Sports writer Michael MacCambridge likes to remind supporters that the Kansas City Chiefs’ recent run would have been even more remarkable if it weren’t for a bad kick and a referee call. The Chiefs are attempting to become the first NFL team to win two straight Super Bowls since the New England Patriots in 2003 and 2004.
The native of Kansas City, whose most recent book examines the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 1970s dynasty, claims that it’s the little things that have a way of keeping teams from continuing as a dominant force.
The Chiefs have made it to three Super Bowls in the previous four years, but according to MacCambridge, “they will have already gone to five straight Super Bowls if Dee Ford doesn’t jump offside (in the 2019 AFC Championship) or if the Chiefs get at least a field goal at the end of the first half in the 2021 AFC Championship game.”
Against the Pats in quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ debut season, Ford’s offside call negated a Charvarius Ward interception that seemed to seal a Chiefs victory.
The Chiefs, now 8-5, lost 20-17 to the Buffalo Bills at Arrowhead Stadium on December 10 due to an untimely penalty that reared its ugly head once more. Their most spectacular touchdown of the season thus far was thus removed from the scoreboard.
Wide receiver Kadarius Toney ran down field and into the end zone after wide receiver Travis Kelce, who had just caught a pass from Mahomes, threw a lateral pass to him. Toney was offside at the snap of the ball, so the issue was one of just a few inches.
The Chiefs are 21st out of 32 teams in the NFL going into their matchup with New England on December 17. They have committed 83 penalties for 690 yards, or an average of 6.4 penalties and 53 yards per game.
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Head coach Andy Reid used the term “getting better” twice in his brief, under three-minute postgame news conference before concluding, “We’re playing better than a couple weeks ago.”
Nevertheless, some Chiefs supporters are beginning to accept the fact that the team has lost three of its last four games.
Toney was acquired from the New York Giants midseason last year; this is his first full season in Kansas City. He is a member of a redesigned receiving corps that has been criticized online for dropping passes this season, which begs a difficult question.
Currently an analyst for the NFL Network, Scott Pioli was a front office executive for the Chiefs and Patriots before realizing that it’s not always possible to keep everyone.
Pioli worked with Tom Brady before taking over as general manager of the Chiefs in 2009–2012, so he is familiar with the fine balance of surrounding a franchise quarterback. He claims it’s also a sign of the salary cap era.
He stated, “There’s this convergence of players wanting to cash in for the first time or one more time.”
Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster made a tidy sum of $25.5 million, with $16 million guaranteed, when he signed a three-year contract with the Patriots following his Super Bowl victory with the Chiefs the previous season.
Team leaders also move quickly. The NFL Combine, a group evaluation of the best college prospects, was something that Chiefs general manager Brett Veach and his staff were preparing for just 12 days after Kansas City’s Super Bowl celebration parade.
Before the NFL Draft in April, Veach stated, “Since that Super Bowl parade, it’s been Combine meetings, (the) Combine, free agency, back to Combine meetings.”
This year, a number of important players have one-year contracts, which means that Kansas City’s door will likely remain open to other NFL cities.
Most notably, Chris Jones agreed to a $19.5 million, one-year contract prior to the start of the regular season. Jones’s birthday is July 30.
It brings to Pioli’s mind a similar predicament involving defensive lineman Richard Seymour, who was a rookie when the Pats captured back-to-back titles. One month before the future Hall of Famer turned thirty and after eight years with the team, Seymour was traded by the Pats.
Pioli says, “Unfortunately, we moved on from him.”
According to author and Lamar Hunt biographer MacCambridge, in the current NFL era, one team may never dominate again because the competitive edge is so small, even if the Chiefs can get every detail perfect.
“It’s designed for balanced competition,” MacCambridge says. “The first-place teams draft last.” The following year, the schedules of the teams that place first in their division are more difficult.
When all of those factors are considered, the Chiefs’ chances of winning another Super Bowl are increased, and they also face a more difficult route to the top spot in the AFC Playoffs and an unprecedented sixth consecutive conference title game played at home.
