Kansas City Chiefs Looking Like Legitimate Contender at Exactly the Right Time

Don't look now, but the Kansas City Chiefs, who began the season 1-5, are now sitting at 9-5.

Actually, go ahead and look. Marvel at how a team that appeared dead in the water barely a month-and-a-half into the season has rebounded to become one of the most dangerous squads in the NFL.

When you consider where the Chiefs were in October—and that they lost star running back Jamaal Charles for the season with a torn ACL then—their current position is remarkable. Kansas City has managed to win eight straight games and put together one of the better comeback seasons in recent memory.

The Chiefs have also coalesced into a team that should legitimately worry potential playoff opponents. This is because Kansas City has essentially been playing elimination football since October and has managed to keep up the intensity.

Some teams get complacent with winning this time of year and coast into the postseason. The Chiefs, on the other hand, have grabbed the AFC by the throat and are refusing to let go.

Peter King of the MMQB wrote the following about a month ago when Kansas City was 5-5, and it seems like he might have been spot-on:

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Who will be stunned to see them finish 10-6 or even 11-5 and go on a January run against a mediocre AFC South foe, for example, and maybe Denver or Cincinnati in the divisional round? Every year we look for the hot teams to make a run going down the stretch. Regardless of record, the Chiefs look like that AFC team.

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All you have to do is look at Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens to see that the Chiefs are determined to walk into the playoffs with some swagger. Kansas City could have come into the contest against the 4-10 Ravens and attempted to waddle through to an easy win.

Instead, the Chiefs pounded Baltimore with a balanced offensive attack (164 passing yards, 113 rushing yards), smothered it with defense and rumbled to a 20-point victory. The defense—which was missing key players such as Justin Houston and Husain Abdullah—forced three turnovers, produced two sacks and scored twice.

In the end, that 34-14 victory looked relatively easy.

It was the seventh time in Kansas City's eight-game win streak the Chiefs won by more than a touchdown and the sixth time they won by at least two scores. This shows that Kansas City isn't just winning; it's doing so in convincing fashion most of the time.

What might be even more impressive than how the Chiefs are winning, though, is how the team has adjusted to create a winning brand of football. 

Head coach Andy Reid's steady hand has been a factor, of course. However, the change in the team didn't begin when he arrived in 2013; it's taken place over the past year.

The Chiefs rightfully earned a reputation as a Charles-dependent squad in 2014. And Quarterback Alex Smith earned a reputation as a guy who rarely pushed the ball downfield that season, too. Those identities are now gone.

The Chiefs have found a solid running back duo in Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware. The two have combined for 850 yards rushing and nine touchdowns despite having just nine starts between them. As a team, Kansas City is ranked eighth in rushing with an average of 122.8 yards per game.

Smith? He's already passed for 3,205 yards and 16 touchdowns. He's also thrown only four interceptions and is rated 16th among quarterbacks in deep passing by Pro Football Focus. 

Smith has been helped by the addition of wide receiver Jeremy Maclin (79 receptions, 985 yards, six touchdowns), who has combined with tight end Travis Kelce (65 receptions, 822 yards, four touchdowns) to form quite the formidable duo.

When you toss in the fact that Smith can make plays with his legs (he has 383 yards rushing and two touchdowns), you get a Chiefs offense with enough talent to keep the opposition off balance through any contest.

Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star recently explained how Smith's mobility has helped forge the current winning streak:

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While the offensive line has improved the last two months, Smith’s ability to remain poised in the pocket and escape trouble, when necessary, has played a big role in them going from allowing four sacks per game during the 1-5 start to a little more than two during the seven-game winning streak.

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The reality is the Kansas City offense has been pretty darn dangerous during the streak.

The defense, which is giving up an average of just 18.4 points per game (third in the league) and is rated fourth overall by Pro Football Focus, has been good for quite some time. Now the offense, which is scoring 26.1 points per game (eighth in the NFL) is beginning to catch up.

The Chiefs defense is still the star, of course. It has already racked up 41 sacks (third overall), 20 interceptions (second overall) and 11 forced fumbles. Kansas City can win games with this unit.

"They've kind of got that mojo," Smith said of the defense after the Baltimore game, per David Ginsburg of the Associated Press (via ABCNews.com). "The defense, you see them kind of salivate, so to speak."

Gail Burton/Associated Press

It's just that the Chiefs don't need to rely on the defense to win.

A team playing with this much balance is going to be a tough out for even the most talented opponents. When a squad is playing with determination, confidence and fire at exactly the right time of the year, it can be a downright nightmare.

Though Kansas City finds itself with an identical 9-5 record to the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets, the Chiefs hold the tiebreaker advantage in the wild-card race. Translation: If they win their final pair of contests over Cleveland and Oakland, they're into the postseason.

If that happens, come January, there are going to be a few AFC squads hoping they don't wake up to see the Chiefs staring them in the face.