The Kansas City Chiefs are already pretty good at the WR/TE position with Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, and Travis Kelce. So when the front office went WR with their first-round pick in this past SFL Draft a few people were left scratching thier heads. Texas A&M rookie WR D.J. McClean was a good pick, just maybe not the most pressing need for the Chiefs. The Chiefs prescribed to the draft philosophy of taking the best available player rather than reaching with a lesser pick to fill a need. If McClean's performance in the team's win week 1 against the 49ers is any indication of how his season will go, the Chiefs GM made the right call. McClean ended the game with 4 receptions for 95 yards and a TD. The most impressive catch was the rookie's first TD where he fought off a tough bump at the line of scrimmage and out-muscled the 49er defender for the catch and 41 yard TD.
The Chiefs struggled to find consistency in the running game, but with this receiving group, the running game may only need to be marginally good for the team to still find plenty of success on offense. Mahomes did throw 4 picks with 2 being pick 6s. He needs to protect the ball better or the Chiefs will find themselves in lots of high-scoring games.
The 2023 Chiefs aren't quite in a full-blown rebuilding phase yet, but it's getting close. The retirement of KJ Wright helped clear up some needed salary cap space. Fan favorite WR Sammy Watkins, was a salary cap casualty along with backup QB Matthew Stafford. The emergence of Mecole Hardman and Demarcus Robinson made the aging Watkins expendable. Stafford was signed a bargain last season, but age and the fact that Mahomes has not missed a snap in 3 seasons made Stafford's price tag too hefty with the Chiefs already up against the cap.
The cuts freed up enough space to make re-signing CB Rashad Felton, DT Khalen Saunders, and MLB Kwon Alexander possible. The Chiefs still feel like their offense is in good shape but wanted to use the money to bolster the defense. They will need all the defensive help they can get as they have to battle the defending Super Bowl champs and the rest of the AFC West to try and get back in the playoffs in 2023.
While the skill positions on offense are as good as any team in the league, the real question will be on the offensive line. Look for the front office to go after multiple offensive line positions in free agency and the rookie draft.
The 2022 season didn't go as planned for the team, but some players still had excellent individual seasons. Those player were recognized by the fans and their peers with their 2022 Pro Bowl selections. Here are the representatives from the Kansas City Chiefs;
QB - Patrick Mahomes 373/539 69% 5,339 Yards 48 TDs 19 INTs 116.4 QBR
WR - Tyreek Hill 104 REC 1,955 Yards 18.8 YPC 80 Lng 20 TDs
RT - Mitchell Schwartz
DT - Chris Jones 13 Sacks
SS - Tedrick Thompson 40 TKL 1 FF 1 Sack 3 INTs
All of the players were thankful for the Pro Bowl honors, but each said they want 2023 to be all about getting the team to the Super Bowl and hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
The Chiefs 2021 season ended on a dark note. KC won the AFC West and had the top seed in the AFCplayoffs, but lost Mahomes to a PED suspension. Still, their first game was against the 7th seeded Bengals who also had a backup QB due to their own PED issues. An early injury to the Bengals QB left them playing with a punter for most of the game. The Bengals managed to pull off the win and eventually won the Super Bowl. The Chiefs were shell shocked following that loss and it seemed to still be haunting them at the beginning of the 2022 season.
The Chiefs started the season by trading the 49ers for Kwon Alexander. A move that the team hoped would solidify the middle of their defense and shore up the team's biggest weakness. Bringing in Alexander was a gamble because his hefty contract would strain the already razor-thin Chief's salary cap, but management felt like this was the missing piece to put them over the top. The offense was a top 5 offense the last 2 seasons and all of the major contributors were still in place. The defense now looked to be on par with the offense, but many people felt like 2022 was a must-win season because maintaining all these high-priced players would be impossible.
The season started out 0-5 and looked like the team was still reeling from the playoff loss. The team managed to beat an unimpressive Raiders team in week 7, but at 1-5 the season looked lost. The team lost the following game to the Jaguars and traded All-Pro SS Tyrann Mathieu to the Bears at the trade deadline. A trade that signaled the Chiefs were already starting their rebuilding phase and looking to 2023.
