Die Kansas City Chiefs are the NFL dynasty of the present. Will they be the first team ever to win the Superbowl-Hattrick?
State of the franchise
Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, Chris Jones, Travis Kelce – almost paradisiacal times for Chiefs fans!
The Chiefs still have every year in the Mahomes era at least reached the extension of the Conference Championship Game (!). Four Super Bowls, three titles in six years. There isn’t much more you can do.
The soon best quarterback Having been drafted in history is of course the most important factor for success, but one cannot but thank the Chiefs and GM Brett Veach also have to pay respect to the fact that two years ago they Mini-break instead of going “all-in” after two disappointing defeats against Tampa Bay (Superbowl 2020/21) and Cincinnati (AFC final 2021/22) and putting all their chips on a short title window.
As a reward for this long game The franchise won two titles – and the best thing of all: Numerous metrics (e.g. turnover rate of -11) indicate that Kansas City won a unfortunate Team This is very tangible, for example, in the Receiver-Corpswhich cannot be worse than 2023.
The prospect that the Chiefs will continue to play after such a successful era Room for improvement must be terrifying for the rest of the NFL. The good thing? We are in the NFL with all its uncertainties. Not for the first time would a Title favorite unexpectedly fell.
Expectations
- Win/Loss 2023: 11-6 (Superbowl-Champ)
- Pythagorean 2023: 11.4 Siege
- Market Preseason Ratings: +4.3 points
- Expected season wins: 11.6 Siege
- Probability of division win: 68%
Why hope is appropriate
Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the NFL and is busy writing his legend as a budding GOAT.
Andy Reid is still one of the best offensive play callers. Steve Spagnuolo is one of the best defensive playcallers with his crazy pressure schemes. Chris Jones has been one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL for years. Travis Kelce has masked his declining athleticism over the last 2-3 years with a sixth sense for the seams in defense.
We have a stable Interior-O-Linewhose only weakness is the snaps from the otherwise strong center Creed Humphrey We have depth at every position in defense.
The identified weak point of last season – the receiver corps – was addressed emphatically in the offseason. Hollywood Brown und 1st-Round-Rookie Xavier Worthy bring a lot of speed and thus finally a serious deep game to the recently so lame pass-catching corps. TE Irv Smith is a much better fit as #2 for certain matchups than in his roles as „go to guy“ in Minnesota or Cincinnati.
And finally, this team has a Self-image like only the Patriots once did. When things get tight, the Chiefs find solutions. Of course, a little bit of luck cannot be ignored, but this luck has also worked against the Chiefs in the past (see as an example: Dee Ford). So it is more “balancing justice” than “Bayern luck”.
Why caution is advised
The situation on Offensive Tackle needs improvement. RT Jawaan Taylor has proven to be a penalty machine, but is set with his monster contract. Left Tackle, on the other hand, must either Wanya Morris (3rd Rounder 2023) oder Kinglsey Suamatia (2nd Rounder 2024).
Both are said to have a certain potential: Morris didn’t look any weaker in college than teammate and ex-1st rounder Anton Harrison (but Morris has been a serious problem in the NFL so far), and Suamataia was traded as a late 1st on many boards. The bets are currently on Suamatia.
A A weak point in an O-line can usually be hidden by a scheme – but for a title contender, the tackle situation is not ideal.
Im Receiver-Corps On the other hand, the following applies: clear #1 missing. Kelce may be on the short routes, but Kelce hasn’t been winning for a long time „outside“ and at the age of 35 he might have physically deteriorated to such an extent that any sense of gaps becomes obsolete and he is simply “washed”.
Brown and Worthy are lightning fast, but they are not clear WR1 outside guys – Worthy’s training camp videos also reveal a receiver who has worryingly little to counter physical contact, and Brown is out for the start of the season with an injury.
In the Defense threatens Regression. You have CB L’Jarius Sneed for contractual reasons, which the fantastic corner couple with Trent McDuffie Sneed’s departure pushes every corner up a place in the hierarchy – so McDuffie, who is famous in the slot, will now have to move more to the outside, Joshua Williams becomes CB2, Jaylen Watson CB3, Chamarri Conner CB4 etc.
The edge rushers are also gutbut not First-Class. George Karlaftis wins with power rather than speed and therefore needs a few fractions of a second longer to achieve the “pass rush win”, Felix Anudoke-Uzomah showed almost nothing as a rookie, Charles Omenihu is a good #2, but definitely not a top starter as #1.
outlook
Best case scenario: Threepeat.
Worst case scenario: Surprising home defeat in the wildcard round against a Bills team that was on fire at the best time.
