over Average, the Eagles are first in the NFL. Even when facing a Philly team with an elite offense and defense, Mahomes' playoff prowess gives Kansas City the edge in today's Big Game.

A moment like this to prove one's greatness in completely unprecedented fashion is rare. Mahomes lives up to big moments with a higher rate of success than any quarterback in playoffs history. Similar consistent greatness has been shown by Andy Reid, Travis Kelce and Chris Jones. I expect the true greats to be truly great today, but that also means Saquon could come very, very close to breaking countless hearts in Chiefs Kingdom. While the Eagles may have the better roster as a whole, I think the Chiefs' roster outclasses them when it comes to the number of players and coaches involved that are considered all-time greats. That will ultimately lead to a high-scoring, all-time moment for the NFL and a 33-27 victory for our Kansas City Chiefs.

As always, I hope you have the opportunity to enjoy it all with people who love football and love you.

How Coaching Rookies Affects Revived Chiefs-Broncos Rivalvry

It's hard to tell if the Denver Broncos are legit this season. If they are, the Kansas City Chiefs may have their first real divisional rival in years. The Broncos are 5-4 with their freshly drafted quarterback Bo Nix, who gives those fans more hope than they've had in a decade. Denver also just lost by 31 points and allowed the football equivalent of a perfect game to be thrown by the opposing quarterback. The Broncos' defense looked awesome before last week's 41-10 stinker against Lamar Jackson's Ravens, and despite that, Denver still only has one win against a team with a record above 3-6.

The Broncos defense ranks sixth in passing yards and total yards allowed per game and third overall in points allowed per game. Their offense ranks in the bottom ten in each of those categories. Bo Nix's Week 7 performance against Carolina was the best of his early career, but last week against Baltimore - who allows the most passing yards per game and ninth-most points per game in the NFL - was easily his worst. It's not often you see a week-to-week difference in Passer Rating above 58 points. Broncos head coach Sean Payton is apparently a quarterbacks guru, so Nix's response to this unpredictable two weeks of play will reflect Payton's effectiveness in what is supposedly his strong-suit. 

The undefeated Chiefs exhibit their weaknesses every time they take the field while still, ya know, winning all the time. The left tackle position in particular is worryingly inconsistent, which factors heavily into a Patrick Mahomes Passer Rating that ranks 18th league-wide. Whether it's Wanya Morris or rookie Kingsley Suamataia taking the lion's share of snaps at that spot today, every passing week Andy Reid gets to strategize his way around that flaw should further improve the KC offense. Despite being sacked four times last week, Mahomes had his first three-touchdown performance of the season and finished the game with his highest completion percentage of the season. The growth of future Hall of Famer DeAndre Hopkins' role in the offense also looked like it made an immediately positive impact.

This game means the world to a Denver team that's hungry for a signature win. With the enviable burden of an undefeated record, the Chiefs also have immeasurable motivation entering today's game. Despite my far-too-consistent ramblings about Mahomes' statistical mediocrity this season, his numbers on third down, in the red zone and in the fourth quarter all point to a quarterback and a team that refuse to lose. I'll take the safe bet and predict that this won't change today against a Denver team that has proven its ability to lose to teams with flaws far more damaging that Kansas City's. I'm predicting a 27-17 victory for our Chiefs - the defending and dominant rulers of the AFC West.

Chiefs Face So-Called Rivals After Acquiring All-Time Great

The 6-0 Kansas City Chiefs and the 2-5 Las Vegas Raiders do not share a rivalry. A rivalry indicates a continuous, competitive relationship with another person or party competing for the same thing. This relationship is non-competitive, and while the Chiefs are fighting for pole position in the playoffs to help them finish a three-peat, the Raiders are competing to avoid further embarrassment. The only national headlines involving the Raiders this season came when they traded away a future Hall of Fame receiver. The most recent of many national news stories covering the Chiefs involves acquiring a future Hall of fame receiver. KC may be flawed for a 6-0 team, but Raiders fans have many more unsolved issues this season.

The Las Vegas offense ranks 24th league-wide in points scored and 26th in total yards per game. The Raiders have thrown more interceptions and lost more fumbles than any team in football, resulting in a giveaway total four higher than any other team in the league. They also have just three takeaways through seven games, which is the league's second-lowest total. The Vegas defense ranks 29th in points allowed. They can't even return punts; their average for yards per punt return is the league's second-worst. There's nearly nothing positive to say about the Raiders right now.

KC, on the other hand, continues to win despite injuries altering the Chiefs' offense's gameplan practically every week of this season. Now, the proud citizens of Chiefs Kingdom can actually get excited about a recent change to Kansas City's roster. No other human signed to an NFL contract right now has more career receiving yards than KC's newest acquisition DeAndre Hopkins. D-Hop bringing his killer smile and even-more-killer resume to Kansas City should provide a major boost for an offense that ranks 13th in both passing yards and points per game. His inclusion may be gradual, but then again, Andy Reid may want to use this game as an opportunity to show the rest of the league how dangerous this new weapon can be in this new context. With all that in mind, I'm predicting that the Chiefs make a statement today with a 30-17 victory over their so-called rivals.

