The Kansas City Chiefs head into the NFL Playoffs against the Miami Dolphins in unfamiliar territory. By their standards, the Chiefs’ offense was nothing to write home about during the regular season. This unit ranked 15th in the NFL in scoring at 21.8 points per game.
During Kansas City’s Super Bowl run last season, Patrick Mahomes and Co. ranked first in the league in scoring at 29.2 points per game. Mahomes won both the NFL and Super Bowl MVP awards. Travis Kelce was a man on a mission.
We just have not seen that same iteration of the Chiefs’ offense as the 11-6 team heads into the AFC Wild Card Playoffs.
Primarily, a lack of receiving weapons has impacted Mahomes in a big way. Too many dropped passes. Too much miscommunication. It led to a down regular season for Mahomes.
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| Year | Comp % | Yards | TD | INT | QB rating |
| 2022 | .671 | 5,250 | 41 | 12 | 105.2 |
| 2023 | .672 | 4,183 | 27 | 14 | 92.6 |
Most teams would take this type of quarterback play. But the Chiefs are no typical team. They have a ton invested in him. It has led to frustration on Mahomes’ part throughout the season.
On the other side sits a Chiefs defense that yielded the second-fewest points (17.3 points per game) and was second in yards allowed during the regular year.
General manager Brett Veach has done a great job investing draft capital on this unit. It led to great improvements under respected coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
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Kansas City Chiefs’ young guns stepping up in secondary
A lot has been made about impending free agent Chris Jones and the defensive front. But it’s Kansas City’s secondary that has stepped up big time this season.
It was during the 2022 NFL Draft that Veach and Co. invested a ton in the secondary.
- 1st round, 21st pick: Trent McDuffie, cornerback
- 2nd round, 62nd pick: Bryan Cook, safety
- 4th round, 135th pick: Joshua Williams, cornerback
- 7th round, 243rd pick: Jaylen Watson, cornerback
Similar to the upstart San Francisco 49ers in 1981, these rookies played a major role in Kansas City winning the Super Bowl last season.
They’ve been even better this season. McDuffie recorded five forced fumbles with three sacks during the regular season. At the other cornerback spot, Watson yielded a mere 56.3% completion when targeted. Cook gave up just 16 completions 12 games at safety.
They are going to be key going up against a banged-up Miami Dolphins offense led by Tua Tagovailoa. If Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are held in check, Kansas City will win going away.
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George Karlaftis as a true wild card for Kansas City Chiefs
As noted above, Jones enjoys most of the press. The defensive tackle was a finalist for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award a season ago. He’s been nearly as good this season (29 QB hits, 10.5 sacks).
But it’s Karlaftis who has made a huge difference. Part of the aforementioned 2022 NFL Draft class, the former Purdue star recorded 17 QB hits while tying Jones for the team lead in sacks. He also registered a total of 35 QB pressures.
These two tiers on defense working together has led to a sometimes dominant Chiefs defense. It has made up for struggles on the other side of the ball.
Kansas City’s hopes of repeating as Super Bowl champions is now more reliant on its defense than the other side of the ball. That’s as clear as day, and it starts Saturday afternoon at home inside Arrowhead Stadium in KC.