The Chiefs have been an unstoppable force these past few years, lifting the Lombardi Trophy in three of the last five championships. The 2024 NFL season has seen a similar run from the AFC West team, as they currently sit at a 10-1 record, with a playoff spot more than secured. However, Ryan Fitzpatrick sees a problem with the run—something he believes could thwart the team’s three-peat attempt.
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Kansas City’s record seems impressive with only a defeat against the Bills; however, their wins have been the result of narrow escapes, which have swept their mistakes under the rug. Ryan Fitzpatrick strongly feels that Andy Reid’s squad needs to address these unacknowledged errors, and a few losses might help in doing that.
The reason why Fitzpatrick feels that the Chiefs need to suffer some losses is because when a team wins continuously, they tend to gloss over their shortcomings. A defeat, however, would make them “take a step back” and finally address their issues properly.
“The Chiefs need to lose some games because sometimes when you’re winning games and you’re skating by, you’re not addressing all those little things that are building up and when you lose you have to take a step back and address them,” Flitzpatrick said on Fitz&Whit.
However, even Fitzpatrick is aware of how the Chiefs love proving naysayers wrong. The analyst shared that while he had speculated along similar lines last season, Patrick Mahomes‘ crew had worked their magic to another Super Bowl win.
But does this change the NFL legend’s opinions about the Chiefs? Not really! Fitzpatrick firmly affirmed that while the franchise is the best team in the AFC currently, they’re still not “good enough” to secure another Super Bowl win.
“But again, I don’t think they’re good enough to do it (this year) even though they’re the best team in the AFC and in the NFL.”
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Fitzpatrick’s words do hold some weight to them considering how the team lands at 21st position in the league when it comes to gaining double-digit lead in a game. Moreover, their signal-caller hasn’t been playing his usual outstanding self, struggling with low QBR, and had more interceptions than touchdowns a few weeks back.
The analyst isn’t the first one to highlight the Chiefs’ shortcomings either, with Draymond Green echoing his views recently. He predicted that the Gold and Red wouldn’t win the championship, since the other teams had lost more games and gained some valuable experience. Great minds do think alike.
“The Kansas City Chiefs will lose the first playoff game they play,” Green said on the Schultz Report podcast.
Even Jason Kelce pointed out an issue with the Chiefs, stating that their defense has been performing below usual expectations in the past two games against the Panthers and the Bills.
“The biggest thing that’s been concerning recently over the last two weeks is that their defense has faltered for probably the first time in two years,” Kelce said on the Rich Eisen Show.
Former cornerback Domonique Foxworth also raised concerns over Travis Kelce’s relatively slow start this season. The tight end has amassed only 569 yards so far, compared to his usual average of 1,000+ receiving yards season after season. Then there’s the ongoing issue of an unstable receiver room, with players like Hollywood Brown, Harrison Butker, and DeAndre Hopkins all dealing with injuries.
The Kansas City Chiefs have quite a few gaping holes to mend before the playoffs. However, there’s plenty of time for a reassessment and if they manage to plug in all the leaks, a historical three-peat might not be far off.