Chiefs Somehow Underrated Entering So-Called Super Bowl Rematch

The so-called rematch to last year's Super Bowl happens this afternoon, and the underdog in that game is the team who hasn't lost since winning it all last year. I guess I can see the odds-makers' perspective after all these Kansas City Chiefs injuries, but I'm still putting my money on the defending champs today. Patrick Mahomes is 11-1-1 against the spread in his career. Andy Reid is 21-4 as a head coach coming off a bye week. KC's injury concerns deserve recognition, but injuries also gave the San Francisco 49ers a unique problem to handle this week.

San Fran is starting their third kicker in three weeks after both Jake Moody and Matthew Wright suffered injuries while attempting tackles during a kick-off. This could be big for a Niners offense ranking 25th league-wide in red zone touchdown-scoring efficiency. They aren't facing many elite defenses, either. Half their opponents so far rank in the bottom eight for yards allowed, and only one ranks higher than 14th. They haven't faced a team with a defense that ranks higher than the Chiefs in both points and yards allowed per game. A quick look at their season so far would indicate that this revered 49ers squad has been inconsistent.

San Francisco has played the Jets, Vikings, Rams, Patriots, Cardinals and Seahawks. They beat the Jets, Pats and Seahawks. I know that seeing Mahomes' Passer Rating at 19th is weird, but San Fran's wins all came against QBs with ratings lower than that. Their best game of the season came against the 3-3 Seahawks, and when they face off with any other playoff-caliber opponent, they lose a close game. To think something else would happen today seems illogical, so I'm predicting a 26-20 victory for Kansas City. An extra week for Andy Reid to work out how this offense operates with the current weapons at its disposal should give the Chiefs the edge today.

Mahomes Meets MVP in Monumental Playoff Moment

The ramifications of today's Ravens-Chiefs game will echo through the entire history of this sport. The best player of his generation with the best ever start to an NFL career goes on the road to face off with the soon-to-be-two-time MVP Lamar Jackson and his dominant #1 seed Ravens. I don't want to spend too much time regurgitating other people's takes and research, but much digital ink was spilled this week detailing the unprecedented nature of Patrick Mahomes' playoff track record. It's safe to say that the only man Mahomes is chasing in the history books signed a gazillion-dollar deal to provide commentary for Fox. While Mahomes fights to live up to the moniker of the greatest playoff quarterback ever, Lamar Jackson fights to shake off the narrative that he struggles most in the most important moments.

Baltimore enters this game as 3.5-point favorites at home, which looks fair when you see their season stats and impressive record. The Ravens not only defeated elite teams this season, but dominated them. The Texans, Browns, Lions, 49ers and Dolphins all lost to Baltimore by at least two touchdowns. Baltimore's defense allowed the fewest points per game while tallying up the most sacks and takeaways of any team in football - a feat that was an NFL first. This Ravens team has done everything necessary to be the best team in the league this season. How, then, can anyone predict that the Chiefs will defeat this daunting opponent?

To help answer that question, let's take a closer look at the playoff resumes of Mahomes and his elite contemporaries. After losing to KC last week, Josh Allen has compiled a 10-game postseason Passer Rating of exactly 100. He finished last week's Chiefs game with an 86.1. Lamar has compiled a 75.7 Passer Rating through 5 playoff games. For anyone scared of his impressive performance resulting in a 121.8 Passer Rating against the Texans last week, keep in mind that Josh Allen compiled a 121.9 facing the Steelers in the Wild Card round the week before he faced KC in the playoffs. Allen actually finished with a rating above 100 in three of the four games prior to Buffalo's divisional round face-off with the Chiefs.

Now, let's look at the ridiculous postseason resume for KC's star signal caller. Through 16 playoff games in his career, Patrick Mahomes has a 106.7 Passer Rating. In those 16 games, Mahomes has only finished one - that disastrous Tampa Super Bowl - with a passer rating below Lamar Jackson's average postseason Passer Rating. Jackson has only finished a single playoff game with a rating above Patrick's average playoff passer rating. That game was last week, against a Texans defense that ranked 23rd in passing yards allowed per regular season game. 12 teams also finished the regular season with more sacks than Houston, which is a serious strength for both the Ravens and Chiefs.

I mentioned before that Baltimore leads the league in sacks with 60, but the Chiefs allow the second-fewest QB sacks in the NFL. The Chiefs defense tallied up 57 sacks of their own this season - good for second-most in the league. Baltimore's ability to keep their star QB protected in the pocket hasn't been as consistent as KC's, however. The Ravens allow 2.4 QB sacks per game this season, which is exactly league-average and nearly a full sack per game more than KC's average. KC's success in pressuring opponents' quarterbacks have helped them overcome strong offenses time and time again this season.

Kansas City beat Tua's Miami Dolphins twice and allowed only 21 total points to them.  They beat Josh Allen and a surging Buffalo Bills team in the playoffs. They only allowed 14 points on offense to the Detroit lions in Week 1 without Chris Jones. Other name to fail to score more than 20 on KC includes Kirk Cousins, Trevor Lawrence and Justin Herbert. This may be more difficult than usual since underrated defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi is expected to miss Sunday's game, but Nnadi isn't the most important name on KC's injury report this week.

Offensive linemen avoiding injuries did wonders for Kansas City's ability to protect Mahomes this season. Unfortunately, the name of KC's First Team All-Pro left guard just popped up on that report. Joe Thuney won't be ready for Sunday, but the Chiefs have had success with Nick Allegretti as a trustworthy veteran replacement on the O-line. The collective power of the best coach, best quarterback and best tight end in the league should be enough to help KC compensate for that significant loss. Will it be enough to help the Chiefs move on to the Super Bowl?