However, the next 9 weeks saw the Chiefs come to life on both sides of the ball. Everything seemed to click and the Chiefs went on an 8 game winning streak. The defense came to life and Chris Jones went on a tear during the streak with 11 sacks during the winning streak. The team also forced multiple turnovers and was playing like was envisioned with the Alexander trade.
Going into week 17, the team was in control of their own playoff destiny. A simple win and you're in scenario against the 14-1 divisional rival Chargers. The Chargers had beaten the Chiefs 4 of the last 5 meetings, but were already guaranteed the #2 seed and decided to rest several big players on both sides of the ball. The recipe seemed perfect for the Chiefs to complete the greatest turnaround in team history. From 0-5 to 10-6 and a guaranteed playoff spot with a win.
Unfortunately, the pressure of 9 straight must-win games caught up to the Chiefs. Even against mostly backups, KC couldn't come up with the plays when they needed them resulting in a 29-24 loss and a 9-7 record. A win by the Cleveland Browns over the Baltimore Ravens provided the 9-7 Browns with the better conference record and thus the tie-breaker over the Chiefs.
Now the front office must turn its attention to the off-season. An off-season that will certainly see some big name cuts and releases.
The Chiefs season looked over in week 5 when the team posted their 5th consecutive loss to start the season 0-5. After a player's-only meeting during the bye week, where several starters were called out for a percieved lack of hustle, KC posted their first win of the season 42-28 over the Raiders. The joy of that win quickly faded when the Chiefs lost the following week to the Jaguars 33-28. The loss prompted management to trade Tyrann Mathieu to Chicago just before the trade deadline.
No one is openly saying that Mathieu may have been a problem, but the Chiefs are 8-1 since the trade and have quietly climbed into the 7th seed of the AFC playoff race. The team has basically been playing with the pressure of the playoffs since week 9 and has answered the bell. The team has 2 huge tests in front of it against the Broncos in Denver and the Chargers in KC. The Chargers have had the Chiefs number winning 4 of 5 since the 2020 season. The Chiefs can't look past the Broncos who have a new coach and owner since the two teams played week 10.
If the Chiefs even make the playoffs it will be one of the greatest turnarounds in SFL history and possible the first team to ever start a season 0-5 and make the playoffs. While several teams have nothing to play for the final 2 weeks of the regular-season, the Chiefs have been in a must-win game every week since week 9. Can they withstand that kind of pressure or will the season end just as it looked like it would week 5? One thing is for certain, with salary cap issues and some older players on the roster, this is likely the last time most of these players will suit up together in the red, white, and gold.
The Kansas City Chiefs moved to 4-6 on the season after posting their 3rd straight win against the red hot 49ers in San Francisco. Mahomes threw 6 TDs, 3 to Tyreek Hill, 2 to Kelce, and 1 to Watkins. The running game was non-existent for the Chiefs as they only managed 48 yards on 19 attempts, but the passing attack overcame 2 early picks by the 49ers to lead the Chiefs to the win.
The Chiefs defense came in determined to not let the league's leading rusher, Raheem Mostert, beat them. Mostert had rushed for over 170 yards in each of the last 2 games and the 49ers success is due mostly to Mostert's success. The plan worked, although Mostert did manage to get 96 yards and a TD, he was held in check on most of his 19 carries and wasn't allowed to break the big runs like he has in most games this season. The Chiefs harrassed QB Jake Bentley into 3 costly interceptions, including one late in the 4th. The Chiefs held a slim 4 point lead when Malcolm Butler picked off Bentley with around 4 minutes left in the game. The Chiefs managed to run out the clock and the 49ers never saw the ball again. The Chiefs defense also added 3 more sacks to their season total.
The win keeps the faint pulse of a Chiefs playoff spot still beating. The loss drops the 49ers to 7-3, but still in good shape in the NFC playoff race. Week 12 has the Chiefs at home against the division rival Las Vegas Raiders (4-6), who are in the same boat as the Chiefs fighting for their playoff lives. The game should have a playoff feel to it as the loser is unlikely to make the playoffs. The 49ers will host the 2-7 Buccaneers.
The Chiefs posted their 3rd win of the season and find themselves in their first 2-game winning streak. The Broncos (2-7) came in at 2-6, so it's not time to celebrate too hard, but it is some sign of life from a Chiefs team that looked uninspiring and flat the first 6 games of the season.
