Blogging The Boys
The Cowboys may actually beat the Chiefs. A month ago, that would’ve seemed impossible, but it’s where we are today. Kansas City overcame two close losses to start the year and ripped off plenty of wins in a hurry, improving to 5-3 and looking ready to dominate the rest of the league again. Meanwhile, Dallas was consistently inconsistent, finding new ways to lose and then following it up with a win, only to lose again the next week.
Now, as we approach a Thanksgiving clash between these two, things have changed.
The Cowboys added some pieces during the bye week, improved their defense, and got their mojo back on offense. They’ve won two straight, including a gutsy comeback against the Eagles, and now sit at 5-5-1 and just three slots away from being a Wild Card team.
The Chiefs, on the other hand, lost a close one to the Bills right before their bye. When they returned from the rest, they fell to the Broncos, dropping them to 5-5. Then it took an 11-0 fourth quarter just to force overtime against the Colts, at which point a field goal secured the win to prevent them from having lost three in a row and dropping below .500 on the year.
While most teams would interpret that as there being blood in the water, it really just highlights the frustrating nature of this Chiefs team: they find ways to win, no matter how ugly.
As cliché as it sounds, it’s true. Kansas City has become Super Bowl regulars in recent years because of a perfect synthesis of scheme in all three phases of the game. Andy Reid’s West Coast spread has been waiting years for a player like Patrick Mahomes, Steve Spagnuolo is a master of making life hard on a quarterback, and Dave Toub has been of the league’s most respected special teams minds for decades.
Offensively, Reid has always been known for explosive outputs. For a long time, that was the case in Kansas City too, with Tyreek Hill demonizing defenses down the field while Travis Kelce ate up linebackers and safeties in the intermediate areas. Hill is in Miami now, and Kelce is slowing down in his career.
Youngsters Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy both offer similar juice to Hill, but availability has been an issue. Rice missed the first six games of the season due to a suspension, while Worthy was injured in a collision with Kelce in the season opener; even after he returned, it took Worthy a few games to really find his groove again.
That’s where this offense has seemed to be all year: finding its groove. The numbers suggest they’ve already found it – Kansas City is second in EPA/play and third in offensive DVOA – but they’ve also been prone to long stretches of scoring droughts.
Only five quarterbacks have been pressured more this year, and Mahomes is tied for ninth in sacks. His big time throw rate is only slightly higher than...
