INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The moment saved Chief of Kansas City‘season happens at the most unlikely of times. The stunned Chiefs sat in their lockers in Nashville, Tennessee, during halftime of their Week 7 game against Tennessee Titans down 27-0.
The Chiefs – with midfielders Patrick Mahomes and safe Tyrann Mathieu take the lead, the team that has played in the last two Super Bowls, winning one – is staring at a definite defeat and a 3-4 record unlike the captain.
And they didn’t roar to win that day. In fact, things hardly improved in the second half. They lost 27-3.
But they came to an epiphany that helped them find their considerable swagger.
“We realized no one was coming to save us,” says Mathieu. “We had to figure it out ourselves.”
It wasn’t always pretty, but the chiefs seemed to have realized it. Their defense, one that fueled enemy offenses throughout the first half of the Titans game, responded with a better effort than the Chiefs dared hope. The Chiefs allowed 11 points per game in the six games since.
Violation has two games with 40 plus points in two matches with Las Vegas Raiders. Otherwise, it’s not the same powerhouse group that was three seasons ago with Mahomes in midfield, but good enough for them to win six games in a row, the last four by double digits.
Their streak of at least five wins, one since Andy Reid took over as head coach in 2013, has been extended to nine, in a season where they all looked to lose. true.
“I am proud of the people who have done that,” Reid said. “Listen, it’s not a guy. It’s a combination of people, coaches, players. I mean, it’s everyone. It’s pulling together and not giving up on each other. “
More importantly, the 9-4 Captain could effectively – though not mathematically – win the AFC West Championship for the sixth time in a row by beating the Captain 8-5 in Los Angeles on Saturday night. Thursday (8:20 p.m. ET, Fox). A win would give the Captain a two-game lead over the closest competitors with three games in the regular season to play.
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“They had to work for this and I think when you really have to work for something and work hard, I think you enjoy it a little bit more,” Reid said. “You don’t rest on what happened before but you’ve earned this right here with the twists and turns and the ups and downs.”
The Chiefs, Mahomes and the tight ending Travis Kelce specifically, talked after the Week 10 win over Raid about how the team was “resounding again”. But this is a completely different kind of swagger for the Chiefs.
Their matches are no longer 40-point-best-team wins, ups and downs, but into final matches. Mahomes has had some great moments this season, like the 400-yard, five-game encounter with the Raiders last month. But he’s also had – according to QBR – eight of the 10 worst games of his professional career. He and his offensive teammates must learn to live with a new attacking reality. The Chiefs may be successful, but that success doesn’t have to be the same as in their recent past.
So their games are more formal and much less ostentatious. That formula also works for Chiefs.
“We are trying to be our own version of the Kansas City Chiefs,” said Mahomes.
“Every team is different. Every season is different. At the beginning of the year we faced a lot of adversity that people have never seen. People threw us down and acted like we did. But we did. You’re seeing that we have the people to get it done.”
The defense’s recent play is similar to that of the defense during their Super Bowl championship season in 2019. The captain has led the NFL in defensive record for that season in the last six games of the game. Season.
“We are gaining confidence,” Mathieu said. “I think we’re playing with some really good energy. We’re still in it. We’re still trying to do the research, get the work done and then let the results take care of themselves. still pursuing a mindset improvement. I don’t think any of us feel that we’ve done enough to win the championship. There’s still a lot of work to be done.”
Mathieu’s earlier view during the loss to Tennessee about realizing that no one would come to the Patriarch’s rescue turned out not to be entirely true. A week later, during the early November trading deadline, the Chiefs submitted a draft pick Pittsburgh Steelers for the veteran defense end Melvin Ingram.
Ingram was the starter for a rush pass, having a three-game best of the season in the past three, according to ESPN’s rush pass win percentage. He has only had one sacking but is playing with an energy that the Leaders lacked for much of the start of the season.
“He’s playing angry,” said defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. “He made everyone else angry too. He had a few plays… where he just hit people around. I think that’s contagious and that works for us.”
The addition of Ingram gives the Chiefs the ability to attack a back four with four players each at one point in their careers having at least 10 sacks in a season. Nothing has improved for the Chiefs in terms of their winning streak like their passing speed.
In general, the captains are the ones who love to bet AFC to reach the Super Bowl at +260. They were far behind the favorites at +650 on November 2.
“We went back a few weeks ago and [said], ‘Just take it day by day. Don’t worry about the Super Bowl right now. Let’s figure out how we can make ourselves better as a team every day,” Mahomes said.
“With the defense playing the way they’re playing, if fouls are possible like we’ve been, we’re going to be a tough team to beat. I’m just happy to continue to build momentum. this and try to keep it going.”
