The Kansas City Chiefs currently don’t occupy a playoff spot at 5-5 and many believe their reign as the team to beat in the American Football Conference is over.
That isn’t the thought process for a lot of National Football League executives, though, as many of them still believe the Chiefs are a dangerous team in the AFC. They are 0-5 in one-score games and don’t have a good run game, but when Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid are your quarterback and head coach, you can never be counted out.
“The Chiefs are down but -- in the eyes of many around the league -- hardly out. Kansas City does not resemble the dominant team that ran through the AFC for a half-decade, but personnel evaluators see a potentially dangerous playoff team on tape,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote Wednesday. “‘I would say they are missing that dynamic rushing component and the left guard spot is a little iffy, but otherwise they can make noise,’ an AFC executive said. ‘They can't run the ball consistently, and that puts too much on Mahomes right now.’”
The Chiefs had a chance to emerge as real contenders at the trade deadline and all it would have costed was a third-round pick. That was the asking price for New York Jets star running back Breece Hall, but Kansas City general manager Brett Veach thought that was too much for an impending free agent.
“The loss of Pacheco (knee) has cost Kansas City some juice out of the backfield. My sense is he's hoping to be back Week 13 vs. Dallas, with an outside chance to play this Sunday vs. Indianapolis,” Fowler wrote. “Playing Thursday gives him 10 days rest on the back end, as opposed to trying to play through a Sunday-to-Thursday swing. Anyway, getting him back will help the overall offensive attack. The Chiefs badly need an outside boundary receiver, which they won't find this year. But the receiver room is well-stocked and healthy. The offensive line is more than capable. And the defense is still very strong, though not considered as dominant.
“‘I don't see the same unit as past years -- Chris Jones can turn it on on third downs but isn't quite what he once was, they probably don't have enough pass rush, but overall very good and very well-coached,’ an NFL coordinator said. ‘And Mahomes still has that fear factor. He's still the best at winning differently each week. I still fear that player more than most.’”
The Chiefs’ defense hasn’t gotten much pressure on opposing quarterbacks, something that is lacking this year in comparison to other Kansas City teams over the last few years.
Kansas City will host the 8-2 Indianapolis Colts in Week 12.