Chiefs Flashed Championship-Level Ceiling Again Before Bye
Of all 32 NFL teams, the Kansas City Chiefs had one of the busiest offseasons throughout the league. That usually would lead to higher expectations than the year before, but not in this case. After trading wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins and rebuilding multiple position groups on offense and defense, this was viewed by many as a "soft reset" year for Kansas City.
Seven weeks in, the Chiefs boast a 5-2 record and the NFL's most points scored heading into their bye week.
To cap off what was a pretty significant run over those first seven games, especially considering how difficult the opening schedule has been for the Chiefs, the team dominated the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday after allowing them to get out to a 10-0 lead early on. By the end of the game, Kansas City's offense had scored 40-plus points and totaled more than 500 yards. On defense, Steve Spagnuolo's unit had a safety, multiple sacks and multiple turnovers forced. It was a thorough reminder of one thing that has been made clear a few times thus far in 2022.
Even the new-look Chiefs have a championship-level ceiling. That's especially true on offense.
Take your pick of times in which Andy Reid's unit showed that it can still get the job done in an impressive fashion. Was it Week 1's 44-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals, or was it Week 4's 41-point thrashing of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' elite defense? Perhaps it was the aforementioned 49ers game, one where the Chiefs exploded on offense and experienced great success against the top defense in football. There are several options to choose from.
Any of those three outings displayed a blend of excellence from Patrick Mahomes and a budding chemistry with his receivers that is only continuing to grow stronger. Following their win over San Francisco, the Chiefs have the NFL's best offense in both EPA per play and Offensive DVOA. Regardless of what metric you use to measure, the end result is likely going to be you seeing an Arrowhead logo right at the end of the chart or a "KC" atop the list. With over half of the season left to fine-tune things, it's crystal clear that Kansas City's offense can be overwhelming when it's humming along.
On defense, it would be unfair to gloss over the recent shortcomings of Spagnuolo's group. After beginning the season on a bit of a hot streak, recent weeks have seen Kansas City's defense tumble down the leaderboards and get exposed in two different areas. The Chiefs' run defense remains poor, and the pass rush remains inconsistent... and even troublesome at times. Not every quarterback they face in the postseason will be of Jimmy Garoppolo's caliber. Spagnuolo and company have to pull their weight in order for a Super Bowl run to happen.
With that said, the Chiefs are less than two weeks removed from holding the Buffalo Bills' second-ranked offense to 24 points while also being shorthanded. With Willie Gay Jr. now back in the fold and the likes of cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Rashad Fenton — as well as defensive end Mike Danna — likely returning after the bye, things should be looking up soon on defense. A less daunting pocket of the schedule coinciding with all of that bodes well for some improvement on that side of the ball.
The 2022 Kansas City Chiefs were always going to be a long-term project. Heck, the reason why that was the case was that the offseason set up the future better than the present. Seven weeks into the 2022 campaign, however, the team has still flashed the potential of a club that can go deep in the postseason and has some sort of a shot at winning another championship. The 2021-22 Chiefs showed that regular-season success doesn't always guarantee postseason triumph and while this year's group has multiple questions left to answer, it's obvious at the Week 8 bye that Kansas City's ceiling is that of a Lombardi Trophy winner.
