The Kansas City Chiefs are 5-0 to start the 2017 season and it’s been a lot of fun for Chiefs fans. Is this the best team that we have seen since the 1990s?
I was born in November 1990 and throughout my childhood, the Kansas City Chiefs were pretty dang good. Marty Schottenheimer was the coach then and he led the Chiefs to the playoffs in seven of his nine years as the Chiefs head coach.
To be honest, I don’t remember a lot of those seasons. I was young and not really a sports fan when I was a kid. I just knew the Chiefs were a big deal and for good reason.
As good as Kansas City was year after year during that time, they’d always fail in the postseason. To this day, that is the stigma surrounding this Chiefs franchise and it’s frustrating, but understandable.
After five games this season, however, I’ve come to a big conclusion: This is the best Kansas City Chiefs team I have ever seen in my 26 years on this Earth. The team in 2003 was good, yes, but their defense couldn’t stop anything. That eventually led to their demise in the playoffs.
The 2013 team went 9-0, but we all knew that they benefitted greatly from facing a last place schedule. As such, they went 2-5 down the stretch and imploded in the playoffs. Let’s never speak of that again.
For the first time in my life, I can say that the Kansas City Chiefs truly are the best team in the NFL.
The 2015 team started 1-5 and then finished the year winning ten straight and even won a playoff game. They too had help from a weaker schedule after the first month and a half of the season.
I really thought the 2016 Chiefs team would be tough to beat, but what that team didn’t have that this year’s squad does is this version of Alex Smith. In 2016, Smith threw for just 15 touchdowns. He’s already at 11 in five games. Smith has been the difference maker this season and if he continues on this path, this Chiefs team will be hard to stop in the playoffs.
What I love the most about the 2017 Kansas City Chiefs is that their offense is a blast to watch. They can score in so many different ways with all of their crazy plays that Andy Reid has tucked away. On Sunday night, Smith hit ten different receivers and his three touchdowns went to Charcandrick West (twice) and De’Anthony Thomas (once). I doubt anyone was prepared for that.
Smith has been the difference maker this season and if he continues on this path, this Chiefs team will be hard to stop in the playoffs.
Smith has taken the type of step that we see young quarterbacks take in their third year, only he’s now in his 13th year as an NFL quarterback. Sure, the drafting of Patrick Mahomes might have lit a fire under Smith’s butt, but I don’t care what caused it. He’s the reason this team is so good right now.
Smith playing well is good enough, but throw in the fact that he has Tyreek Hill, Kareem Hunt, and Travis Kelce as weapons and the Chiefs offense has become the scariest in the entire league. They’ve put up at least 20 points in all five games so far and have scored more than 40 twice.
Not only is the offense legit, but the defense is great too. They’re very much a “bend, but don’t break” defense, as they do give up big plays here and there, but when it comes down to it, they’re great at keeping the opposition out of the end zone.
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Special teams has always been a strength for the Kansas City Chiefs too. While it looked like it might be taking a step back in 2017, Tyreek Hill returned a punt for a touchdown on Sunday night against the Texans to reel us back in. The kicker situation is also great, despite the Chiefs losing their kicker from the past three seasons.
In other words, the Chiefs are clicking on nearly all cylinders and that’s something that hasn’t been the case in the past. In 2015 and 2016, the defense was great, but the offense could barely move the football. That’s far from the situation in present day.
Last, but not least, we have the coaching staff. The only silver lining from the 2012 season is that it gave the Chiefs the opportunity to hire Andy Reid as their head coach and bring John Dorsey on as general manager. I know things didn’t work out with Dorsey, but he’s responsible for a lot of the young talent on this roster.
Reid turned this franchise around from being a bad team to a playoff contender every season. In his four previous seasons in Kansas City, the Chiefs only missed the playoffs in 2014, but they still had a winning record that year at 9-7. He’s been a fantastic addition to this organization.
I’m not ready to talk “Super Bowl” with this team just yet, but for the first time in my life, I can say that the Kansas City Chiefs are truly the best team in the NFL. What a crazy time we live in.