What Makes the Kansas City Chiefs so Good, Anyway?
What makes the Kansas City Chiefs so good, anyway? Their 2-time MVP, 3-time Super Bowl MVP and golden boy quarterback Patrick Mahomes is having the worst statistical season of his career by a wide margin. The Chiefs have been plagued with injuries all season, and they look like a fraction of the team they used to be. Mahomes’ favorite target Travis Kelce is also having one of the worst seasons of his career. And despite that, they have the best record in the NFL at 12-1 and are looking like the favorites to win the Super Bowl this year for the third time in a row, and what would be the fourth time in six years. Despite all of these struggles, what makes them such a good football team? Well, it all starts from the top.
Before you get to anyone that makes up the sideline on gameday, we need to talk about the decisions on who to get on that sideline which happen months before the first game is even thought about. Their General Manager Brett Veach and Assistant General Manager Mike Borgonzi are some of the finest managers there are. Their knack for discovering talent in moments when all others fail to is what allows them to build what might be the best roster in all of sports. In a modern era revolving around giant contracts and trying to manipulate the salary cap to squeeze in as much money in salaries as possible, the Chiefs do things the old-fashioned way - and are very good at it. Instead of letting their talented players walk away and trying to throw as much money as possible at the flashiest free agents on the market, they use these two key pieces to solve their puzzle.
Firstly, they draft well. Very well. Their scouting department does an amazing job at discovering which college players will succeed in the NFL, and get more value for their picks than almost any other team in the league. Looking at all of Veach’s previous draft classes, he has done a great job filling team needs and has only had a few picks in his entire history as the Chiefs’ GM that wouldn’t be considered a good pick. Getting quality play from draft picks is important, since they are on contracts about a fifth the size of veteran players, meaning that getting good results from these young players on cheap contracts is vital to a franchise’s success.
Secondly, they retain their talent. Instead of letting their best players leave for nothing, they resign the important pieces to their championship rosters and retain their Super Bowl-winning core. When there’s an instance where a player doesn’t want to return, or is asking for too much money, the Chiefs get ahead of the potential future issue and will trade them away to get something in return. An example of this was with Tyreek Hill, one of the NFL’s best receivers and the fastest player in football. He was a key player in winning the Super Bowl in 2020, but when complications arose surrounding his contract extension, they traded him away to the Miami Dolphins for a haul which included 2 1st round picks, and more. Instead of letting him leave for nothing, they traded him away to get great value for him which they used on players that contributed to them winning the past two Super Bowls.
Alongside their amazing front office on the staff are their coaches. They have a solid offensive coordinator, with a good defensive coordinator who has gotten interviews in the past to be a head coach. But even more importantly, they have a man who could turn the worst team in the NFL into an instant playoff contender; their Head Coach, Andy Reid. Reid is indisputably the best Head Coach in the NFL, winning four Super Bowls in his career and three of which with the Chiefs in the past five years. Reid is an offensive mastermind, creating play designs which rival that of any team in the league. When Reid was the Head Coach of the Green Bay Packers back in the late 90’s, he once listened to a janitor talk about a play he drew up, and when he used it it actually scored a touchdown. He is one of the most ingenuitive and creative coaches there are, being able to make adjustments to his schemes mid-game to dominate his opponents even further. As good as the Chiefs are, without Reid as their coach they’re an above average team at best, a far cry from the relentlessly dominant beast they are now.
The game of football is played in three phases; offense, defense, and special teams. The offense is the sexiest of the three, making highlight plays and scoring points on the regular. The defense gets the energy up, being physical and making bone-crushing hits to try and suffocate the opposing offense. By far the quietest is the special teams unit, which mainly doesn’t get even remotely close to as much recognition as the other two do; however, that doesn’t mean it isn’t important. The unit is made up of three positions; a long snapper, who snaps the ball back 8 and 14 yards on field goals and punts, respectively. The punter punts the ball away, and also holds the football on field goals for the kicker. And the kicker kicks field goals to score points, along with kicking off after scores. The Chiefs have one of the best units in the league, top to bottom.
James Winchester has been one of the more reliable long snappers over the past decade, and has been with the Chiefs since 2015. Their punter, Matt Araiza, was nicknamed the “Punt God” in college for his rocket leg, and recently hit a 59 yard punt down to the opposing 2 yard line in a primetime game against the Chargers. Their kicker, Harrison Butker, is the highest paid kicker in the league currently, and for good reason too; he has the 4th highest Field Goal Percentage in NFL history among qualifying kickers, and has the record for farthest field goal in the Super Bowl in NFL history at 57 yards. While the Chiefs have amazing players at all sides of the ball, their special teams is truly special, taking it upon themselves to win games on the regular.
Their special teams unit isn’t the only talented side of the ball without an MVP on it; their defense is elite as well. They run a 4-3 scheme, meaning 4 down lineman and 3 linebackers, leaving 4 defensive backs to protect the secondary.
It all starts with their front seven. Their defensive line is talented at all four positions, with players such as George Karlaftis and Mike Danna who have shown themselves to be capable producers in both the pass rush and in run stopping. On most teams, they’re good players who can get good production at d-end. However, the Chiefs have a 5-time All-Pro Defensive Tackle who single handedly wreaks havoc on other teams’ o-lines. Jones is a player that opposing teams need to game plan for and often will have two, or even three lineman blocking just to make sure that he doesn’t blow up a play; and when they don’t, well… this happens. This command of his allows the other three rushers alongside him to often just have one lineman to beat, making it easier for them to get a sack or pressure. While they do have talent on the line, having a player like Jones elevates everyone else to form a truly elite Defensive Line.
