With Tom Brady leaving New England for Tampa Bay, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have supplanted the Patriots as the biggest bully on the NFL block.
While Kansas City’s four consecutive AFC West crowns aren’t anywhere close to New England’s string of 11 straight AFC East titles, not even the Patriots have dominated their division like the Chiefs have ruled theirs over the last five seasons.
In that span, the Patriots are 24-6 despite an ordinary 6-4 mark against Miami, and the Chiefs are 27-3 with 9-1 marks against every one of their division rivals.
If not for these last-minute heroics, the Chiefs would be perfect in that stretch:
— The Broncos scored two touchdowns in the final 36 seconds to snare a 31-24 win in 2015, the last time they beat the Chiefs.
— The Raiders scored a touchdown with no time left for a 31-30 win in 2017.
— The Chargers scored a TD with 4 seconds left for a 29-28 win in 2018.
The Chiefs used their blazing speed on offense to end five frustrating decades without a Super Bowl title. So their AFC West rivals all added speed to their rosters this offseason in hopes of reining in the champs.
“Every move and signing we make we have to have them in mind,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said of the Chiefs, who raced past San Francisco with a 21-0 blitz in the final six minutes of the Super Bowl.
“Let’s be honest, the entire league is chasing the Kansas City Chiefs,” said Raiders GM Mike Mayock. “But we’re in the same division. They keep getting faster and more athletic, more dynamic every time you turn around. Other teams have to do the same.”
In the first round of the draft, the Raiders chose receiver Henry Ruggs III, the fastest player at the combine; the Broncos selected receiver Jerry Jeudy; and the Chargers added fleet-footed linebacker Kenneth Murray.
“We just feel like we had to add that explosiveness,” Broncos GM John Elway said.
The Broncos even bypassed a big need at tackle to select another speedy receiver, KJ Hamler, in the second round. That strategy took on greater scrutiny when right tackle Ja’Wuan James opted out of the 2020 season over coronavirus concerns and Hamler spent much of training camp sidelined by a hamstring injury.
The Chiefs didn’t stand still.
In addition to grabbing standout LSU running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the first round, they spent the draft getting their defense up to speed to complement all the burners they have on offense.
