Early in the 2017 season the Kansas City Chiefs were the hottest product in the NFL. They were hailed as the team to knock off the New England Patriots as AFC Champions.
Fast forward to Week 12 and they are the same old Chiefs side who struggle to put wins together. Where did it all go wrong for them?
To answer that, we first need to go through the stats.
In weeks one to five the Chiefs were world beaters. Quarterback Alex Smith was untouchable. There were rumours in the offseason they were grooming rookie sensation Patrick Mahomes to take the starting role. How wrong they were. Smith showed just why he can match it with the best of them, throwing for 1391 yards and 11 touchdowns in the opening five games.
Those games included a win over Super Bowl champions New England Patriots, beating the current league leaders Philadelphia Eagles (10-2) and scoring 42 points against a Houston Texans defence away from home.
They also unearthed an incredible rookie running back in Toledo’s Kareem Hunt. Like Ezekiel Elliott last season, Hunt had free roam of the backfield. There seemed to be no answer to his incredible pace and agility.
He averaged 121.5 yards rushing in the opening five games and scored four touchdowns. We could go on for days talking about how good they were. But that’s all in the past.
(Photo: Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
Since the 5-0 start they seemed to have hit a wall and delivered a score line of 1-6 in the following seven games, taking them to 6-6 overall. Amazingly they still sit atop the AFC West table.
Buffalo, Dallas and Pittsburgh have all walked away from Kansas with the win in recent weeks, and the Chiefs have copped losses on the road to the one-win New York Giants and the Raiders in Oakland thanks to a late field goal. Coupled with an embarrassing loss on Monday (AEDT) to the New York Jets and this team is in desperate need of help.
The old adage that the QB doesn’t play well in the cold sits right in this case – quarterback Alex Smith doesn’t seem to play well when the weather turns.
From September to October he is an MVP candidate, but by Christmas they are calling for his head.
The situation in Kansas seems dire. They are on a four-game losing streak, but they still sit on pole position in their division. They are even with the Chargers and Raiders, and they are three ahead of the Broncos, who are a basket case all on their own.
The run home is favourable. They play all three division rivals and the hapless Miami Dolphins. It’s feasible they can win all those games and finish the season 10-6, which would be astounding. But having seen them play in the last seven weeks, I’m not so sure.
The Chiefs need to get back to basics. Reprise the running game that worked for them in the opening rounds. They have a great tight end in Travis Kelce and a quality wide receiver in Tyreek Hill.
Throw the ball early in the game and let Kareem Hunt run wild when your opponent is tired. It’s football 101. They have the means to do it. Forget all the fancy stuff, do the basics well and the rest will fall into place.
Will we see them in the playoffs? The next four weeks will be intriguing.
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