The heart of this defense is their linebackers. While they are an extremely solid group, they make impact plays on the regular which propel the team towards victories. Led by the Mack Lee Hill Award Winner Nick Bolton, this room consisting of Leo Chenal and Drue Tranquill alongside himself are one of the more solid groups in the league. While they aren’t the most flashy group, they are all playmakers who can disrupt and turn the tide of a game in the Chiefs’ favor. During Super Bowl 57, the Chiefs were trailing the Eagles 7-14 well into the 2nd quarter when Nick Bolton scooped up a fumble and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown to tie the game up. These linebackers definitely have an easier job than those of other teams with such a great defense surrounding them, but they still find ways to impact games and make their presence known.
The final part to this defense is the secondary. While this unit is currently more lackluster than in years past which has boasted All-Pro players like Tyrann Mathieu and Charvarius Ward, they are still a good group with players like All-Pro Cornerback Trent McDuffie and multi-use safety Justin Reid. They consistently blanket up opposing receivers, with their two starting corners allowing just a 58.3% completion percentage against them when targeted; for reference, a quarterback with that completion percentage would be the 4th worst in the entire NFL. This team has lost significant talent in this area, and it’s still an elite part of the team which makes the lives of the other players that much easier.
With talent in each of the three areas of the defense, this is one of the truly elite units in the NFL, and can take over to close games out when the offense is struggling.
But just because the defense is talented enough to carry the offense doesn’t mean they have to. The Kansas City Chiefs have had a league-leading six offensive All-Pro players since 2018, which showcases the amount of talent this team’s biggest strength truly has.
Even the best quarterbacks of all time wouldn’t be able to succeed without at least above-average offensive lines, and the Chiefs happen to have a top-five line with the best interior lineman in all of football. The middle of this line consists of All-Pro 1st Team selections Joe Thuney and Creed Humphrey at left guard and center, respectively, with Pro Bowler and future All-Pro right guard Trey Smith as the three core pieces to this line. They are all incredibly sound in pass protection, run blocking, and can all pull or lead block however you want them to. While the tackles are the biggest weakness of this team, they are both solid enough, and considering how much this team runs through the middle of the line, the interior three more than make up for them. Speaking of running, the Chiefs have a very talented backfield in Pro Bowler Kareem Hunt and Mack Lee Hill Award Winner Isaiah Pacheco. Each are powerful runners who are capable of running in the middle, to the outside and are dangerous in the receiving game. Hunt in particular is very dangerous in the playoffs, having scored 8 total touchdowns in just 6 career playoff games. The proficiency of this rushing attack opens the airways for the passing game, which is so good that it makes the rest of this incredible team look like middle schoolers.
Before we get to the man throwing the ball, let’s talk about its recipients. The pass catchers on this team include decorated receiver Marquis “Hollywood” Brown, who, while injury prone, is incredibly talented; Xavier Worthy, swiss army knife who is great both catching passes and running the ball, along with being a former 1st Round Pick who set the NFL Combine record for fastest 40 yard dash time with a 4.22 second run; future Hall of Fame candidate, 5 time Pro Bowler and 5 time All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who while getting on the other side of father time, is still capable of catching any pass anywhere near his body; and rounding this incredible receiving room out, is 10 time Pro Bowler, 7 time All-Pro, and a Top 3 tight end in NFL history, Travis Kelce. They even have other players like Rashee Rice, who broke out in the previous season and is incredibly helpful to this team, but is unfortunately injured right now. This group is incredibly talented, but they wouldn’t be able to play effectively without a good quarterback throwing them the ball - and, boy, do they have that.
Patrick Mahomes II is currently 29 years old, and has been playing in the NFL for 8 seasons - his first of which he spent backing up Alex Smith, barely seeing the field. In his starting role the last 7 seasons, he has led the Chiefs to 7 AFC Conference appearances, 5 Super Bowl appearances, won 3 Super Bowls (and looking to win a 4th in two weeks) along with winning Super Bowl MVP all 3 (potentially 4) times. Additionally, he has been selected to the Pro Bowl 6 times, has been an All-Pro selection 3 times, won Offensive Player of the Year in 2018 and has won League MVP twice. He is incredibly decorated, almost as much as he is talented - he can make any throw, from any arm angle, at any place on the field. He is one of the most accurate, mobile, and aware quarterbacks that there are, and is on track to potentially be the greatest player in NFL history. He makes the lives of his teammates so much easier, and his gravity opens up lanes for every other player to succeed. He is a captain, and a leader to this team, and consistently can win them any game almost single handedly. As good as any team is, they can’t survive in today’s NFL without a great quarterback, and Mahomes does anything they ask of him and more.
This team is elite from top to bottom, all the way from management to their special teams unit, and every piece is needed to have the kind of sustained dominance that they do. They are currently on pace to be the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowls, with only one more game remaining that could possibly deter said feat. While it may be frustrating at times to be on the receiving end of their brutality, one can only respect the kind of sustained dominance they’ve shown for so long.
