Chiefs Kingdom Should Embrace Failure Until 2026

Is this the lowest point in the Patrick Mahomes era of Kansas City Chiefs football? It certainly feels like it. The Chiefs have been eliminated from playoff contention, and the most important player in franchise history just blew out his knee. Positivity suddenly feels like a precious commodity in Chiefs Kingdom, but I'll try to help us see the silver linings.

Nine Chiefs were already ruled out for today's game against the Tennessee Titans in Nashville. All nine are real contributors that can use this week, and as many more as they want, to get themselves as healthy as possible for next season. Fans should feel the same way about anyone considered a healthy scratch between now and September. I hate that feeling of futility as much as the next Chiefs fan, but they have nothing to earn by winning until 2026.

One of those valuable Chiefs on the injury report is Trent McDuffie, who the Chiefs drafted 21st overall in 2022. That's the highest draft pick for the Chiefs since 2017, when they drafted a big-armed, reportedly unpolished quarterback from Texas Tech as the 10th overall pick. That means everybody the Chiefs drafted in the last ten seasons with a pick higher than 22nd is on pace to be a Hall of Famer. Another injection of talent like that could really stoke the flames in the furnace of this ongoing dynasty.

ESPN currently predicts the Chiefs' average draft position at 13.7. This gives KC the chance to draft someone who becomes a fundamental piece of the future. At the start of this month, PFF listed five different edge rushers in the top 17 of their projected draft. KC's defense struggled to pressure opposing QB's this year, while also allowing the fifth-highest conversion rate on third downs and giving up the seventh-most penalty yards to the opposition. I care way more about drafting the next great piece of the dynasty than I do about Gardner Minshew leading the Chiefs second-stringers to a win over the Titans. It feels weird to say that I hope KC loses, but I do, and I'm predicting a 20-13 defeat today.

KC Should Make Quick Work of Unreliable Raiders

The 10-1 Kansas City Chiefs are back at Arrowhead to face the 2-9 Las Vegas Raiders in a rare Friday afternoon game. Chiefs fans are hopeful their team keeps hold of the #1 seed in the playoff bracket, while Raiders fans are presumably hopeful that a top-five pick in next year's draft could make them less miserable. Kansas City just added D.J. Humphries for some much-needed help at left tackle, while the Raiders just lost their starting QB Gardner Minshew to a season-ending collarbone fracture. KC already beat the Raiders less than three weeks ago when Vegas had a healthy Minshew. There's little reason for hope for the Raiders today, or any time soon.

Nobody runs the ball for fewer yards per game than Las Vegas this season. That leads to struggles with moving the sticks and controlling the clock, as is evident by the Raiders ranking 25th league-wide in average time of possession. The Chiefs' effective rushing attack paired with strong coaching has led to them ranking fourth in average time of possession this season. I suspect that the Chiefs wish to dispose of the Raiders with minimal drama and risk to player health, so they should bleed clock when they have the lead. With an over/under of 42 points in today's game, I'd undoubtedly lean towards betting the under. 

Anyone predicting a win for the Raiders today is just a troll or a clickbait creator. Patrick Mahomes' career Passer Rating of 108.5 against the Raiders suggests that he enjoys beating up on the noisy little brother of the division. Vegas' rankings in points scored and points allowed have dropped off since last season. They're the worst team the Chiefs will face all year aside from the Panthers, but KC didn't exactly destroy Carolina last week, so perhaps today's game won't be as lopsided as the 13.5-point spread would indicate. For the record, Vegas lost to those same Panthers by two touchdowns in Week 3. I'm predicting a 27-17 victory for the Chiefs that feels like more of a blowout than the final score indicates.

Will KC's Defense Look Better Against Rival Raiders In Week 2?

An intriguing challenge for our Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1 seemingly became less intriguing when Nick Foles left the game and seemingly erased the Jacksonville Jaguars' realistic hopes for victory. However, rookie backup QB Gardner Minshew completed his first 13 pass attempts and the Jags finished the day with 428 total yards. a . Minshew was the 2018 PAC-12 Offensive Player of the Year, and his story is legit, so perhaps he's better than many in Chiefs Kingdom had presumed (myself included). Still, members of that new Chiefs defense must've been shaking their heads after allowing an unheralded sixth-round pick to earn a 122.5 Quarterback Rating.

Oakland Raiders QB Derek Carr earned a 121 Quarterback Rating against the Denver Broncos last week. Even though I call him mean nicknames for my own amusement on a regular basis, Carr is a veteran QB who just led his squad to a win over a division rival with a solid defense. His offensive line also stopped the intimidating duo of Von Miller and Bradley Chubb and the rest of the Denver D from sacking Carr a single time. Chiefs Kingdom is justifiably scared about both the secondary and the edge rushing capability of this freshly rebuilt KC defense, so this looks like another setup for a fitting test.

My focus is clearly on the defensive side of the ball for the next chapter of this recently lopsided  rivalry because it's still easy to be confident about KC's offense. Tyreek Hill is tough to replace, but the Chiefs just so happened to spend their first-round pick with the motive of replacing Tyreek Hill for several weeks. This should somewhat ease the minds of Chiefs fans everywhere, as we can once again be confident about rolling into Oakland with a high-octane offense. Add the Jonathan Abram injury to the mix, and we've got the makings for Mahomes Magic and a lot of points on the board. My only concern would be keeping Patrick safe from Clelin Ferrell and Company. Let's see how the Mahomes-Mecole Connection feels, and let's see how KC's defense bounces back from their uninspiring start to the season.

Doug LaCerte is currently too busy looking at Gardner Minshew memes to care about Twitter or Facebook.