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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

The Chiefs’ hidden superpower: They’re great without looking good

Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes looks for an open receiver in the Chiefs’ victory over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC championship last Sunday in Kansas City, Mo.  (Tribune News Service)
By Jerry Brewer Washington Post

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – It’s amazing what the Kansas City Chiefs can do when they don’t have to do anything. Sorry, conspiracy theorists, I’m not making a joke about the refs being in their pocket. Move past the dynasty fatigue, and you’ll realize their secret weapon is worthy of all the commendation and envy you can muster.

The Chiefs have become a powerhouse free from obligation. Their only chore is the task of winning. In a profession that tempts the reckless pursuit of money and fame – a profession that incites unbearable ego – they have achieved an oxymoronic feat. The Chiefs are unselfishly greedy. They will do anything for another Lombardi Trophy, including shed their individuality. They are the most well-known team in the most popular sport in America, and they care more about sacrifice than stardom.

As they attempt to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls, they’re not as great as they were five years ago, when they collected their first title. They’re just scary good now, the scariest kind of good because they still have institutional championship knowledge and franchise players performing at a high level. But they have had to transition into a less dynamic machine, particularly on offense, to manage the salary cap and replenish the roster. It should have caused them to regress. Instead, they have culled talent from all over the organization to win as a true collective rather than a typical contending NFL team with immense strengths that tries to negate any glaring weaknesses.

Kansas City fools us because it doesn’t look impressive. During the regular season, it registered the AFC’s best record despite finishing fifth in the conference with a point differential of plus-59. The Chiefs were third in the their own division in that category, yet they wrapped up home-field advantage so early that they didn’t have to show up for their 17th game. Counting the postseason, they are 17-2, and 12 of those victories were decided by one possession. Somehow, they didn’t lose a game until a mid-November setback in Buffalo, and if they had won that, we might be talking about this team trying to complete an undefeated season.

Glance at them, and you conclude that they make dominance look lousy. Look longer, and you admire a group that hasn’t become smug about its success.

They haven’t tired of finding ways to win. They would rather the W shine brighter than any of their stars. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes failed to throw for 4,000 yards for the first time as a starter. Tight end Travis Kelce finished the regular season with the fewest receiving yards and touchdowns of his career. Defensive tackle Chris Jones had five sacks, the lowest total since his rookie season in 2016. Jones was the only one of those three core dynasty superstars to be selected to the all-pro team. Mahomes was neither an all-pro nor a Pro Bowl pick.

But despite all the slippage in production, the Chiefs have won at a higher rate than during their most dominant years. In the case of Mahomes, who doesn’t turn 30 until September, there’s no perception of diminished skills. It’s just a matter of how Kansas City is built now. The Chiefs haven’t had a wide receiver eclipse 1,000 receiving yards since they traded Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins after the 2021 season. They made the move mostly to avoid giving top-of-the-receiver-market money to Hill in an effort to manage a salary cap in which Mahomes, Kelce, Jones and offensive linemen Joe Thuney and Jawaan Taylor take up major space.

Such a prioritization has meant that the Chiefs rely on Mahomes to be a wiser version of his superstar self. He must be patient as the team develops young receivers. He must use a diverse array of options rather than lock in on a few elite targets. When Mahomes became the starter in 2018, his elastic arm allowed the team to maximize the talents of Kelce, Hill and running back Kareem Hunt, who was a special player at the time. He distributed with flair and took coach Andy Reid’s offensive system to new heights.

Now, the offense depends on his ability to make do. He continues to figure it out, and he may have made his most impressive adjustment this season after leading receiver Rashee Rice went down with a knee injury.

Mahomes has learned that less is more. His example has made it easier for the Chiefs not to care much about statistical glory.

“Obviously, I want to be perfect,” Mahomes said. “I want to be great, but at the end of the day, I want to win. However we have to win the football game, I’m good with it. If that’s scoring a lot of touchdowns, not scoring touchdowns, if that’s running the football. Whatever it is, if it’s just playing defense to win football games, I just want to win.”

As the Mahomes era began, Tom Brady won the final two of his seven championships, and he went through the young quarterback to win both. Mahomes saw Brady at his adaptable best. No other quarterback has been so comfortable doing whatever winning required.

Brady understood that records come with longevity, and greatness crystallizes on the grandest stage. Whether serving as a complementary piece to a great defense or commanding a team desperate for every yard he had in his arm, Brady was a superstar in every role. Mahomes has that kind of discipline. Winning the MVP award is different from being the game’s signature player. One is an annual award. The other is an enduring responsibility.

The entire team recognizes the value of sacrifice. That’s why, when injuries necessitated a change, Thuney shifted from left guard to tackle. He didn’t care about risking his all-pro reputation. He took on the challenge and helped the Chiefs keep winning.

At 35, Kelce laughs at whispers that he has fallen off. He plays decoy when asked. From game to game, he doesn’t know whether he will catch a dozen passes or struggle to gain a dozen yards. But the opponent doesn’t really know, either. He has learned to live with the fluctuation.

“He is an unbelievably unselfish player,” Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said earlier this season. “I don’t think he gets enough credit for that.”

You can date a pop star without acting like a rock star. As the Chiefs try to extend their championship run, it’s another transformative example for young standouts such as 25-year-old center Creed Humphrey and 24-year-old cornerback Trent McDuffie.

The Chiefs don’t have a mantra as easy to recite as the “Patriot Way” that New England adopted in its heyday. Reid is a fantastic, hard-driving coach, but he’s not the dictator that Bill Belichick was. The K.C. dynasty is full of personalities, but when it’s time to win, the Chiefs are every bit as faceless as the Patriots once were.

After Sunday’s 32-29 victory over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC championship game, wideout DeAndre Hopkins tried to make sense of his good fortune. He’s 32 now. He’s not a 110-catch, 1,500-yard receiver anymore. The Chiefs were desperate for a dependable veteran when they traded a fifth-round draft pick to Tennessee to acquire him in October. Now headed to his first Super Bowl, he’s grateful.

“Twelve years in the league,” said Hopkins, who had 41 catches for 437 yards in 10 games with Kansas City. “I (once) got traded for some pennies in my prime. I just want to thank the organization. They gave me a shot.”

In Kansas City, the whole roster gets a shot. The Chiefs need a bit of everything, and their stars get that better than anyone. They don’t have to look great. They’re free to be whatever they need to be.