The Chiefs are the most complete team in the NFL
KC can play any sort of game on both sides of the ball and run away with it.
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Earlier this season, when the Chiefs were losing more games than they were supposed to (and making wins look harder than they had in previous years), there was a great deal of reaction.
Note that I didn’t say OVERreaction. Just reaction. The Chiefs looked genuinely flawed in certain ways that were wildly concerning, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. On this very site, I wrote that the Chiefs looked bad and needed to seriously consider what had gone wrong and whether there were fixes to be found within the current roster. Enough time had gone by and enough sample size was there that making judgments wasn’t premature.
Now, two months and 8 straight wins later, we’re in a similar position that there’s no reason to call takes based on that time period an overreaction. It’s simply a reaction to several months of evidence. And that reaction is simple: The Kansas City Chiefs are the best, most complete team in the NFL.
If one were so inclined, one could make the argument based on numbers. Football Outsiders’ DVOA (which is essentially a measurement of moving the ball and stopping other teams from moving the ball, accounting for situation and strength of opponent) had the Chiefs’ offense ranked 5th in “weighted DVOA” (in which more recent results are more important than the beginning of the season), being 6th in passing efficiency and 7th in rushing efficiency prior to Sunday’s game. In other words, even before they laid waste to Pittsburgh’s defense (a game that will move them up the chart), they were one of the best and most balanced offenses in the league in terms of efficiency.
Perhaps even more importantly, though, the Chiefs (again, prior to demolishing the Steelers) ranked 10th in the league in weighted DVOA on the DEFENSIVE side of the ball. That’s a reflection of a defense that has, over the last several months, played impressively enough to turn heads.
Murphy's Law @murphyslaw1863
@TheRightSideLLC Whats that say about the steelers offense. https://t.co/cT0DyE2XA4More so than the numbers, though, is the way in which the Chiefs have been winning games. And that’s where the statement “best in the league” comes from. Because the Chiefs can do everything on both sides of the ball at multiple levels. Let’s talk about it, looking at how just (mostly) first-half snaps against Pittsburgh demonstrated the Chiefs’ variety on offense and defense.