The Chiefs’ roller coaster season crashed the same place it always does

The 2017 Chiefs’ offense was something out of an unfair video game. They had the league’s top-rated quarterback, a rookie tailback who gashed defenses on the ground and through the air en route to a record-setting start, and an All-Pro WR-TE combo that tallied more than 2,200 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns.

But despite those advantages, Kansas City’s season ended in the same place it has four times in the past eight years — with a one-and-done playoff loss at home.

It was a disappointing finish for a team that vacillated between brilliance and awfulness throughout the season. The Chiefs roared out to a 5-0 start that included big wins over the top seeds on both the AFC and NFC side of the playoffs. Then they cratered through a 1-6 stretch that suddenly put the AFC West up for grabs.

A four-game winning streak finished the season on a high note and put Kansas City in position to challenge the Patriots and Steelers for AFC supremacy, but it wasn’t to be. Tennessee overcame a 21-3 deficit to come back and stun the Chiefs in the playoffs’ first weekend, ending their run and making it 24 straight years without a postseason win at Arrowhead Stadium.

While the season ended poorly, there were still plenty of positives from Kansas City’s 2017.

Kareem Hunt’s coming out party came in his very first NFL game — and against the defending champions. The former Toledo Rocket left a disheveled New England in his dust en route to 246 total yards and three touchdowns as the Chiefs turned a 27-21 fourth quarter deficit into a 42-27 win.

Hunt wasn’t the only player to make a statement. Alex Smith responded to the presence of rookie quarterback Patrick Mahomes by stepping up his game and turning a typically conservative game plan on its ear. He outdueled Tom Brady with a near-perfect 368 yards and four touchdowns.

More importantly, that Week 1 win showcased the best of Andy Reid’s creativity, letting opponents know his team wasn’t afraid of getting weird to get the job done. Behold, the tight end read-option pitch play:

Unfortunately, that kind of creativity wasn’t always useful — like when the Chiefs called a QB option facing third-and-1 late in a Wild Card Game only to lose 1 yard and keep the Titan’s comeback momentum rolling forward.

Kelce is only a Rob Gronkowski injury away from being the league’s best tight end on a weekly basis. He set a personal best with eight touchdown catches this season, posted his second straight 1,000+ yard season, and was named an All-Pro for the second time in his five-year pro career.

His absence in the second half of Saturday’s playoff game allowed the Titans to make a comeback from an 18-point deficit, but he was more than just a foundational target in the Kansas City offense. He was also capital-F Fun — like the time he celebrated a touchdown catch with a pretend potato sack race.

Or when he threw it back to 2009 by bringing back the “jerk.”

Kelce was even entertaining while getting his comeuppance, as an early-season game against Washington proved.

Hill posted the first 1,000-yard receiving performance of his career behind nearly 16 yards per reception, cementing his status as one of the league’s elite deep threats and a big-play producer even on short routes.

Hunt, on the other hand, won the league rushing title as a rookie after exploding for 1,327 yards. No tailback in history rushed for more yards in his first five games than the rookie’s 609.

His value to the team was especially apparent during the team’s midseason slump. The Chiefs went 1-6 in games where Hunt got more than one carry but gained fewer than 75 yards. They were 8-1 when he had 76+ yards.

Kansas City is primed to start the Patrick Mahomes era at quarterback next season. 2017’s 10th overall pick earned his first career start in Week 17 and put together a solid 284-yard performance in a win over the Broncos.

Cutting (or trading) Smith will save $17 million in cap space. With few big-ticket players set for free agency next spring, that’s money that can be spent on shoring up a defense that stands to improve with a healthy Eric Berry in 2018. Berry, the heart and soul of the Kansas City secondary, missed nearly all of 2017 due to a ruptured Achilles.

The Chiefs have a great core of talent and the ability to add more in the spring. A return trip to playoffs isn’t far-fetched.

Maybe they’ll even win a postseason game at Arrowhead.