The X-Factors; What players (or storylines) will decide the Chiefs' 2022 season?
Looking at the non-Mahomes factors that are most likely to determine the fate of Kansas City's Super Bowl aspirations in the upcoming season.
The Kansas City Chiefs rise and fall on the back of Patrick Mahomes. Until they don’t.
What does that mean? It’s an acknowledgement of a fundamental truth as well as the limitations of that truth. And said truth is that Mahomes is the best quarterback in the NFL, the most important player in Kansas City, and by far largest factor in whether or not they will once again contend for a Super Bowl. If his play in the preseason is any indication of the things to come, he’s going to be better than ever, which puts the Chiefs square in the conversation as a threat to win it all.
But this isn’t new information for Chiefs fans, or anyone who follows the NFL even casually. The fact that the quarterback is the most important factor that goes into whether a team contends, and that Mahomes is at the top of the list of guys who help their team win, is basically just a known truth.
But that known truth does have its limits. As great as Mahomes was last year (and he was tremendous the vast majority of the year, arguably better than ever as he adapted his game to adjust to defenses going to incredible lengths to stop him) and every other year of his career, he’s not the sole factor that merits consideration. There’s a reason why many great quarterbacks have only a single Super Bowl (or none) to show for their efforts; Football, and the NFL in particular, is a sport where a single player will always have limits to his impact.
Defense matters, especially in the playoffs. Receiving targets and the ability to “Create yardage” or win against tough defenses matters, especially in the playoffs. Offensive line play matters, especially (you guessed it!) in the playoffs. Coaching moves the needle a great deal (and yes, especially in the playoffs, where the ability to plan for a single opponent becomes a huge advantage or disadvantage). There are a number of other positions or factors, including pure luck, that play a large role in a team’s ability to contend each season.
So what are the biggest factors for the Chiefs that aren’t named Mahomes? Or rather, what specific players (or storylines that we’ve been following since training camp) are going to have the largest impact on the Chiefs’ chance to add their second Lombardi Trophy in four years, outside of the best player on the planet?
With the season on the brink of beginning, it’s time to write about those players/storylines, commonly referred to as X-factors (a term Chiefs fans of course love dearly thanks to their own Dante Hall, who served as one of those needle-moving factors on several contenders by being the most dangerous returner in the world). What are those X-factors for Kansas City, and why?
Let’s talk about them, starting with some young guns.