“Bayern-Dusel” against Denver?
The NFL wants to finally see “annoying” Chiefs lose
Von Florian Papenfuhs
November 16, 2024, 11:07 a.m
The NFL is desperate. The Kansas City Chiefs, who are actually shaken by injuries and form crises, dominate the league like rarely. The modern classic against the Buffalo Bills is on Sunday – and after that everything could get worse.
“In the time it takes you to go to the door to tip the pizza delivery guy, this team has scored another touchdown.” This is how professional superstar The Rock announces the Kansas City Chiefs before the 2019 Super Bowl. At that point, the team hadn’t been to the NFL’s prestigious final game in 50 years. They win the game against the San Francisco 49ers and then become permanent guests in the Super Bowl. They will win the trophy again in 2022 and 2023.
The title defense project last year was on shaky ground. They suffered six defeats, more than ever since 2017. And yet in the Wild Card Round they overwhelm the Miami Dolphins, once again prevail against the Buffalo Bills, beat the Ravens and triumph in the Super Bowl 2023 – as in 2019 – over the San Francisco 49ers, who are thirsty for revenge.
The great hope of failure
The Kansas City Chiefs have long been the Bayern Munich of the NFL. Fans, teams, league, everyone has more or less high hopes that someone else will win. Countless people are hoping for the Chiefs to fail. If you had told everyone in the summer what Andy Reid’s squad was doing in the first half of the season, there would probably have been a storm of cheers.
First: the Kansas City Chiefs lose all three preseason games. Gifted. But when the season starts, Travis Kelce, who may have become more famous than his team thanks to his relationship with Taylor Swift, is in a gigantic slump. The last time the tight end had as few yards per game as this season was in 2018. Number 1 running back Isaiah Pacheco was injured after two games and is out until today. When receiver Marquise Brown was just coming back from an injury at the start of the season, star pass receiver Rashee Rice suddenly had to sit out because he was tackled by his own quarterback (!) after an interception. Later, the other two pass receivers, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman, were hit. Pacheco replacement Kareem Hunt also has to watch three games. The medical department in Missouri is unlikely to have been able to keep up by now.
Even Mahomes shows weaknesses
Deprived of prominent options for the running game and a large part of his passing stations through the air, everything seems to depend on Patrick Mahomes. To make matters worse, he threw nine interceptions in the first half of the season. In 2020 there were only six in the entire regular season. His passer rating is at an all-time low. So where do the Kansas City Chiefs stand after nine games in which fans watched their offense fall apart? On the 1st without a defeat.
Now it is by no means as if the personnel shortages and form crises are of no importance at all. The esprit, this carefree attitude with which the Chiefs have thundered over the field and opponents in recent years has become rarer. There are also abnormalities in the team’s statistics. On average, the team allows slightly more points than last season. The points scored per game are better than last year (24.3), but far away from the values from 2020 to 2022, when the Chiefs’ opponents scored an average of 29 points.
Like an eight-year-old chasing the ice cream truck
And yet: it’s enough. Somehow. And always. Of their nine wins, only two are not “one-score games”. In all other games, the opponent would have only needed a touchdown, or in some cases even just a field goal, to defeat the weakened superior force. Happiness? Pff. “Luck is always skill,” FCB veteran Hermann Gerland once stated.
The performance against the Denver Broncos last weekend is emblematic of the Chiefs’ invincibility. After a tough but exciting game, the Broncos line up for a field goal attempt one second (!) before the final whistle. 35 yards distance, light wind. The thing is done. Champagne corks are popping all over the USA. The underdog with the rookie quarterback from Denver finally beats the Chiefs. Then Mike Danna, Kansas City’s defensive end, rolls through the wall of Denver players and blocks the kick. There will be 1,030 field goals attempted in the NFL in 2023. Being blocked 17. Patrick Mahomes runs across the field as euphoric as if an eight-year-old were chasing the ice cream truck. Further, ever further.
“They are just very good”
That’s annoying. So probably everyone except the Chiefs. The Athletic headlines Thursday: “Bills prepare to face pesky Chiefs who keep winning despite their flaws.” The inexplicability of the scary series has long led to accusations that the referees are favoring the team. Bills defender AJ Epenesa doesn’t think much of it. “I stay away from saying the refs are helping them or, ‘Oh, they got lucky.’ As a player, these are excuses.” Bills coach Sean McDermott’s explanation is surprisingly simple: “They’re just very good.”
Four teams have had a perfect season so far. The Chicago Bears in both 1933 and 1942 (won all 13 games of the season), the Miami Dolphins in 1973 (won 14 games) and – of course – the New England Patriots in 2007 (won 16 games). The next team to try to stop the Chiefs from achieving this feat will be the Buffalo Bills. The Chiefs may be an even bigger nuisance for the Bills than for the other NFL teams. The two teams met in the playoffs in 2021, 2022 and 2024. The Chiefs always won. The last three regular season games, however, all went to Buffalo. The game has now become a modern football classic.
Was that it for the competition?
Ironically, a win against the Bills could ensure that the reigning champions lose a game or two as the season progresses. No team the Chiefs have yet to play is in a better position than the Bills right now. With a win, the Chiefs would be 10-0 and at least two losses ahead of the other AFC teams. Depending on how the competition scores in the next few weeks, Kansas could soon no longer be able to take the top spot in the AFC – and thus the free weekend in the first round of the playoffs.
This would clear the way to protect ailing stars instead of putting further strain on them. Whether Kansas actually ends the season without a loss is unlikely to matter to the successful franchise. It will be important in January and February, in the playoffs and in the Superbowl. This would give the hospital enough time to clear out. The form curve of the stumbling Travis Kelce also seems to be pointing upwards again. After scoring his first touchdown of the season on October 27th. Had to wait, he put it on November 10th. one more against the Broncos. And then there’s DeAndre Hopkins.
In view of the misery of injuries at the receiver position, Kansas City quickly signed a receiver via trade who once again outshone the existing personnel. The 32-year-old caught two touchdowns in his debut. So far, Kansas City has won its games more than usual due to its very good defense. If the offense gets healthy again or gets into shape by the playoffs, NFL fans will have to hurry up with tipping the pizza delivery man again in the spring of 2025.