In this fan's humble opinion, yes. I trust the greatest playoff quarterback of all time during big playoff moments. He's earned it. Baltimore is the best team KC will face this season, whether they win or lose today, but Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes are the best coach-quarterback tandem in the world. Mahomes is also playing with inarguably the best defense that KC's had since Patrick's debut. I'm predicting a classic overtime thriller and a 26-23 victory for our Kansas City Chiefs. I truly hope you enjoy this one with folks who love you and love football.

Both Offenses Unpredictable In Vegas - KC Christmas Clash

How will your family incorporate a Chiefs game at noon into your holiday plans? Are you opening up gifts before the game? For families with kids, the youngsters surely want to see what Santa Claus brought them ASAP, so are the parents in Chiefs Kingdom drinking coffee and unwrapping gifts until noon? I'm not a parent yet, so my coffee will be filled with amaretto and my morning will be filled with gambling on this intriguing, important battle between the Chiefs and the Raiders. The Raiders are unpredictable right now, and a win for KC today keeps their hopes for a playoff bye week alive.

If Baltimore loses two of three against the Niners, Dolphins and Steelers, and Miami loses one of their last three against Dallas, Baltimore or Buffalo, KC can win their final three games to reclaim the #1 seed in the AFC. Thanks in part to a mid-season change at head coach, it's tough to predict how the Raiders will look in today's game.  In their last eight games, Vegas scored 17 or fewer points six times and 30 or more twice. The Chiefs beat them comfortably in Week 13. The week after that, the Raiders lost 3-0 to the Nick Mullens-led Vikings. Then, they scored 63 in a blowout victory over the Chargers that preceded the firing of the Chargers' GM and head coach. 

Part of the Raiders' unpredictable nature comes from their inexperienced QB. Aidan O'Connell's QBRs from his last four games were 77.7, 16.5, 88.8 and 22.1. That 88.8 was the Chiefs, by the way. The Raiders still lost by two touchdowns that day, but O'Connell was cookin'. The other two teams he posted an elite-level QBR against this season - the Giants and Chargers - have bottom-10 defenses. With Nick Bolton back on the prowl in the middle of the field for KC, the Chiefs defense should look better against O'Connell's offense than it did in Week 13.

It's safe to say the Vegas offense and its coaching staff are learning on the job to varying degrees of success, but the same is true for Kansas City's offense. What can the Chiefs do about their underperforming passing game? There is no Deandre Hopkins or Adam Thielen out there to sign anymore. Bringing in Zach Ertz won't redefine this offense. Maybe Kadarius Toney would be out-right benched for good after his latest struggles if he were only one of many explosive receivers on the depth chart. The thing is, the Chiefs don't have much high-ceiling talent in the wide receiver room aside from emerging rookie star Rashee Rice.

Toney is one of the most dynamic playmakers on any Chiefs roster in recent memory, but his mistakes continuously cost the Chiefs possessions, which sometimes cost them games. The simple solution is to give him the ball in hand-off situations or passes behind the line of scrimmage so KC can reduce his chances to commit major errors that lead to turnovers. I expect to see some combination of the Chiefs doing this and reducing his snap count in favor of other guys from the bottom half of the receivers' depth chart. Mecole Hardman returned to practice this week after a thumb injury landed him on the injured reserve list in Week 12. Reincorporating him into the offense isn't ideal right now.

Three weeks away from the end of the regular season is not the time to be learning what new or newly returned assets can do for an offense already suffering through an identity crisis. Mecole is a good depth addition, especially since he knows the system from prior seasons. He is not the answer. Justyn Ross is not the answer. The answer is trusting your bread and butter, and our bread and butter is the best quarterback ever throwing to the best tight end ever.

Travis Kelce's job gets harder every week that the Chiefs wide receivers struggle, because their poor reputation allows opposing defenses to fear them less and focus on Kelce more. To be the greatest ever, though, means thriving through hardship. I expect Mahomes to make more passes to Kelce into tight coverage as the season goes on and we head into the playoffs. That's clearly a better option than throwing contested balls to Blake Bell or Skyy Moore or (obviously) Kadarius Toney. I also expect to see more targets for Rice, who shines when his usage increases.

This is no sky-is-falling indictment of the Chiefs offense, to be clear. They still rank third league-wide in passing yards per game. This offense still helped the Chiefs stay in pole position for the division title and reasonably close to the #1 seed through 15 weeks of the regular season. Andy Reid is a genuine mastermind of running NFL offenses, and he is probably the #1 reason to believe the Chiefs offense will be good enough when it matters most this season.

All I want for Christmas this year is a strong finish to the regular season for KC's offense. I think I'll get it, too. I'm predicting a comforting and comfortable 31-13 win for KC. Enjoy your football and your holidays with your loved ones, and I'll be back next week for the final post of 2023.

Will Mahomes Turn Chiefs Into Undeniable Dynasty?

The impact of this Super Bowl will make waves through all of sports history. Victory for the Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday would make it impossible to deny the franchise's identity as a true dynasty. That feeling of greatness affects every citizen of Chiefs Kingdom every day, but the consequences of this particular Big Game will mean something almost inexplicable to Patrick Mahomes. For Mahomes, this Sunday's game represents a certain threshold of greatness that only a handful of athletes in sports history have ever crossed. Winning this much this early in his career would push Mahomes past the realm of debates involving names like Allen and Burrow and bring him into the orbit of talks involving names like Montana and Brady. A win this Sunday means people will be comparing Patrick Mahomes to Tua Tagovailoa less often than they compare Mahomes to Michael Jordan.

