The Kansas City Chiefs needed a win over the Los Angeles Chargers and a New England Patriots loss to the Miami Dolphins this past Sunday to lock up a first-round bye in the AFC.
The former seemed likely. That latter seemed impossible.
Well, somehow, both events occurred, and the Chiefs nailed down the No. 2 seed in the conference as a result.
Kansas City has amazingly flown under the radar this year due to all of the talk about Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens and the potential end of a dynasty in New England, but make no mistake: the Chiefs remain very scary.
Here are three burning questions for Kansas City as it prepares to make a long-awaited Super Bowl run.
3. Is Damien Williams kicking it into gear?
Going into 2019, most had Damien Williams pegged as the Chiefs' featured running back. However, a late-summer pickup of LeSean McCoy threw a wrench into those plans.
So did nagging injuries to Williams throughout the season.
Williams struggled mightily out of the gate, but in recent weeks, he has been surging, most recently racking up 124 rushing yards and a couple of touchdowns in the win over the Chargers.
Does this mean Williams is ready for another impressive playoff showing like last year?
Kansas City could really use it, as the Chiefs have lacked a consistent running game all season, which is something that ends up dooming some teams in the postseason.
2. Is this defense for real?
The Chiefs are not known for their defense, but since the calendar flipped to December, they have been sensational on that side of the football, allowing just 10.4 points per game over their last five contests.
But is it fool's gold?
Kansas City has not exactly played elite offenses during this recent stretch, as three of its wins came against the Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos, and Chicago Bears.
Plus, the Chiefs just lost star rookie safety, Juan Thornhill, to a torn ACL.
On the season overall, Kansas City's defense ranks 17th in the NFL, which is certainly respectable, but for most of the year, the Chiefs were dreadful defensively.
We're about to find out if the last five weeks were a mirage or a sign of things to come.
1. Is Patrick Mahomes healthy?
Lost in Kansas City's six-game winning streak heading into the playoffs is that Patrick Mahomes has actually not been great since returning from his knee injury back in Week 10.
Yes, he threw for 446 yards and three touchdowns in his first game back (which was ironically the last time the Chiefs lost), but since then, he has only been decent, throwing for under 200 yards three times and totaling just eight touchdown passes over his last six games.
That begs the question: is Mahomes healthy?
He came back pretty quickly from a dislocated knee cap (ugh), and he has also been dealing with a hand injury that he sustained earlier this month.
If the Chiefs are going to win a Super Bowl, they need the best version of Mahomes, and it's debatable as to whether or not Mahomes is healthy enough to deliver that right now.
Follow Us
Subscribe