Chiefs are rounding back into form — just as presumptive AFC contenders are collapsing around them

https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/chiefs-are-rounding-back-into-form--just-as-presumptive-afc-contenders-are-collapsing-around-them-194244388.html

It’s happening again. The inevitable draws closer by the game. The Kansas City Chiefs may have stumbled out the gate and sit with a 3-3 record through six games, but everyone can see what’s happening.

They’re doing the thing. Rounding into form, figuring out their offense and defense simultaneously, driving opponents nuts while doing it, and now they’re about to get their best offensive skill player back from suspension.

The Chiefs always have a chance to win the Super Bowl as long as they have Patrick Mahomes under center, but it’s clear that this team is better (at least on offense) than last year and they’re starting to play cohesive football. For people who are sick of the Chiefs and Mahomes and what they’ve accomplished, take a seat before looking at the rest of the AFC — the conference is wide open for them to take. Again.

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Even if the rest of the conference wasn’t in turmoil, the foundation the Chiefs have built still suggests they’re a real contender for the rest of the season. Again, they have Mahomes. That’s self-explanatory. However, some of the moves they made in the offseason to make sure they don’t have a repeat of the Super Bowl destruction last February are paying off.

Their first-round pick Josh Simmons made an incredible recovery from a torn patellar tendon and looks like he’ll be playing in Kansas City for a very long time. Jaylen Moore, who they signed this offseason, looks to be a more than capable swing tackle based on his performance against the Lions. Fortifying offensive tackle allowed them to kick 2024 second-round pick Kingsley Suamataia inside to offensive guard, where’s been much improved after a disastrous rookie season.

Offensive line stability has allowed the Chiefs to have more success at developing their offense through the first month and a half of the season. Hollywood Brown being healthy has added a credibility at receiver they were sorely lacking last season, Tyquan Thornton has developed into the speed threat the Patriots drafted him to be back in 2022, and Kareem Hunt and Isaiah Pacheco are having efficient seasons on the ground again. That’s a better cast than the one that made the Super Bowl last year.

Now, Rashee Rice comes back. Rice missed most of last year with an ACL injury before getting suspended for his role in a car crash to start this season, but when he’s on the field he’s one of the best young wide receivers in the league. He looked healthy in the preseason, so the expectation is he’ll be a big boost right away for the Chiefs’ offense.

As the Chiefs potentially round into the best version of what this team can be, their expected competition in the AFC is looking weaker than at the start of the season. The Ravens are 1-5 and are likely too severely flawed to rebound. Same goes for the Bengals, who are 2-4 and just traded for Joe Flacco to try and help save their season. The Chiefs’ own division is extremely winnable too, with the Chargers getting a bad case of the injury bug and the Raiders flopping unbelievably hard with Pete Carroll.

Buffalo and (unexpectedly) Indianapolis are going to be strong competition in the AFC, plus teams like the Jaguars and the Patriots lurking as frisky playoff teams. That’s a considerably weaker field than a month ago and Kansas City has the pieces to take advantage. Even over the first three weeks of the season when they looked to have a constipated offense, they were still 11th in points per drive (2.22) and eighth in expected points added per play (0.04). All things are possible through Mahomes.

Through six weeks, the Chiefs are now fifth in points per drive (2.77) and fifth in expected points added per play (0.12). The defense still has some issues to iron out, particularly in the passing game where they’ve struggled the last two weeks on a down-to-down basis.

Still, with a top five-ish offense getting their top non-Mahomes player back, the Chiefs’ offense really has a chance to catch fire here as long as everyone can stay healthy. Once again, the stars are aligning for another run deep into the postseason.

https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/chiefs-are-rounding-back-into-form--just-as-presumptive-afc-contenders-are-collapsing-around-them-194244388.html