The Kansas City Chiefs are still the team to beat — until proven otherwise — according to Dallas Cowboys great and Monday Night Football color commentator Troy Aikman. As the Chiefs look to extend their undefeated streak to start the season when they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football, Aikman details why Kansas City is still the class of the NFL despite their flaws.
“They're the team to beat until proven otherwise, and they're still the team to beat regardless of however it is that they've played offensively — being the fact that they're undefeated,” says Aikman in a one-on-one interview on behalf of his partnership with Salad and Go. “I think that what they've been able to do this year with the injuries, like every year, there's a ton of injuries. But this year, some really named players, probably more so than in the past and they've been hit with that at the wide receiver position.”
Aikman isn't exaggerating. The offensive unit has been decimated by injuries, particularly at the wide receiver position. The Chiefs have already lost starting wide receivers Rashee Rice and Marquise Brown to serious injuries, with Rice out for the entire season and Brown sidelined for the duration of the regular season.
The Chiefs have since signed former receiver Juju Smith-Schuster and traded for DeAndre Hopkins to help replace the injured wideouts.
That's not even mentioning the loss of starting running back Isiah Pacheco, who is expected to return by the end of November after suffering a fractured fibula in Week 2. The Chiefs have since signed Kareem Hunt — their starting running back in 2017 and 2018 — out of free agency to fill that void.
Chiefs relying heavily upon running game amid injuries
All of the injuries have played a role in the lack of production from the passing game, which ranks 11th in passing yards, 18th in touchdowns, and 29th in interceptions. Patrick Mahomes is having the worst year of his career, with more interceptions (nine) than touchdowns (eight) and the lowest passer rating of his career at 84.9.
That has resulted in the Chiefs relying heavily upon the running game (they rank sixth in attempts) and a stout defense to carry them to a 7-0 record entering Week 9. Aikman points towards head coach Andy Reid's ability to maximize his personnel — something that former Chiefs Pro Bowl Jamaal Charles previously mentioned — as a big reason why Kansas City is still undefeated.
“Andy's changed his approach, which is what great coaches do,” says Aikman of Reid. “They adjust to the personnel that you have and they're running the ball more than Andy Reid team has throughout his coaching career, so that part of it's been impressive that they're trying to take pressure off of the passing game.”
And while Mahomes led the league in interceptions entering Week 9, Aikman isn't too concerned, pointing out how the two-time MVP also struggled with his play last season before rebounding in time for the playoffs to lead the Chiefs to a third Super Bowl victory in the past five seasons.
“Patrick has some interceptions, he hasn't had the big plays in the passing game like we're used to seeing, but that wasn't the case last year either,” says Aikman of Mahomes' lackluster play. “They struggled last year through a good part of the year offensively and then they got into the postseason with the defense playing great.”
The Chiefs haven't been perfect this season, but they've excelled in late-game situations — something that has become the norm in the Mahomes and Reid era in Kansas City. The Chiefs have won six of their seven games by just one possession.
“They're playing well again this year and they just find ways to win,” says Aikman of the Chiefs. “I think that's what good teams do. With their background, their pedigree, they don't overreact. They're confident in their ability to win games late. They've done that. I don't know how anyone would look at the AFC and not put Kansas City at the top.”
Kansas City will look to remain the NFL's lone undefeated team when they take on the 4-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, losers of two straight games, at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday Night Football.
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