Over the first five weeks of the season. the Chiefs looked untouchable. A revitalized Alex Smith was the league’s top quarterback, utilizing weapons like Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, and rookie dynamo Kareem Hunt to run to a 5-0 start that included wins over the Patriots, Eagles, and Chargers.
How the Chiefs overcame a midseason swoon to win the AFC West in 2017
Kansas City rebounded in time to lock down an underwhelming division.
Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
And then, like a race car built without a screwdriver, the wheels came off. Kansas City dropped six of its next seven games to put the franchise’s playoff hopes on ice. A surging Los Angeles team suddenly looked like the division’s top team — but head coach Andy Reid turned into the skid, and the result was an AFC West title.
The Chiefs clinched a playoff spot Sunday, winning the division in back-to-back seasons for the first time in franchise history. Kansas City’s win over the Dolphins secured a fifth straight winning season and left the Chargers with slim wild card hopes as the season winds down.
An explosive offense fueled the Chiefs’ hot start, then became inert in a devastating slump
Through five games, Kansas City averaged a league-high 32.8 points as Smith captained an offense that couldn’t be stopped — only contained. Hunt, a third-round pick out of Toledo, burst into the national consciousness with 609 rushing yards in that span and six total touchdowns. Hill averaged more than 14 yards per catch as the team’s resident deep threat, and Kelce dropped in three games in which he had at least 98 yards receiving.
Then, it all disappeared. That supernova offense collapsed in upon itself, scoring fewer than 20 points in four of its next six games. A 38-31 loss to the Jets dropped the team to 6-6 and in a virtual three-way tie in the West with the Chargers and Raiders. That raised major questions about the team’s postseason viability and whether Smith was actually capable of making a fundamental change more than a decade into his pro career.
The Chiefs have found a way to regain their September swagger, however. Hunt has sprung for at least 116 yards rushing in each of the team’s last two games before Sunday’s victory over the Dolphins, and he rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown against Miami. Smith has a 7:1 TD:INT ratio in his last four games after an 7:4 mark in the five that preceded them. At the same time, a defense that gave up 38 points to Josh McCown and the Jets allowed just 28 total in wins over the Raiders and Chargers.
Can they make noise in the postseason?
If they’re back to early-season form? Absolutely. Kansas City used big fourth-quarter performances to put away the Patriots and Eagles — the presumptive top seeds in the AFC and NFC — to open its season. The Chiefs’ offense is dynamic and fluid, creating havoc when all cylinders are aligned and firing.
The defense raises a larger question. While Justin Houston and Chris Jones have led an intimidating front seven, the franchise has struggled to replace All-Pro safety Eric Berry (who, to be fair, is essentially irreplaceable). Kansas City has been a top-10 team in terms of shutting down opposing quarterbacks, but its rushing defense has lagged behind. The Chiefs came into Sunday ranked just 28th in the league in yards rushing allowed and 25th in yards per carry. In a playoff field that will include home-run hitters like Le’Veon Bell and Leonard Fournette, that’s bad news.
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