Quote:
Originally Posted by OneWinningDrive
Sure, I can accept that having an elite/HOF category QB makes winning a SB easier in the absence of a historically great team otherwise. But the thing is that Lamar is in the elite/HOF category. Two MVPs earns that classification whether people here want to admit it or not. To say that he's not in that category because he hasn't yet won a SB is circular reasoning given that what we're trying to prove is what level of QB you need to win a SB in the first place.
So both teams have that level of QB. No Ravens fan would deny that about the Chiefs, but seemingly every Chiefs fan would deny that about the Ravens. From my view, if they're both in that elite/HOF category, then it's worth looking beyond that to the rest of the rosters. But we never get there because everything devolves to Mahomes > Lamar.
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I think there has been discussion about other position groups. I'm happy to go there.
QB: Chiefs
RB: Chiefs (assuming Pacheco plays)
WR: Ravens
TE: Chiefs
OL: Push (Ravens better at T, Chiefs better at IOL, good overall units)
DL: Chiefs
LB: Ravens
CB: Chiefs
S: Ravens
K: Slight edge Ravens (both excellent)
P: Chiefs
What I think is being missed outside Kansas City is how good the Chiefs' defense is. There's some talk about it, sure, but many are still overlooking it and looking at the Ravens' flashy, blowout wins instead. The Miami blowout particularly seems to garner a lot of credit, despite the Chiefs' essentially giving up in 2 games (against healthier versions of the Miami offense) what the Ravens gave up in one game. There is a perception the Ravens D is on a different tier from the Chiefs, and I think that's wrong/off.
The Chiefs defense is better than any D the Ravens have played this year. (Same can be said of the Ravens re: the Chiefs).
So then you're on to comparing the offenses and what they can do versus the opponents defense. And that's where the QB comparison discussion really takes hold, because it starts with elite Ds and how they handle QBs.
The Chiefs' offense has been held back LESS by its WR room talent level and more by penalties and drops. The scheme is still strong, and Mahomes is still performing at the highest level (Christmas Day game being a notable exception).
If KC's receiving targets catch the ball and the team avoids high penalty counts again, the Chiefs' offense adds the efficiency back and becomes damn difficult to stop, again.
The Ravens are a really good team. I don't think they're the unstoppable juggernaut superteam that DVOA would suggest they are (as we've discussed). And we've all watched the Chiefs and Mahomes dismantle #1 defenses they're not supposed to be able to handle repeatedly since he took the QB1 role, so... we're confident.