Patrick Mahomes took the NFL by storm last season. At the start of the year, people were questioning whether or not the Kansas City Chiefs had made the right move by deciding to start Mahomes and part ways with Alex Smith. By the end of the season, Mahomes silenced any doubters and showed why Andy Reid is an offensive genius, tossing 50 touchdowns on his way to winning the NFL MVP award in his first season as a starter. We’ll see what Mahomes can do for an encore in 2019.
Will the Kansas City Chiefs Make the Playoffs in 2019?
Yes -400
No +292
Odds Analysis
The Chiefs set the league on fire in 2018. Kansas City scored no fewer than 26 points in any game, and they averaged a league high 35.3 PPG. This team won the AFC West last year despite finishing with the same record as the Chargers, and they are odds-on favorites per the NFL betting odds to repeat as division champions.
Breaking Down Kansas City’s Offense
What more can you say about Mahomes? He showed the incredible difference that a quarterback can make, turning the Chiefs from a marginal contender to a Super Bowl favorite. Mahomes showed off incredible poise and arm strength in his second year in the NFL, and he put the conventional wisdom that ‘Air Raid’ quarterbacks can’t work at the next level to bed.
The First Team All-Pro showed that he can make plays with his legs when need be, but he has a bevy of playmakers at his disposal.
Travis Kelce is one of the best tight ends in the league. He had an incredible season with Mahomes throwing him into space often, catching over 100 passes and racking up more than 1,300 yards on the season. Kelce was a First Team All-Pro, and he should post similar numbers in 2019.
After an offseason of wondering whether or not Tyreek Hill would be suspended for off-field transgressions, Chiefs fans breathed a sigh of relief when the NFL stated that Hill would not miss any time last month. Hill is one of the most explosive players in the league, and he averaged a whopping 17 yards per reception. Reid tries to put him in mismatches to take advantage of his speed, so he lines up all over the field.
Damien Williams looks set to be the starting running back for the Chiefs. He eventually took over after Kareem Hunt was released by the team in the middle of the year, and he averaged 5.1 yards per carry in limited action. Williams might not be able to handle a full workload, so expect to see Carlos Hyde and others in the rotation.
Breaking Down Kansas City’s Defense
The Chiefs defense was not great last season, and that eventually came back to bite them in the AFC Championship Game. Kansas City couldn’t stop New England at all, so the organization took measures to make this side of the ball much better in 2019.
Kansas City’s biggest move was trading for Frank Clark. Clark had been impressive in four years with the Seahawks, and the Chiefs gave up a truckload to land the pass rusher. The Chiefs dealt a first- and a second-round pick to the Seahawks, and then immediately signed Clark to a five-year, $105 million contract.
That wasn’t all though. KC added another new pass rusher in Alex Okafor, and they also signed Tyrann Mathieu and brought in Damien Wilson. Regardless of whether or not the moves work out, you have to give the Chiefs credit for going for it all with Mahomes still on a rookie contract.
Prediction
Barring a Mahomes injury, the Chiefs will make the playoffs again. The AFC is pretty weak, and it’s hard to see any scenario where six teams finish with better records than Kansas City.
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