A win today keeps Mahomes in the conversation of the best athletes ever, with names like Brady, Jordan, LeBron, Serena, Gretzky, Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali - names that bring to mind unprecedented greatness. The phrase "greatest athlete ever" has such weight that it echoes back through thousands of years of human history. Human beings have been engaging in some sort of organized, athletic competition that can be defined as a team sport for over three millennia, and winning a football game today could be part of Patrick Mahomes' journey to becoming the best to participate in that activity over that entire period of time. 

That's a lot of superlative-laden, big-picture stuff I'm talking about. The thing is, it's all true, because Patrick is just that good. Whoever's writing their own blog about the Vikings sure as hell doesn't talk like this about Kirk Cousins, so I feel unbelievably lucky just to experience this. There's always two sides to the Super Bowl story, however, and the Eagles' resume suggests that they're capable of breaking countless hearts in Chiefs Kingdom today.

Philly started the year 8-0 and plowed through their first two playoff opponents, both of which lost by over three touchdowns and only scored seven points. The Eagles lost one game this season in which Hurts played and wasn't injured. Philly had the most sacks in the regular season by a wide margin, but at least the Chiefs allowed the third-fewest sacks in the NFL. Haason Reddick led the league in sacks with 19.5 this season, but the entire Eagles defense knows how to hunt the quarterback. No other team had more than one guy ranked 12th or better in sacks this season. Philly had four. That's four different Eagles from three different positions that had 12 or more sacks.

To put that in perspective, the Chiefs' runner-up for sacks is Frank Clark. His seven sacks puts him in an eight-way tie for 40th place. Philadelphia's ability to pressure the QB without sending a blitz resulted in them allowing the league's lowest passing yards per game in the regular season and postseason.

That studly Philly defense paired with one of football's best offenses may make the Eagles the most complete team in the NFL. While KC's offense is the best in football, Philly's isn't far behind. KC and Philadelphia ranked 1st and 3rd respectively in both total yards and total points per game in the regular season. The offensive lines are important, underrated factors for both the teams that reached this year's Super Bowl. The centers in particular deserve credit, as Creed Humphrey and Jason Kelce are rated the #1 and #2 centers in the league by Pro Football Focus.

Mahomes deserves his exorbitant share of attention in moments like this, but several Chiefs that garner far less acclaim will decide who finishes this season as a champion. The aforementioned young center and all his partners on KC's offensive line will have their work cut out for them trying to limit the penetration of Philly's impressive defensive front-line. The improvement to KC's rushing defense also seems understated. The growing greatness of Chris Jones and the improvements at middle linebacker thanks to Willie Gay and Nick Bolton resulted in KC ranking eighth in rushing yards allowed per game in the regular season. Last season, KC ranked 21st in this statistic. The Chiefs also improved their rushing yards allowed per attempt from 30th last season to 19th this season.

I truly believe that in a game that looks this close on paper, the result will still be decided by the superior quarterback-head coach duo. Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts seem to have a bright future ahead together, but their two strong playoff performances pale in comparison to the monumental list of achievements credited to the legendary duo of Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid. I'm predicting that the Chiefs win today, 27-24, and the first ever Kansas City sports dynasty is born. Enjoy it with people you love as much as you can.

Divisional Drama Deepened by Denver's Dominant Defense

The resurgent Kansas City Chiefs face off with the resilient Denver Broncos at Arrowhead tonight in the first of three straight intra-division games on the Chiefs' schedule. KC's recent success made them frontrunners for winning the AFC West, but a loss tonight could once again flip this division on its head. Many may underestimate these 6-5 Broncos, but Denver's point differential this season is exactly one point higher than the Chiefs' +31. What's keeping this previously unheralded Broncos team in the mix?

Defense is how Denver achieved consistent success this season. Their passing yards and total yards allowed per game rank in the top ten league-wide. Their points allowed per game ranks third behind only the Pats and Bills, but the vast majority of offenses Denver faced so far range from average to awful. The Broncos limited the Dallas Cowboys to 16 points in Week 9, but the Cowboys were without brick wall left tackle Tyron Smith that day. Aside from Dallas, the highest-scoring offense Denver has faced is the Philadelphia Eagles, whose 25.3 points per game ranks 13th in the NFL. KC scores a similar 25.5 points per game this year, which ranks ninth.

The Chiefs undoubtedly enter this game with momentum, but the offense has still failed to meet expectations. Through their current four-game winning streak, Kansas City only scored over 20 points once. Denver excels in dropping back two safeties and limiting big plays, which is exactly how the rest of the league has stalled KC's offense all season long. Impressive rookie cornerback Pat Surtain II will also make today difficult for Tyreek Hill - the Chiefs' key deep threat. This could keep tonight's game closer than Vegas oddsmakers predict.

Despite Denver's imposing defense, I expect the Chiefs to prevail tonight. The bye week gives Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes an extra week to scheme up something to counter teams dropping back two safeties. We should see an improvement from Kansas City's offense because of this, but one extra week won't solve all their struggles. I predict an ugly 23-17 victory for Kansas City.

