How Chiefs advanced to AFC title game Ke
The have not been as impre sive as last year Luis Robert Jersey 's bunch, which cruised to a 14-2 record in 2020 and rolled to the Super Bowl before falling short against the . In fact, the Chiefs stumbled out of the gate by losing three of their first seven games. From there, however, they hit their stride and, most recently, won an to set up a home AFC championship game for an . There's even reason to believe it's a Kansas City team more equipped to win the Super Bowl this year than in February of 2021.Let's review with a look back at their key acquisitions, most important wins and other notable moments from their 2021 campaign:LT (trade, )OG (free agency, )EDGE (trade, )After the blocking abomination in the Super Bowl last February, the Chiefs felt work needed to be done up front. A lot of work. They swung one of the most surprising trades I can remember -- between AFC rivals -- landing Brown from the Ravens in a deal that included a second and a sixth also going to Kansas City in exchange for the Chiefs' first, third, and fourth-round picks in 2021 and a fifth-round selection in 2022. In free agency, the Chiefs made Thuney the highest-paid guard --Michael Kopech Jersey on a multi-year deal -- in football after a dazzling beginning to his career in New England. With those two moves, Kansas City was well on its way to rebuilding the offensive line, something that needed to be done.Then Ingram fell into their lap at the trade deadline. He started hot in Pittsburgh but cooled, and he wasn't happy with reduced snaps. General manager Brett Veach sent a sixth-round pick to the Steelers for the powerful veteran rusher.LB (second round, 58th overall)OC (second round, 63rd overall)OG (sixth round, 226th overall)The reconstruction of the unit tasked with protecting Mahomes was not complete with the Brown trade and Thuney signing. The Chiefs selected Humphrey in Round 2, and he garnered Offensive Rookie of the Year hype for the duration of his first NFL season. Playing center in Reid's offense has often produced incredible results for whomever's blocking there, but Humphrey played well beyond his years at the pivot.Four rounds later, Kansas City picked Smith as a flier. After years on the draft radar, health i sues led to his colo sal slide, and Kansas City was content stopping his plummet. Smith, a strength-based blocker with an NFL body, was fantastic as a rookie, too. And with that, the offensive line was reworked.The team's first second-round pick (Bolton) had his i sues in coverage early but settled into his role as the team's sideline-to-sideline patrol man. Pick Six Newsletter Crafted By The Best NFL Experts Get the day's big stories + fun stuff you love like mock drafts, picks and power rankings. I agree to receive the " Preston Tucker Jersey Pick Six Newsletter" and marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers), and other information from CBS Sports and the Paramount family of companies.By pre sing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the and acknowledge Paramount's . Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. Thanks for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. Sorry! There was an error proce sing your subscription. Week 10 vs. : The Chiefs started 3-4 before holding on for an ugly 20-17 win over the and then beating the Aaron Rodgers-le s , 13-7. But the offense was still not right. Not even close. It wasn't until a shellacking of the Raiders that the Chiefs righted the ship Adam Engel Jersey , hitting big plays all over the field against Gus Bradley's Cover 3-based defense. Mahomes got on track, finishing with 406 yards and five touchdowns on 35-of-50 pa sing and a studly rating of 127.6.From that point forward, the Chiefs have mostly looked like the Chiefs again.Week 18 vs. : With an immense amount of parity in the NFL this season -- particularly in the AFC -- the final game of the regular season was critical for the AFC playoff picture. And it wasn't a cake walk for the Chiefs in Denver. The Broncos took a 14-10 lead into the half and were up, 21-20, midway through the fourth. On the doorstep of another touchdown, Ingram popped Broncos running back , allowing Bolton to scoop up the ball and run it back for an 86-yard score. Ma sive play in a ma sive win.Had the Chiefs lost that game, the would've been the No. 2 seed and the Chiefs No. 3 -- meaning that divisional round contest would've been in Buffalo.Yards after the catch:I'm not taking anything away from Mahomes because he's a superstar, but the Chiefs offense is extraordinarily YAC-friendly. Entering this conference title clash with the , Kansas City averages a hefty 6.31 yards after the catch per reception. That's second in the NFL to only the . Between , , and a collection of springy scat backs, the Chiefs are built to gash defenses after the catch.The offensive line: Since the aforementioned Raiders game in Week 10, Mahomes has only been sacked 11 times in eight contests on 307 drop backs. That equates to a pretty low sack rate of 3.6%, which is nearly identical to his sack rates for the entirety of the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Has the Chiefs offensive line been unstoppable? No. But the rebuild has worked.WeekOpponentResult1vs.W, 33-292at RavensL, 35-363vs. L, 24- Ervin Santana Jersey 304at W, 42-305vs. BillsL, 20-386at WFTW, 31-137at L, 3-278vs. GiantsW, 20-179vs. PackersW, 13-710at RaidersW, 41-1411vs.W, 19-913vs. BroncosW, 22-914vs. RaidersW, 48-915at ChargersW, 34-28 (OT)16vs. SteelersW, 36-1017at BengalsL, 31-3418at BroncosW, 28-24Wild Cardvs. SteelersW, 42-21Divisionalvs. BillsW, 42-36 (OT)AFC Championshipvs. BengalsTBD
Pages:
[1]