Getty Tyreek Hill (#10), Demarcus Robinson (#11) and Jerick McKinnon (#1) celebrate a Kansas City Chiefs touchdown on October 17, 2021.
As we all know, the Kansas City Chiefs are the reigning champions of the AFC for two years running.
That means until somebody else knocks them out of the postseason, they’re still the team to beat behind Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes. The NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” team discussed this topic and analyst Peter Schrager agreed.
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Schrager Backs Chiefs
The NFL analyst told the audience that while the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills are playing better at the moment, he’s still “petrified” of one team going on a run in the AFC — and that team is Kansas City. Listen below.
“Uh oh. It looks like it clicked late in the third quarter of their sixth game. I’d be concerned. They were dead and buried, right? Eh, not so fast.” — @Pschrags on the resurgent @Chiefs @arrowheadpride
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Schrager elaborated on this gut feeling, saying:
The Bills losing, the [Los Angeles] Chargers losing, don’t let Kansas City get hot here, don’t let Kansas City get hot here. They did something in the third quarter of Sunday’s [Week 6] game where they suddenly clicked and it was like the Chiefs are back, and it was scary. It was [the third quarter touchdown] pass to Tyreek Hill and then it was just point after point after point after point, and it was relentless.
Kyle Brandt then jumped in with a Golden State Warriors comparison, saying the two feel eerily similar when they start rolling and Schrager ran with it. “It felt exactly like the Warriors. Here comes [Steph] Curry, here comes Klay [Thompson], here comes the deep one to [Demarcus] Robinson,” Schrager narrated over fourth quarter highlights of Mahomes carving up the Washington secondary.
If Hill is Curry in this analogy, that would probably turn Mecole Hardman into Thompson and Robinson into Draymond Green. Of course, Travis Kelce would be Kevin Durant during Golden State’s glory days. That doesn’t even take into account Darrel Williams, Jerick McKinnon, Byron Pringle and Clyde Edwards-Helaire once healthy.
This Chiefs offense runs eight or nine deep and that’s almost impossible to contain with a former MVP slinging the rock. Schrager seconded that notion, saying: “They were unstoppable once they got going. Now, it might have taken them five weeks and three quarters, but they’re 3-3 [and] they are a game back from [most] of these teams.”
Chris Carter tried to throw a wet blanket on the hot take towards the end of the video, calling the Chiefs defense “legendary awful,” but Schrager stuck to his guns noting that he’d still take Kansas City in any wildcard game until proven otherwise, even if it ends up being a road outing.
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Where Are They Now?
Looking at the AFC playoff picture, the Chiefs are currently on the outside looking in — but not by much.
The Ravens are the only team in the conference with one loss at 5-1, which would secure them the lone bye in the new postseason format. The Chargers, Tennessee Titans and Bills would then rank two through four as the remaining division winners (all 4-2), with the Cincinnati Bengals (4-2), Las Vegas Raiders (4-2) and Pittsburgh Steelers (3-3) claiming the wildcard spots.
The Denver Broncos do hold the 3-3 tiebreaker over the Chiefs for the first bubble spot, but the Cleveland Browns rank behind KC as the third bubble candidate. There’s a logjam of mediocrity in the AFC right now and that’s great for a contender that’s gotten off to a slow start.
One or two wins and Kansas City might find themselves right back at the top of the conference, which is also known as the home, of the, CHIEFS!
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NFL Analyst Explains Why He’s Still ‘Petrified’ of Chiefs in AFC