Dak's Dominant Dallas Cowboys Come to KC

Things changed quickly in the AFC West last week after the resurgent Kansas City Chiefs overpowered the Las Vegas Raiders 41-14 in Vegas. Kansas City now leads the division and seems to be hitting their stride in every facet of the game. The Chiefs move on to face the Dallas Cowboys today in a possible Super Bowl preview. KC must continue this improvement while also avoiding major mistakes in order to keep up their winning ways this evening.

Patrick Mahomes successfully moving the ball with superstars and role-players, alike was the key to claiming a comfortable victory last Sunday. Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill combined for 15 catches, 202 yards and two touchdowns, but Mahomes and Andy Reid spread the wealth. Mahomes threw touchdowns to four different Chiefs, and four different Chiefs ended the day with at least four receptions. Especially impressive was Darrel Williams' nine catches for 101 yards and a touchdown.

KC can outscore Dak Prescott's offense today if they continue this strategy while keeping the ball out of the hands of Trevon Diggs. He leads the league with eight picks and ranks second with 13 pass deflections. It's very possible Andy Reid schemes the offense around this guy to limit his game-wrecking potential, but other gifted coaches have tried to do the same and failed.

Turnovers are perhaps a boring topic, but it's important to know that Diggs has helped his team to the NFL's 7th-best turnover differential. Even after a game with no interceptions by Mahomes and a Daniel Sorensen pick, the Chiefs still rank 29th in turnover differential. If KC just keeps the differential in today's game even, they should be able to beat one of the truly elite teams in football right now. It's time for the Chiefs to take care of business against a Super Bowl contender with a Pro Bowl-caliber QB under center. I'm predicting an exciting 34-31 victory for Kansas City.

Can KC Claim Crucial Victory in Vegas?

Our eyes now turn to the desert where the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Las Vegas Raiders in a pivotal divisional face-off. The winner here undeniably takes the inside track in the race for the AFC West. Can the Chiefs play a complete enough game to claim victory tonight? We can at least see that their defense looks up to the task recently.

This Chiefs defense held opponents to a touchdown or less in five out of their last eight halves of football. Chris Jones moving to the inside with the addition of an immediately effective Melvin Ingram made a major impact, as did the improving health of KC's secondary. Perhaps the most important recent change is the emergence of Nick Bolton and Willie Gay as trustworthy, dynamic athletes in the middle of the Chiefs defense. The presence of these capable, young linebackers will improve both Kansas City's defense and financial status for years to come.

All these improvements defensively flips this teams' identity, especially when paired with surprising struggles of Patrick Mahomes. Despite perhaps the worst stretch of football in his still-young career, I cannot expect Mahomes to be mediocre today or ever. This week is just different, not only because of the Raiders, but because of the chance KC has to take hold of their division.

Some regression to the mean must also be expected regarding the production of each teams' QB. Mahomes ranks 16th in QBR, and right behind him at 17 is Derek Carr. The Chiefs' half-a-billion-dollar man finished 2nd overall in that category last season, and Carr finished at 11th. 

Vegas has also just shown the league that they can limit the opposition's quarterback, but they also showed that it may not matter. The Raiders allowed only 110 passing yards last week while sacking the opposing QB twice and hitting him six times. Despite this, they still lost to Daniel Jones' Giants.

Like I remind myself every week, it's not all about KC's quarterback. The Chiefs should utilize their emerging rushing offense against this Raiders defense that allows the fifth-fewest passing yards per game and the fifth-most rushing yards per game this season. If Andy Reid and the rest of the coaching staff can do this effectively, it should give the Raiders plenty of time to beat themselves. I predict a hard-earned 27-23 victory for the Chiefs tonight.

Many Week 17 Moments Still Matter To Mastermind Brett Veach

Depth and productivity provided by an undrafted player represents success for the Kansas City Chiefs in so many ways. Finding effective parts of the roster that won't break the bank seems to be a key strength for Chiefs general manager Brett Veach. Promising former Missouri Tiger Yasir Durant could be the next poignant example of Veach's very successful strategy.

Injury problems persisted throughout 2020 for KC's core of trustworthy offensive linemen, which makes the emergence of young talent all-the-more important. During a critical meeting with the Miami Dolphins in Week 14, a back injury sidelined veteran Chiefs right tackle Mike Remmers. This gave undrafted rookie Yasir Durant his first opportunity at real NFL playing time.

Durant consistently faced top-shelf collegiate pass-rushing talent when he played three seasons as one of the best linemen in the SEC. The freshly-signed Chief played 24 of his 38 NFL offensive snaps as he replaced Remmers that day, and Yasir looked solid doing it. Head coach Andy Reid sounded impressed with the lineman's intellect when speaking with media in the weeks that followed, telling anyone asking about Durant that he was "smart" and displayed "great upside."

Analyzing the effectiveness of an undrafted lineman doesn't sound like the most thrilling way to spend your Sunday, but these smaller details matter to the folks trying to create a dynasty in this salary cap-altered era of American football. Durant is just one of many examples of less-heralded parts of the roster getting a chance to shine, thereby affecting the way KC builds their team in the future. Resting first-stringers like Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins gives the coaching staff more time to analyze Mecole Hardman and Byron Pringle. More snaps for tight end Deon Yelder will help KC learn more about the status of depth at that position.