The defense, and specifically DT Chris Jones, have been the catalyst to this newfound success. Jones had 2 sacks just 2 games ago, but recorded 4 against the Broncos week 11, including 3 in the 4th quarter to stop the Broncos final drive. Jones now has 9 sacks and 6 TFLs. The Chiefs as a team now have 21.5 sacks and 5th in the league in that category. They were 24th just 3 games ago.
Chiefs management made it clear that every position was up for evaluation and so far some of the players have picked up their play. Whether it's a coincidence or not remains to be seen with 7 games left. If the Chiefs can get hot down the stretch they may be able to salvage this season with a play-off appearance. But that is a long way from now except that the Chiefs are pretty much treating every game from this point forward as a play-off game. With 6 losses already, it is unlikely that they can make the AFC field of 7 with 7 losses on their record. Only the Bengals and Chargers have fewer than 3 losses in the AFC at this point, so the Chiefs need help, but could find themselves right back in it if they continue to play like they have the last 2 games.
The 2022 Chiefs made a trade for Kwon Alexander in the off-season that the team ownership felt like would solidify the defense and push the Chiefs into a true Super Bowl contender for 2023. Afterall, the Chiefs had won the AFC West and were the # 1 seed in the playoffs, but a PED suspension of Mahomes was too much to overcome and they were bounced by the eventual Super Bowl champion Bengals. Mahomes vowed in the off-season to never let his teammates down again and the team was excited to add much needed defensive firepower in Alexander. 2022 looked like it was their year!!
However, an 0-5 start quickly dowsed any hopes of the Chiefs even making the playoffs, let alone ending the season as champs. The salary cap was already an issue and Alexander's salary strained it even further. The tough decsion to trade away Tyrann Mathieu came before the trade deadline, but it will still take a salary cap genius to keep most of the team together for a 2023 run.
Every player on the team, no matter their rating or status is going to be evaluated the remaining 8 games of the season according to Coach Deberg and GM Harvey. Expect some hard decisions to be made this off-season and some possible big personnel changes.
The Chiefs weren't sure what their new offense would do against one of last year's best teams in the Jacksonville Jaguars and after losing their #1 running back on the first play of the game panic could have easily set in. Fortunately, Ty Chandler took full advantage of his unexpected opportunity and rushed for 149 yards and 2 TDs. Chandler's efforts made it easier for the play calling to remain balanced with 32 runs to 30 passes. The balanced attack kept the Jaguars defense guessing all game long.
Maybe a bigger surprise was the Kansas City defense. The Jags were one of the best offensive teams in 2020. Salary cap cuts seemingly weakened the defense in the off-season and undoubtedly SFL AFC QB of the Year Gardner Minshew was looking forward to getting back on the field after his PED suspension in the playoffs. With an entire previous season of film to review Minshew may not sneak up on as many teams this year. The Chief's defense frustrated the Jags high-powered offense all day. Chark and Minshew did connect on a 54 yard TD in the 3rd quarter but that would be the only catch for Chark. Jacksonville drops and KC pass break-ups left Minshew below 50% for the game. The Jags only managed to convert 17% of their 3rd downs compared to 73% for the Chiefs. Jacksonville came into the game hoping to get a running game on track with two rookie rushers but they only managed 52 yards on 10 carries. The score kept the Jags from calling more runs and with Minshew and his WRs struggling in the rainy conditions, they were unable to keep pace with the Chiefs balanced attack.
The anticipated matchup between Tyreek Hill and the Jaguars superstar cornerback CJ Henderson went to Hill despite some pre-game Twitter bravado from Henderson. Hill led all receivers with 6 catches for 153 yards and a TD. Henderson missed on a chuck attempt in the red zone that made for an easy throw for Mahomes to Hill for the 18 yard TD. The Jags never recovered.
It wasn't all roses for KC though. Long-time and reliable kicker Harrison Butker was a salary cap casualty. Left-footed Giorgio Tavecchio took over kicking responsibilities but was 1-3 on FG tries including a chip shot 20 yard miss. The weather conditions may have played a part but Coach DeBerg said that stat line will not be tolerated long in KC.
Next up is the 1-0 Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati.