These unbeaten Chiefs should be kindling new belief in their beleaguered fanbase
With a 30-14 stiff-arming of Jacksonville and its theoretically immovable defense on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, a victory furnished in part with a jolt from their own beleaguered defense, the Chiefs are 5-0 for just the fourth time in franchise history (including 2003) and third time in six seasons under coach Andy Reid.
But this opening burst feels almost tangibly different than the 9-0 launch in 2013 against a soft schedule and last year’s 5-0 jump that was followed by a bizarre unraveling — six losses in the next seven games.
Yes, it’s early, but this comes with a certain feeling in the air, something reminiscent of the exhilaration and anticipation that the Royals created in 2014 and 2015, doesn’t it?
This comes with not just a sense of promise but a sense of belief, both within the organization and around the area. Because of the fusion of a generational talent at quarterback, a bewildering array of talent around him, a coach on the cusp of his 200th NFL win and even the suspect defense that demonstrated on Sunday what it is capable of with four interceptions and five sacks that included a strip for a fumble recovery.
This comes with a shift that says why not here, why not now — instead of a prevailing pessimism accrued by nearly half a century of postseason futility and compounded by shattering playoff collapses.
Just where is it ordained that the Chiefs have to be snakebitten, that only everyone else gets the nice things and fans here don’t deserve the game-changing likes of a Patrick Mahomes in uniform?
It’s a long season ahead, with so many twists and turns looming, not all of them necessarily pleasing. Nothing can be taken for granted, obviously.
But that now includes taking for granted that this franchise is only here to set you up for a colossal letdown.
Add competent defense to a mix that already includes a prolific offense that at the mesmerizing hand of Mahomes has scored more points through five games (175) than any team in Chiefs history and superb special teams, and, well …
“The sky is the limit,” said tight end Travis Kelce, who had five catches for 100 yards.
Just because it’s a cliché term doesn’t make it true.
Now, we’ve seen this warm-up act before. And all of this will be tested in a new way on Sunday at perennial power New England. And the defense needs to produce a lot more than one salty game before you can expect a weekly boost on that side of the ball.
But we’ve also witnessed some things the last few weeks that suggest this is all its own story, waiting to unfurl with none of the weight of the past to impede it.
Consider some of the prologue for these Chiefs, who previously had exorcised some demons at Pittsburgh and just last Monday pulled off a fourth-quarter rally from 10 down at Denver to win 27-23.
Those games in themselves said something substantial about the makeup of this group, something right tackle Mitchell Schwartz captured after the Broncos game.
“We’d like to win by big margins every week and blow out the NFL record for touchdown passes, but obviously that is not realistic and not how football works,” he said. “I’m not one (to go on about) confidence down the road, but I do think it’s a good thing to have in your back pocket that you’ve been in probably the most hostile place you are going to play, against an elite defense and elite team and you come back from that type of thing. Just the knowledge that you can always do something.
“I think our ability to come back shows that we already had faith in ourselves and trusted in each other enough to make the comeback.”
That conviction could only have increased on Sunday, when the Chiefs became the first team this season to score as much as a first-half touchdown against Jacksonville this season.
On a day Mahomes drifted back to mortality with two interceptions even as he passed for 313 yards, they seized control with Chris Jones’ 20-yard interception return to make it 20-0 late in the first half.
The offense, with its range and depth, is a key part of the reason the Chiefs aren’t likely to endure a funk similar to last season. But, so, too, is last season itself.
Even as Reid waved off questions about the difference this time around, that was a consistent theme among Chiefs players after the game. Their consciousness of that reveals some telling self-knowledge.
“I think (expecting more now) has a lot to do with years past,” Kelce said. “Guys feeling sick of kind of the ups and downs, rollercoasters, being able to take what happened last year and fix it.
“And sure enough the finishing (of) games, finishing week-in, week-out, finishing practices, overall the finish mindset has been huge in terms of what Coach Reid has emphasized.”
Punter Dustin Colquitt, the longest-tenured Chiefs, nods when you ask him about what’s different and calls it a “hyper-focus” around the team that he compares to a watch, with “all those little gears going in place.” Center Mitch Morse said, “I think we have our heads on our shoulders,” meaning in terms of perspective and what it might take from here to make this count for something to remember.
“We’re definitely happy with where we are,” he added, “but no one’s comfortable with where we are.”
His choice of words will resonate. Because we’ve been fooled before, and there’s no guarantee of where this is all going.
Even so, there’s ample reason to believe this team has a chance to change a mindset that assumes the worst.
Vahe Gregorian
Vahe Gregorian is a Kansas City Star sports columnist.
This story was originally published October 7, 2018 at 9:00 PM.