The effectiveness of these players is pivotal in building KC's plan for both the offseason and the next draft. Hidden somewhere in whatever office the Chiefs use to do their big-picture strategizing is a board or a list of some kind deciding how to prioritize certain parts of this team during the upcoming NFL draft and the free agency market. Today's game should give us moments that move certain positions up or down that board, especially concerning the offensive line and wide receiver groups. That probably won't give you goosebumps like a Patrick Mahomes playoff game, but it is meaningful.

KC Coaches Ready for Revenge This Raider Week

A change of location for their biggest rival cannot change the fact that the Kansas City Chiefs know their opponents in tonight's primetime game very well. The 6-3 Las Vegas Raiders lay claim to the only victory over this season's Chiefs. The whole world expects Patrick Mahomes to score in bunches every game, but the unpredictable variable most likely to decide the winner of this meeting is probably the effectiveness of Derek Carr's offense.

The Raiders' average points scored this year is eighth league-wide, but Carr's passing doesn't always play a role on first down. Only the Titans, Ravens and Browns run the ball with more frequency on first down. You'd think the Raiders found lots of success in this situation if that's their plan, but Las Vegas' 4.3 yards per carry on first down is actually below league average. 

Debatable efficacy combined with KC's mediocrity in stopping the pass on first down may force Raiders head coach John Gruden to readjust this week. The league average Passser Rating of qualified quarterbacks throwing to the short middle of the field (less than 15 yards) is 97. KC allows a 128 to opposing passers in that context this season. 

If it's close, tonight's game could come down to Carr's rare shots downfield. He looks great in a limited sample size throwing deep to the right, and he struggles throwing deep-left. KC shuts down the deep left of the field and sometimes struggle to stop big plays on the right side. Finding ways to push Carr to the left of the pocket while still defending against the short-pass attack will be key to the scheming strategy for Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

I think a few weeks studying what went wrong in KC's loss to the Raiders will be enough to help Spags coach this defense to victory today. A bunch of moments had to go the Raiders' way  in order for Vegas to sneak away with a W last time. I cannot expect Andy Reid to lose to the Raiders coming off a bye week after Andy lost to them weeks earlier. It seems like a recipe for revenge for Reid and the rest of Kansas City, so I predict a 34-24 victory for our Chiefs.

Could Panthers Present Problem for Promising Chiefs?

Practically zero football teams throughout the years are without a significant flaw. Our Kansas City Chiefs sometimes struggle to stop a potent rushing offense, despite their winning ways. The universe's greatest running back lines up today opposite a Chiefs defense that ranks fourth league-wide in rushing yards allowed per game. Christian McCaffrey may be rusty, but feeding him is the Carolina Panthers' best bet today and any day. On the other side of the ball, one of history's greatest combinations of quarterback and coach will work to make McCaffrey's contributions irrelevant.

Numbers indicate that Carolina's defense is remarkably average in most regards. All in all, 12 teams in football hold opponents to fewer points per game than the Panthers. The Chiefs faced two of those teams so far, the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots, and KC handled them both. Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid guarantee the Chiefs an advantage in raw skill and experience over virtually any quarterback/coach tandem in football. This remains undoubtable when facing Teddy Bridgewater and rookie HC Matt Rhule. 

The Panthers could keep things close, as only Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers have defeated Teddy's Panthers by more than a single score this season. The current 10-point spread in favor of our Chiefs could bely an opportunity for a tight ball game today, especially if the returning McCaffrey looks healthy and refreshed. Carolina does well defending against tight ends, and KC's wide receiver core is depleted due to injury, so I expect a lot of running the ball by both teams. Clyde Edwards-Helaire could have one of his best performances of the season today as the Chiefs overcome a game Carolina squad 30-20.

Mahomes Bound to Bounce Back Facing Bad Bills Pass Defense

Today, we will witness an intriguing meeting of two legit AFC champ candidates who both hope to bounce back from recent stinkers. Our Kansas City Chiefs stunned me and most of the football world by losing to the Las Vegas Raiders last week. Will they rebound this afternoon, and will Patrick Mahomes outperform the polarizing QB standing in KC's way? 

Josh Allen played like an MVP candidate through the first four weeks of this season, then looked bad in his last game when the Tennessee Titans blew his Bills out 42-16. I like Allen. His proven ability to learn and grow can't be discounted. The Bills are presumably playoff-bound and he's just as much the reason why as any other player in Buffalo. That's enough to bring many in the media to think Allen will achieve elite status at some point, and perhaps that take is warranted. However, nobody thinks Josh Allen is Patrick Mahomes. 

Patrick clearly had one of his most forgettable games last week amidst a memorable stretch of historically unprecedented success. Mahomes arguably never played a worse second half in his entire career. Still, if you just compare the difference between the reaction to these two quarterbacks playing poorly in their last game, you can see the clear difference in status right now. Allen struggled, and everyone now wonders which version of him is to be expected every Sunday (or Monday, or Thursday, or Tuesday, or whenever.) Mahomes struggled, practically everyone was surprised by it, and practically nobody wonders whether Patrick will return to his typical elite form. 

We all know Mahomes' performance wasn't up to his own standards last week, but it's important to remember the same for the strategy employed by the Chiefs' head coach. I expect Andy Reid to acknowledge a lack of balance in last week's offensive gameplan as part of the reason the Chiefs were stunned by the Las Vegas Raiders. This means Clyde Edwards-Helaire should have a more significant impact this week, but that's not to say that Patrick won't be chuckin' it today. Buffalo's defense ranks in the bottom-10 in stopping the pass, and we know the Chiefs offense comes into this game with something to prove.

