Hello again everyone and welcome to another week of the ArrowChop! This is the column where we look at the positives/negatives of a certain Chiefs/NFL issue and look at both sides of the aisle. Then you, the readers, will come to your conclusions after I lay out the case. So sit back, relax, and enjoy as we break down this week’s hot topic.
The undefeated season; a feat that is unbearably hard to reach across any league. The only team to have an official undefeated season in the NFL was the 1972 Miami Dolphins, who have been immortalized throughout NFL history. The 2007-2008 New England Patriots were close, but they faltered to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII. Now, Mahomes wants to enshrine himself as well, and lead the Chiefs to the second true undefeated season in NFL history:
Now the question that remains is that could the Chiefs actually be 20-0? Let’s break down both sides of the aisle to find out:
The Chiefs will go 20-0
This side believes so as such:
Firstly, the Chiefs have one of the best offenses in the league, and it has improved as the offseason went by. The Chiefs had one of the most effective offenses last season, averaging 414.7 yards per game (1st in the league). They also finished in the top five in yards per play (2nd, 6.3), first downs per game (1st, 24.8), first downs per play (2nd, .377), and third-down conversion percentage (3rd, 48.02%). The numbers don’t lie here, and to serve as a reminder, this was with the Chiefs’ previous offensive line.
Everyone knows how dominant Mahomes, Kelce, and Hill are, and everyone knows about the new additions to the Chiefs offensive line that include Joe Thuney, Orlando Brown Jr., Kyle Long, Creed Humphrey, and Austin Blythe. The Chiefs keep on stacking talent on top of talent. Helaire is coming into his second year hoping to have a better go around, and with this new offensive line, it seems like he has a chance to breakout.
Secondly, the Chiefs have bolstered their defense as well. In the defensive line, the Chiefs drafted DE Joshua Kaindoh and signed former Seahawks DT Jarran Reed, who had 38 total tackles, 6.5 sacks, 14 QB hits, five tackles for a loss, a pass deflection, and a forced fumble with still Chris Jones and Frank Clark present as well. In the linebacking core, while the Chiefs lost Damien Wilson in free agency, the Chiefs drafted linebacker Nick Bolton, who will serve as one of the starting outside linebackers for the Chiefs, and Willie Gay Jr will also be receiving more reps this season.
On the secondary side, L’Jarius Sneed has solidified himself to be the CB1 for the Chiefs with Charvarius Ward on the other side of the field; furthermore, the Chiefs still have All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu and they have Juan Thornhill, who has been a solid FS. This defense isn’t one to sleep on.
Finally, the Chiefs have one of the best coaching staffs in the league that could help them strategize a 20-0 season. Besides Andy Reid, the Chiefs have a future head coach in offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, a solid defensive coordinator in Steve Spagnuolo, and a solid specials teams coordinator in Dave Toub. They’ll make the adjustments and strategies needed to go down this path; they’ve already won a Super Bowl together and gone to another, so an undefeated season would add to this coaching group’s resume.
They also have a lot of great coaches under them that include QBs coach Mike Kafka, linebackers coach Matt House, and many other excellent coordinators and assistants. The Chiefs are ready for what the season has in store for them.
The Chiefs won’t go 20-0
This side believes so as such:
Firstly, the Chiefs have one of the tougher schedules in the NFL. The Chiefs are T-11th for the strength of schedule rankings at .511 opponents combined 2020 win percentage. They’ll be facing teams like the Browns (Week 1), the Bills (Week 5), the Titans (Week 7), the Packers (Week 9), and the Chargers (Weeks 3 and 15). These are the games that will be nail-bitters till the end that the Chiefs could lose, and these teams will be tougher than most to defeat, especially the Browns and the Packers. No one knows what will happen and what the circumstances will be when the weeks come around, which leads to the next point.
Secondly, as the old quote from the movie Any Given Sunday goes, “on any given Sunday, you’re gonna win, or you’re gonna lose.” The adage goes throughout all sports; anything can happen on game day. One week, you’ll have the best game of your life. In another week, you’ll have the worst game of your life, or you’ll have a last-second blunder that can only be described through pure skill, sprinkled in with some luck.
Look at the “Hail Murray” from the Cardinals vs Bills game last season. Everyone thought the Bills were looked like they were going to come away with a victory, but Murray and Hopkins had other plans. Murray lobbed a pass straight to Hopkins on the far left side of the field. In triple coverage, Hopkins high-pointed the ball, reeling it in for a last-second touchdown to secure the Cardinals’ chances of winning.
As stated before, anything can happen on any given game day. Especially in a league that has become more electrifying every year, the adage runs true even more than before.
Do you believe that the Chiefs will go 20-0? Leave a comment down below to join the discussion, and be sure to follow me on Twitter @HunterStanton8 and @ArrowheadLive. Thanks for reading, and have a fantastic day.
