Chiefs Keys to Victory

By Michael Rifkin

The Kansas City Chiefs have been in the last two Super Bowls and are the envy of the rest of the AFC. A lot of the competitors in the conference tried to make splash moves to beat the Chiefs. The Cleveland Browns, who the Chiefs defeated in the AFC Divisional playoffs and will play in week one, worked on their defense, including signing former number one overall pick Jadeveon Clowney. The Tennessee Titans traded for star wide receiver Julio Jones from the Atlanta Falcons and signed pass rusher Bud Dupree from the Pittsburgh Steelers. The New England Patriots, the team that ran the conference for the last two decades, made a flurry of moves, including signing pass-catchers Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne, Hunter Henry, and Jonnu Smith, who will all catch passes from rookie Mac Jones.

The Patriots also will be bringing back seven players on defense who opted out of last season due to Covid. New England also signed star pass rusher Matthew Judon from the Baltimore Ravens. This offseason saw New England spend more money than ever under future Hall of Fame coach Bill Belichick. And there is the Buffalo Bills, the team the Chiefs defeated in the AFC championship game who will bring back the same team for the most part but will get back defensive tackle Star Lotulelei who opted out of last season due to Covid. If the Chiefs want to get back to their third consecutive Super Bowl in a very competitive AFC, here are five keys to doing that.

1. Offensive line. The lasting memory of the Super Bowl was Patrick Mahomes trying to run away from the Buccaneers pass rush. This offseason, General Manager Brett Veach made this his target. They traded for left tackle Orlando Brown from the Ravens. They signed Joe Thuney from the Patriots and Kyle Long out of retirement. Rookies Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith will also help out the revamped line.
2. Clyde Edwards-Helaire. The second-year running back out of LSU ran for 803 yards and four touchdowns. He averaged 4.4 yards per carry in his rookie season. Now with an entire offseason of minicamps and OTA’s, watch him have a breakout season.
3. L’Jarious Sneed. The 2020 fourth-round pick out of Louisiana Tech had three interceptions and seven passes defended in nine games played in his rookie season. He was limited to nine games because of a fractured collarbone in week three vs. Ravens. 
4. Patrick Mahomes. Yes, it took until reason four to bring up the best quarterback in the game. Mahomes last season had a 66.3% completion percentage and 4,740 Passing yards with 38 touchdowns and six interceptions. With players like Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill helping him, the Chiefs offense might be unstoppable if the before-mentioned Edwards Helaire takes a step forward.
5. Schedule. Because the Chiefs won the AFC West again, they have a schedule where they need to be on their game early. Week 1 they play the Browns, Week 2: Ravens, Week 5 Bills, Week 9 Packers, Week 16 Steelers. So throughout the season, the Chiefs will go up against the best the NFL has to offer, and if they can get through it, they will go into the playoffs battle-tested.