The Kansas City Chiefs won their second consecutive nail-biter. The game against the Cincinnati Bengals looked grim until the final snap. Though some perceive the Chiefs as lucky, that’s not the case. They are built to win these games because they have something no other NFL team has within their possession.
Watching the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon, strangely, I never felt the boys in red would lose. Even facing a fourth and sixteen, knowing Patrick Mahomes was under center, somehow, I knew he’d make a play.
With the aid of a pass interference penalty that hindered Rashee Rice from grabbing the Mahomes pass for a first down, you had a sense that the Bengals could not close the gap to defeat their most hated rival, the Chiefs.
Like the Baltimore Ravens a week earlier, Kansas City made the plays in the final moments; they proved they can win any game, under any circumstance, at any NFL stadium in the league because they are built to be champions every Sunday.
The Chiefs are the best team in football, and there is no denying their prowess and greatness. Yes, that sounds like I’m a homer, but the reality is that if you’re a Chiefs fan, you know the best team in the league plays in your city.
If you take a snapshot of the AFC today, the Houston Texans, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Buffalo Bills are all 2-0 on the young season. These will be the division winners at season’s end, along with the Chiefs, who will outlast the 2-0 Los Angeles Chargers for the AFC West crown.
I can explain why each team will lose to the Chiefs in January, but let’s live in the moment for now. Patrick Mahomes, who was average on Sunday against an excellent Bengals defense, creates magic out of thin air.
If any other quarterback had lined up on Sunday with the team needing a field goal to win the game, facing two considerable penalties, one that negated a first down, they would have folded. Yet, he didn’t, and neither did the players on the field.
Sure, Sunday’s Chiefs loss looked like, and probably should have been, a loss, but elite teams find a path to victory. They are also experts at getting into their opponents’ heads. All week, the Bengals players talked trash about the Chiefs, and the Ravens players did the same.
Look where those teams stand in the young season.
The Chiefs don’t engage in that verbal nonsense. After witnessing Ja’Marr Chase’s tantrum, which cost his team a chance for a more significant lead in the fourth quarter, you can see the difference between how Kansas City approaches football versus the Bengals and Ravens.
That’s the case because the Chiefs live rent-free in their opponents’ heads. They all talk smack about the best team in the NFL, and instead of using that energy on the field, they keep rolling down the bully hill, and it always backfires.
I don’t know how the season will turn out or if the loss of Running Back Isiah Pacheco for the next six to eight weeks can be replaced on the field, but inside that locker room, another man takes his place when a soldier goes down.
That’s the Chief’s way!
In two games, the rest of the NFL has learned that the Chiefs are not lucky to be able to win three of the last five Super Bowls; they’ve earned this chance to three-peat. This team is resilient and focused and believes it can overcome any scenario within a game to turn a loss into a win.
That’s a luxury you have with a once-in-a-generation quarterback on your roster. It also helps to have a Hall of Fame Head Coach who has created a culture of winning in different ways, and that’s why the Chiefs are the best at their craft.
So, hang tight, enjoy the ride, and remember, no matter if the odds are 99-1 against the Chiefs, that one percent is enough for them to win any game they play.
