Opinion: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs look as if they're peaking at perfect time
Nancy ArmourCHICAGO — Don’t overlook the Kansas City Chiefs.
Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens are the NFL’s new darlings, and with good reason. The New England Patriots are going to strike fear in the hearts of everyone until Tom Brady is retired and Bill Belichick is off on his boat.
But lurking behind them, finally healthy and playing their best football of the season, are the Chiefs.
“I think we’re building. That’s the biggest thing you’ve seen these last four to five to six weeks,” Patrick Mahomes said after showing the Chicago Bears what they missed in a 26-3 win that wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicated.
“Defensively, you can see the steady improvement every single week and how they’re not letting up. Offensively, we’re starting to get back on track to where we were the beginning of the season. That comes with a lot of healthy guys getting back in the flow of things and building that chemistry we had at the beginning of the season.
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“I’m just excited we’re moving — offensively, defensively, special teams — in the right direction.”
Into the playoffs, with their arrow firmly pointing up.
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The Chiefs have a hold on the No. 3 seed, with a chance still to leapfrog the New England Patriots for the No. 2 seed and the first-round bye. It’s quite the turnaround from six weeks ago.
After starting the season 4-0, the Chiefs found themselves sputtering. Already hobbled by ankle injury, Mahomes was knocked out in Week 7 with a dislocated right knee cap. The defense was mediocre, at best. They lost four of six.
The only saving grace was that the rest of the AFC West wasn’t faring any better. If the Chiefs could get healthy, and regain some of the swagger from the team that was a dubious penalty away from the Super Bowl last year, well, anything was possible.
“We’ve had a lot of adversity this year,” safety Tyrann Mathieu said. “I think we’re just comfortable (now). I think we know who we are defensively, and think we know we’ve got the guys to get it done.”
Getting Mahomes back — earlier than expected, even — was a huge boost, obviously. He’s a special player who can conjure up first downs and touchdowns out of nowhere. Take Kansas City’s first drive. Facing second-and-8 from the Bears 49, Mahomes was looking for Blake Bell but had Chicago linebacker Isaiah Irving in his way. With Irving’s arms raised, there was no way Mahomes could throw over him.
So he sidearmed the ball. For a 10-yard pickup. Three plays later, he’d convert a third-and-18.
The Chiefs scored when Mahomes took off running on a third-and-five at the Chicago 12, hoping just to get the first down. Then the left side of the field opened up and he ran untouched into the end zone.
“When you're playing against a defense like that, you're going to have to move a few times,” coach Andy Reid said. “I thought he did a nice job when he had to move. When he needed to step up, I thought he did a good job there. I thought overall it was a pretty good performance, a real good performance, actually.”
He also has an abundance of toys to play with, and added one more with the return of Damien Williams. After missing the last three weeks with a rib injury, Williams rushed for 65 yards and caught a touchdown pass against the Bears.
But what makes Kansas City so dangerous heading into the playoffs is its defense. Yes, the much-maligned unit is now the stingiest in the NFL, allowing a league-best 9.6 points per game since Week 11. It has allowed just a field goal in each of its last two games.
Kansas City held Chicago to 234 yards Sunday, and the Bears did not get past the Chiefs 40 until almost midway through the third quarter.
The unit will only get better with the addition of Terrell Suggs, who was claimed after the Arizona Cardinals released him Dec. 13. Despite being in Kansas City less than a week, Suggs made his presence felt with the Chiefs, harassing Mitchell Trubisky more than once.
The Chiefs sacked Trubisky, who was taken eight spots in front of Mahomes in the 2017 draft, three times.
“All you got to do is tell him where to line up and he’ll figure it out from there,” Mathieu said, laughing. “We’ve been preaching championship swagger, and he’s, obviously he’s a former Super Bowl champion. He brings a lot of experience.
“It’s the perfect time to add a guy like that to your team.”
If the seeding stays as it is, Kansas City faces the daunting prospect of having to go through both New England and Baltimore to get to Miami. But with a 7-1 road record, they don’t fear playing anyone or anywhere.
They proved that earlier this month, when they upset the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
“Anywhere we play, roll the ball out, let’s roll,” Travis Kelce said.
The playoffs are a funny thing, often turning on teams that peak at the right time. Look no further than the Philadelphia Eagles, who rode an improbable hot streak all the way to the Super Bowl title two years ago.
Now that the Chiefs are healthy and their defense has found its groove, there's no reason they can't do the same.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour.
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