Kansas City's defense struggled in its own right recently, but their key weakpoints aren't facing a particularly bad matchup today. Only the Houston Texans allow more rushing yards per game than the Chiefs at the time of this writing, but only five teams in football average fewer yards on the ground per game than the Bills. It's time for KC to get back to their winning ways with a convincing, if not hard-fought victory over a solid squad. I'm going with a 42-34 win for a Super Bowl-winning Chiefs team that will be very well-prepared to silence doubters worldwide.

Patriots Provide KC A Key Test Despite Cam Newton's Absence

Our Kansas City Chiefs overcame their presumed competition for the conference crown last week with relative ease, and tonight they face off against a ghost of their peculiar past. The New England Patriots won't be fully operational today without Cam Newton leading the offense, but could Bill Belichick and a defense that still commands respect stun the football world with an upset over our Chiefs? If so, how?

KC could increase New England's odds and increase the heart-rates of fans like me by stumbling out of the gates, and they've been susceptible to that lately. After finishing in the top ten in 1st quarter scoring during their championship campaign, the Chiefs entered Week 4 ranking second-to-last in the NFL with 2.2 first quarter points per game this season. New England's defense has allowed only 3.3 points to opponents in the 1st quarter this season, and that can only be bested by six defenses in football.

A slow start for KC could save the Pats from an early slaughter, and their defenses excels at disrupting opponents' short-to-intermediate passing game. It's almost like Bill looked at what his own team accomplishes with the same offensive strategy and said, "don't let that happen to my defense." Today will provide us with a strength-on-strength matchup featuring perhaps the two best football minds in the game. The intrigue of such a meeting of the minds makes me even more bummed that we don't get to see how this new Pats squad looks with Cam healthy.

Stats indicate that Patrick Mahomes is averaging shorter, quicker passes this season, which may sound like a let-down to some fans in the Kingdom. However, there's a big, beautiful reason why football savant Andy Reid utilized this change in strategy, and his multi-faceted reasoning further exemplifies his unique savvy.

First, it's important to note that this short-pass strategy gives defenses the old Muhammad Ali "okey-doke" before delivering some key knockouts by landing long-pass haymakers, kinda like how KC just victimized the highly-touted Baltimore Ravens. It also makes the Chiefs' newest weapon more unpredictable, as Clyde Edwards-Hellaire could damage a defense equally via run or reception. Clyde is key to this change because he completes Kansas City's total coverage of the field with their offense. Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce already stretch opposing defenses to their limits, but now the new #25 is here to turn "spread the field" into a major understatement. If he proves to be worthy of a first-round pick, it's gonna feel like cheating.

I don't think the Pats can stop the Chiefs when Cam is healthy, and part of me hopes that's some juicy foreshadowing, but that means my prediction for today isn't in doubt. I think our Chiefs win a comfy 34-17 game while I imagine Bill wringing his hands like a comic book villain and calculating his strategy for next time...

Will Chiefs Chase History By Defying Draft Logic?

NFL draft speculation is dominating sports media in this unique time-frame in which the sports world is otherwise paused. It makes me wish I was already a draft mega-nerd, but I sadly don't have the chops that these experts have. As a wannabe journalist and a long-time fan of your world champion Kansas City Chiefs, I can only express my own desires and fears. With all of Chiefs Kingdom riding a wave of confidence that can come only from Super Bowl success, it only makes sense that what I want from this draft is defined more by fans' desires than by their fears.

I did not want a wide receiver initially, despite the apparent depth of worthwhile picks available, but things change quickly when talking about the draft. I thought about maybe five positions before thinking about wide receiver for the first-round pick, but it's worth remembering that the Chiefs probably won't have Sammy Watkins or Demarcus Robinson after this upcoming season. With that in mind, rumors about KC trading up for Alabama receiver Henry Ruggs III caught my attention and slowly started sounding more believable. Quotes that Andy Reid "loves Ruggs" gave me visions of a possible future that induced some serious goosebumps.

Ruggs ran a ridiculous 4.27 forty-yard dash and oozes with natural talent. His already-high projection as a first-round pick somewhere between #10 and 20 overall was perhaps damaged by starting at 'Bama alongside fellow elite receiver prospect Jerry Jeudy. Some say Ruggs displays more skills relatable to excelling as an NFL wideout than Jeudy, who many experts rank as their #1 receiver prospect. Henry's the fastest guy in the draft, regardless of position, and suddenly I realize that I really, really want him on my team at all costs.

It's not as if the Chiefs are totally screwed if they don't draft for a particular position. The front line of Steve Spagnuolo's defense has some depth and talent already, and the safety position is as solid as it can be. I read numerous Chiefs blog offerings about Kansas City aiming for an offensive lineman, but this speculation came before we knew the Canadian doctor would return to wear red and gold this season. Now that Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is officially back in action and veteran Mike Remmers will also be joining the squad, I don't think Veach wants to go O-Line in the first round, either.

I don't have the kind of drafting wisdom that the experts have, but I know the Chiefs lack depth at the linebacker and cornerback positions. If KC picks someone from either of these positions, I'll still be happy, as a lot of talent will reportedly be available at #32. Noah Igbinoghene is athletically impressive and also shows some incredible instincts and anticipation skills. A.J Terrell from Clemson is a physically gifted CB, and linebackers like Patrick Queen or Zack Baun project as one of the best Chiefs at that position in years. I'll be damned, though, if this silly wide receiver rumor doesn't have me salivating a little bit.

