Arrowhead Pride
Ranking 10 winless NFL teams: Chiefs, Bears, others at 0-2 | ESPN
Chances of advancing to the postseason, via ESPN’s FPI: 51.8%
Well, you probably figured they would be No. 1. We could obviously talk about the Chiefs and their 0-2 start for an entire column, but there are nine other teams to hit before we finish up, so I’m going to give you the express version.
Though most of the conversation has revolved around a disappointing offense, the Chiefs look even more disjointed on defense right now. Through two games, they rank 23rd in EPA per play allowed and 26th in QBR. Steve Spagnuolo is blitzing at the third-highest rate in the league, but his pressures are getting home at only the 23rd-highest rate. Blitzes that don’t generate pressure are obviously a disaster; they turn the average quarterback into Josh Allen in terms of QBR.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (0-2) at New York Giants (0-2)
In the grand scheme of things, the Chiefs can’t feel too desperate. They’ve dropped one-score games to the Los Angeles Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles, two very good teams.
Bigger picture, Patrick Mahomes has captained a dynastic, league-changing force, and Kansas City has won three of the last six Super Bowls. Wilder still, it has a decade-long streak of double-digit wins, which sounds fake. Andy Reid has secured his legacy as an all-time strategist, while Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Chris Jones are bound for Canton. All that keeps them away from the No. 1 desperation spot this week**.**
But imagine the fervor if the reigning AFC champs start 0-3, with a prime-time loss to the Giants. The G-Men have been something of the anti-Chiefs across these past 10 years, with just one season of 10+ wins and one total playoff victory. New York was not expected to compete this year, but there is still a thicket of desperation around the franchise, especially coming off a gut-churning overtime loss in Dallas. Individually, Russell Wilson is fighting to author his NFL ending (he was magnificent last weekend), and the Brian Daboll-Joe Schoen duo is staving off a front office reckoning. It should be a tense “Sunday Night Football.”
Giants upset Chiefs to give Patrick Mahomes first four-game losing streak of football career post-high school
This one is a doozy. Three-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs (0-2) are in a rut. Including the Super Bowl LIX loss against the Philadelphia Eagles, Mahomes has his first three-game losing streak as an NFL starter.
He’s never lost four consecutive games as a starting quarterback at either Texas Tech or with the...
