The Kansas City Chiefs took home a fresh cap and shirt after defeating the Houston Texans in Week 15.
It was hardly the prettiest win and they’re sure to get plenty of grief for going to overtime with a 1-11-1 team, but they also notched their eleventh win of the season. With the weeks winding down ahead of the playoffs, all that matters is they continue winning and building upon each performance with positive strides.
So what exactly did we learn about the Chiefs in their Week 15 win? Here are four of our biggest takeaways after the game:
The Chiefs own the AFC West
All offseason there was a constant chatter of how the rest of the division had made gains on Kansas City to compete for the AFC West division. On Sunday night, the Chiefs clinched their seventh consecutive AFC West title. It extends their lead on the most consecutive division titles by any AFC West team.
In winning the AFC West for a seventh consecutive season, they tied the Los Angeles Rams (NFC West, 1973-79) for the second-longest streak of consecutive division titles since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. Only the New England Patriots (AFC East, 2009-19) have won more consecutive division titles.
If (when) the Chiefs win the AFC West in 2023, they’ll break what’s now a four-way tie with the Raiders, Broncos and Chargers for the most AFC West division titles of any team. Bottom line: If you’re picking anyone other than Kansas City to win the division, you’re asking to be wrong.
Patrick Mahomes is your MVP
Mahomes’ Week 15 performance was yet another example of why he should be league MVP. People will try to discredit it because it came against a one-win Texans team, but it was nothing short of remarkable. Not only did he set the Chiefs’ franchise record for completion percentage, but he set an NFL record for completion percentage in a game with 40 or more pass attempts.
Highest comp pct in a game with 40+ pass attempts since at least 1950
Today Patrick Mahomes 87.8% (36/41)
2021 Week 5 Lamar Jackson 86.0% (37/43)
2013 Week 4 Philip Rivers 83.3% (35/42) pic.twitter.com/OBQQwdyJif— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 18, 2022
With this most recent performance, Mahomes is now pacing for 5,459 passing yards on the year. That’d be 19 yards shy of setting the NFL’s single-season passing yards record. Peyton Manning currently holds that record with 5,477 yards in 2013. If Mahomes keeps at his current pace, he’ll come in as third all-time behind Drew Brees’ 5,476 passing yards in 2011. If he puts up a performance with 400 yards or more in the next three weeks, it’s very possible that Mahomes becomes the NFL’s single-season passing yardage leader. If that happens he’s a shoo-in for MVP.
Let’s not forget, Mahomes also leads the NFL in passing touchdowns with 35 on the season.
The running game was a huge part of the Chiefs' success in Week 15
Lots of people (myself included) have been calling for the Chiefs to lean on their running game more often. Running backs Jerick McKinnon and Isiah Pacheco had a combined 25 carries for 138 yards, averaging a combined 5.5 yards per carry. They were wildly successful save for Pacheco’s fumble. They even ran the ball on the final play in overtime, resulting in a 26-yard touchdown scamper for McKinnon.
Even though they had 33 total rushing plays on the day, Patrick Mahomes still had a career day passing the football. Good things seem to happen for this team when they commit to the ground game. With a Seattle Seahawks defense allowing a 4.9-yard-per-carry average with 2,256 yards and 19 rushing touchdowns on the year, it feels like it’d be wise to stick with the run game in Week 16.
How to fix Chiefs' sudden-change defense
For two consecutive weeks, the Chiefs’ sudden-change defense has let them down. It’s not an easy spot for defenders, who have to come in cold off of the bench. They’re immediately put in a compromising position due to a turnover, the change of possession provides a nice momentum swing in favor of the opponent.
Given that their recent success rate has been four touchdowns surrendered on five turnovers, I’m thinking that the solution is to be a little bit more aggressive right out of the gate. Steve Spagnuolo should be looking to create a negative play and blitz more frequently in these situations. Yes, I recognize the danger of asking Spagnuolo to blitz more than he already does. I’m just of the opinion that if you’re going to get beat in these situations, you might as well go down taking the big swing instead of playing to limit the damage.
