Chiefs’ opponent is not the other team. It’s themselves. And right now, they’re winning
What we’re watching really is incredible, even if this is a little quirky, but when is the last time the following sentence was true?
In a league that conquered America by pushing parity, the Chiefs are so good their understated coaches have talked consistently about complacency being their biggest challenge and their players are now half a season into burying complacency under three tons of manure.
The Chiefs beat the New York Jets 35-9 at Arrowhead Stadium Sunday. They scored five touchdowns and surrendered zero. They amassed roughly twice as many first downs, total yards and yards per play. They covered a near-historically big point spread.
This is what championship teams are supposed to do. They’re supposed to create challenges when challenges do not present themselves. This particular group has shown itself adept at competing against itself — its own standard — more than the opponent.
This trend began showing itself over the last half of last season and has only grown in 2020. We saw it against the Texans, the Chargers and especially the Ravens. We’ve continued to see it the last three weeks, too.
NFL teams are bunched around the middle by design, and the Chiefs have beaten their last two opponents so soundly that their backups have finished.
“I thought our guys took it seriously the whole way through,” Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu said. “That’s what you want. You never want to stoop down to the level of any opponent if you feel like you’re the better team.”
The point of the 2020 Chiefs has never been to beat the Jets. The point has never been to beat the Panthers next week, either, or to avenge their loss against the Raiders after that or even to beat the Bucs after that.
The point has been twofold: to be good enough to play the Bucs or whoever else comes from the NFC in the Super Bowl, and then to beat them. That’s the only standard.
Beating the Jets does little to advance this, except that NFL teams are limited in their opportunities to practice, to play, to improve.
There was a well-meaning concern that a group of young, athletically arrogant, accomplished football players would blur the lines on this, but they appear to be doing the opposite during a stretch of their schedule that would invite it.
“We had to execute as a high level,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “You have to do that in this league. You can’t take anyone for granted. There’s great football players in every single team that you’re going to go up against.”
That is elite coachspeak by Mahomes there, but if we can get past the cliche’ wrapping paper, what’s inside is key to another Super Bowl run.
The Chiefs’ coaches and players are talented enough and operate with enough mutual trust and creativity that the opponent does not matter. Matchups tend to matter more than talent in the playoffs, and a way to push those matchups in your favor is to close all the gaps you can — to, in the words of Mahomes and coaches uninterested in providing interesting quotes, “execute” at a high level.
That means Mahomes continuing to improve his discipline with decisions in RPOs, and continuing to improve his pocket presence. That means the offensive line continuing to improve in both run and pass blocking, and preparing for and squashing stunts.
That means the defense continuing to be a strength and not just ride Mahomes’ back. The Chiefs have given up more than 20 points in just one game this season — nobody else in the AFC can say that. In three games since that disaster against the Raiders, the Chiefs’ defense has created six turnovers, scored seven points, set up 10 more and given up an average of 14.
This team has been interesting to follow. Perhaps this speaks to expectations, but the Chiefs’ wins have often come with qualifiers and the Raiders loss was seen in some circles as the new rule instead of the exception.
But here’s what’s true: When the next Super Bowl is played, nobody will talk about which team played the best in September and October. And we’re now eight games into a season in which the Chiefs have played well (by their championship standards) in all three phases just twice.
They are 7-1, among the league leaders in points, points surrendered, point differential and various statistics both traditional and advanced.
“These guys are pretty focused,” Reid said. “They enjoy playing with each other. If you’re going to be good at the end of the year you’ve got to take care of business during the year. Every game counts as you go forward, so it’s important you bear down every week.”
Mathieu is emphasizing the calendar change. November is the beginning of big-boy football, is the thinking. This is when playoff positioning begins to shape. December is when it is won. And January is why any of it matters.
Maybe this is another example of athletes creating challenges, but it is a real thing with added meaning this season.
Reid’s teams here have occasionally slumped around this point, and with only one first-round bye in each conference the No. 1 seed is more important now than ever.
The Chiefs trail the undefeated Steelers by one game. Neither team has a particularly difficult schedule remaining. The Steelers will play the Ravens, Bills, Browns and Colts, among others. The Chiefs’ toughest remaining opponents are the Raiders, Bucs and Saints.
Home-field advantage will go to whoever best navigates the inevitable unpredictability and variance of an NFL season, but what matters even more than that is the team that presents its best self in the postseason.
The Chiefs are playing a different game than everyone else, because they know their best is better than anyone else’s. That’s why their internal standard is so important.
That’s why days like this, even against inferior opponents, matter. The Chiefs are doing all they can.
This story was originally published November 1, 2020 at 5:25 PM.