Another winning season for the Chiefs? That’s clinched. Now they’re on to bigger things
Lost in the Chiefs’ heart-stopping victory over the Raiders last weekend that improved their record to 9-1 was this nugget: Kansas City clinched its eighth straight winning season.
That’s approaching a franchise record. The Chiefs turned in nine straight winning seasons twice, from 1965-73 under Hank Stram, and Marty Schottenheimer’s first nine years, 1989-97.
A playoff appearance this season would be the Chiefs’ sixth straight, matching the franchise record.
These achievements, not to mention the Chiefs winning 18 of their last 19 games, started when Andy Reid and Alex Smith came to Kansas City in 2013 and have accelerated in the past three seasons with Patrick Mahomes. Reid put it best after Mahomes led the Chiefs to a game-winning touchdown drive Sunday in Las Vegas.
“I’ll take him over everybody and I’m lucky to have him,” Reid said. “As we are as a football team and as a city. We’re all proud of him the way he goes about his business.”
A winning record and playoff berth aren’t ultimate objectives for a franchise that’s coming off a Super Bowl victory. But as Reid constantly says, the difference between winning and losing in the NFL is small. Every accomplishment should be recognized.
Here’s how Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay might play out:
When the Chiefs pass
Three of the five touchdown possessions against the Raiders took at least 5 minutes, 39 seconds. The game-winner took 1:15. Mahomes and the offense can do damage to a defense slowly or in rapid succession. This season, the Chiefs have five touchdown drives of at least 90 yards. Two came at Las Vegas. The Bucs have been solid defensively all season but allowed 376 passing yards by the Rams’ Jared Goff. And how cool is this? Assuming Mahomes and Tom Brady start on Sunday, they’ll have matched up four times in three seasons. The only quarterback Mahomes will have faced more in his career is Derek Carr (six times).
Edge: Chiefs
When the Chiefs run
The Chiefs looked to re-establish a ground game last week and it worked. Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed for 69 yards and two touchdowns, and Le’Veon Bell scored his first touchdown for the Chiefs. The Bucs lead the NFL in rushing defense at 73 yards per game.
Edge: Buccaneers
When the Buccaneers pass
Bruce Arians caused a stir this week when he offered this critique of Tom Brady, after the 43-year-old quarterback tossed two interceptions on Monday in a three-point loss to the Rams, including an overthrown ball that ended the final possession: “Other than the deep ball, I think he’s getting confused a few times with the coverage,” Arians said. “That might be the cause for some inaccurate balls, but I don’t see it at all in practice. We’re not missing the deep ball in practice, that’s for sure. It’s just a matter on Sundays hitting them.” That should light a fire under Brady. Expect him to respond accordingly against the Chiefs.
Edge: Buccaneers
When the Buccaneers run
Ronald Jones has rumbled for 754 yards, including a 98-yarder this year, and Leonard Fournette can pick up the tough yards. But the Bucs rank 26th in rushing (98.3 yards per game). The Chiefs defense came under fire for the performance at Las Vegas but they weren’t damaged by Josh Jacobs and the Raiders running game as in previous meetings.
Edge: Chiefs
This story was originally published November 27, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Another winning season for the Chiefs? That’s clinched. Now they’re on to bigger things."