Honestly, if we draft anybody in the first round that isn't a QB, I'll just assume Brett Veach knows best and stay content. After all, Veach built a roster that brought back a ring, and I wanted to draft Watson instead of Mahomes.

Speaking of Veach, he already went out and added depth at numerous other positions of need by singing or re-signing trustworthy veterans. All his recent moves could be perceived as evidence that he would like to maintain his ability to draft for talent instead of drafting for need. That philosophy makes sense when the vast majority of a Super Bowl-winning roster is already set to return this upcoming season. Despite their aforementioned lack of depth on defense, the Chiefs don't "need" to draft any particular position. Drafting a trustable linebacker or CB would ease some concerns in the Kingdom, but that doesn't define it as something KC "needs". So, why wouldn't Veach pick somebody that he and Andy Reid thinks can achieve greatness?

Brett Veach deserves credit for trying to go big if Ruggs III is a significant part of his plan. Imagine if the Alabama standout becomes the standout in the NFL that many of the league's best talent analysis experts think he can be. The Chiefs will have Patrick Mahomes throwing to Mecole Hardman, Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill and another star with elite speed for at least two full seasons - and they'll be able to somehow afford it.

Trading up is a risky, expensive ordeal, and deciding to do so would mean that the entire organization thinks the potential reward outweighs the big risk. Upgrading the offense with another elite receiver would give KC the potential for historically unprecedented success on offense. Making this decision would mean that Veach and Reid envision Henry Ruggs III turning the Chiefs into the greatest offense in football history.

I don't know if it's the smart thing to hope for, but the heart wants what it wants.

Precisely zero mock drafts that I can find have the Chiefs doing this, but predicting a team to trade up is tough. I say that, but two mock drafts from CBS Sports include the Philadelphia Eagles or Denver Broncos trading up to acquire the 'Bama blazer instead, and those aren't the only interested teams. Other possible destinations for Ruggs III include San Francisco and Las Vegas. It sounds like Chiefs Kingdom could wind up loving or hating him based on what happens tonight.

I'll still buy into drafting anybody that doesn't help KC's lack of defensive depth because of Brett Veach's previous triumphs as a big-time decision-maker. For many reasons, this truly unique draft should be seen by Chiefs Kingdom more as a source of fun than a source of stress. Let's all enjoy the respite as much as possible.

Doug LaCerte writes about Kansas City sports and mostly neglects Twitter and Facebook until there's stuff going on that's actually worth talking about.

Mahomes Makes Chiefs Championship Favorites

Are you ready for the most important football game of your life, Chiefs Kingdom? I thought the extra week between games would be unbearable, but it turned out to be euphoric. Part of me wants it to never end. I really will miss having the world's eyes on this team we all hold so close to our hearts. I may not be emotionally ready for all this, but Patrick Mahomes is, and he'll be the difference maker today. The San Francisco 49ers are a more complete team with a stout defense and a frighteningly effecting running game. The most important player in Chiefs franchise history faces another seriously daunting test, but can his talent, wit and will bring our Chiefs a championship?

You've probably heard about the five first-round picks that make up the the Niners' defensive line. You probably know Richard Sherman, future Hall of Famer defensive back and perennial dream-killer for young NFL quarterbacks. You probably remember a certain edge rusher named Dee Ford, too. The effectiveness of San Fran's defense as a whole should not be understated, but their job today is to stop a guy who was seemingly built in a video game to poke holes in great defenses. Having the best deep threat and the best receiving tight end in the universe doesn't hurt.

If San Fran double-teams Tyreek, then Travis Kelce will gouge the admittedly solid second layer of that defense. Double-team Travis, and the Chiefs will have an excellent route-runner in Tyreek Hill ready to find small spaces in San Francisco's zone-heavy defense. Double-team both of these superstar passing targets and watch Mahomes scramble for big gains while distributing to Sammy Watkins and Mecole Hardman. The pick-your-poison line about multifaceted offenses is cliche, but it fits this team to a T.

The tenacity and poise of San Fran's defense limits the amount of big plays made by every team they face. Patrick is just too good, however, at making something magical happen when a play breaks down or must be extended. These kind of matchups are how truly epic sports moments are born. Mahomes needs to be great to give the Chiefs a chance at a championship, but Chiefs Kingdom knows that nobody in this world is more capable of such greatness.

Kansas City already overcame that 24-point playoff deficit against the Texans. They already overcame the prototypical underdog and ended the Cinderella story for a Titans team which also had the consummate Boogeyman at running back. This 49ers team should concern us as Chiefs fans, but now the Kingdom and the team itself is above fearing any team in football. San Francisco could make our hearts pound out of our chests today by looking really good, but the Kingdom knows that Patrick Mahomes is ready to be great. This is his league now. This is his time.

Enjoy every moment of this, Chiefs Kingdom. Remember how much it means to Andy Reid and Andy Reid's entire family and every person who ever played for Andy or went to the same school as Andy or sold Andy a cheeseburger. Remember how great sports can feel when we're all in this together. Hug the people who love football and love you. This is our time, too. Make the most of it.


Doug LaCerte still neglects his Twitter and Facebook, but he appreciates every member of The Kingdom experiencing this moment with him.