Still winning: Why this victory over the Saints was the Chiefs’ most impressive yet
The Chiefs are the fastest. We talk about that a lot.
The Chiefs are smart. We talk about that, too.
The Chiefs are fun and, brother, we talk about that constantly.
We don’t talk nearly enough about this: The Chiefs are tough. Really tough. Really, really tough.
“It was a brawl,” Chiefs offensive lineman Andrew Wylie said. “It really was.”
The Chiefs are famous for their highlights, but they’re champions because of what they showed in a 32-29 win over the Saints in New Orleans on Sunday.
Their season montage will feature moments like Smoked Sausage and Travis Kelce breaking tackles and Tyrann Mathieu intercepting passes, but that glitter can potentially turn to championship gold because of what we saw against a team playing for a division title and the NFC’s top seed.
The Saints have some specific strengths that make them one of the NFL’s best teams, and notably here one of the league’s best matchups for the Chiefs. They get the ball out quick on offense, and have one of the planet’s best run-catch threats out of the backfield in Alvin Kamara.
On defense, the pass rushers are football savages, and the secondary is one of the league’s few with the right combination of speed and power to not be overwhelmed by Tyreek Hill and Kelce.
All of that is true, and yet the Chiefs led virtually the entire way. They converted in short yardage and long. The receivers made catches over the middle, knowing they would be crushed immediately. Patrick Mahomes took perhaps the hardest hit of his career, one that came from the front and back almost simultaneously, causing a fumble. His next pass was a rollout, perfectly thrown downfield to Hill.
On defense, the Chiefs appeared to play more press man coverage than in any other game this season, presumably serving two strategies: clutter Saints quarterback Drew Brees’ timing in his first game back from injury, and challenge a receiving corp missing Michael Thomas. The results were positive, at least until the Saints’ last possession.
“Just the resiliency,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “Mental toughness, and where things just weren’t going (well), whether it’s drops or we had guys open and weren’t quite able to get to them, and we’ve got linemen playing in different spots, and all those things. They’re not excuses. There’s no excuses with it, but there’s a point where you just have to bear down. Things are going to happen and you’ve got to go.”
The offensive line included Eric Fisher playing with a back injury, Stefen Wisniewski playing his first game after being cut by the Steelers, and Wylie playing right tackle for the first time in the NFL after the Chiefs’ first two choices were injured.
All of that, and the Chiefs rushed for 179 yards — their second-highest total of the season.
Mahomes did well on scrambles, including a 24-yarder late in the fourth quarter, but running backs Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Le’Veon Bell combined for 141 yards.
The vast majority of that production came against light boxes as the Saints prioritized stopping the pass, but that’s always been the (low) standard for the run game. To be effective enough that defenses need to be honest.
This is interesting, too: The Chiefs have struggled running in short-yardage situations all season, but were 7-for-7 on converting first downs with called run plays with 2 or fewer yards to go. It is not a coincidence that after weeks of worry about the Chiefs’ red zone struggles they scored touchdowns on their first four drives inside the 20.
“We had to come in the right mindset knowing that we have to get the job done wherever we need,” Bell said. “Really in the second half were were called upon to run the ball a lot. I think the guys up front did a tremendous job of moving guys off the ball and creating lanes.”
The Chiefs would be a Super Bowl threat if all they had was Mahomes and some playmakers. But they are more than that. They are Super Bowl champions, owners of the league’s best record at 13-1, and significant favorites to win another championship.
That’s because they couple their speed with strength, and those highlights with toughness.
They are talented enough to make some wins look easy, even against good teams. They did that against the Ravens, for instance.
But now they’re winning games with physical strength, and the mental fortitude to come back late in Las Vegas, and hold off Tom Brady in Tampa, and make every play down the stretch against the Chargers, Bills, Dolphins and now Saints.
This is a rare creation. They are the networks’ No. 1 choice to draw in casual fans, and the best team in video games. But they pair the fireworks with some real muscle. They do not pout or cower when their speed does not overwhelm. They figure out another way.
These are interesting times. Aaron Rodgers is authoring an MVP-caliber season and the Packers own the NFC’s best record. The Steelers have lost two in a row, and the hole left by their undefeated talk has been filled by proclamations that the Bills could now be the AFC’s top team.
And the Bills are a legitimate contender for the Super Bowl. Let’s be clear about that.
But this doesn’t have to be complicated. The Chiefs won the most recent Super Bowl, own the league’s best record and employ the best player. They can win throwing over the top to Tyreek Hill, and they just beat one of the league’s toughest teams with strength.
So we can talk about other teams, and other stars. But if the Chiefs play like this, they’re all we’ll be talking about in the end.
This story was originally published December 20, 2020 at 8:37 PM.