Quote:
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho
Mahomes has already won a Super Bowl while taking up the second-highest percentage of the cap of all time, so I don't need to see more to question if he can elevate a less-than-perfect roster situation. He just showed he can (and on a bad ankle for 2 and 3/4 games in the playoffs, to boot).
What went wrong for KC this year was the plan for the WR room. Multi-variate. Valdes-Scantling regressed badly (prior to last week's game against Buffalo, he had done much less than a year ago). Skyy Moore didn't translate steps forward in practice/camp to a step forward on the field. Kadarius Toney got hurt and then couldn't catch a cold. Richie James was signed as veteran insurance for those last two players and got hurt early.
Everything else from a planning perspective has worked out pretty well. You can't account for or expect being -15 or whatever it was in turnovers, but that could be called out as another, more random "gone wrong."
Not saying it wouldn't be disappointing to fail to get there. It would hurt the Chiefs and Mahomes' legacies a bit.
But that doesn't mean it hurts them as much as it hurts Jackson and the Ravens. It's hard to build a team that's this complete and that stays this healthy come the last 3 weeks of the season. To not win in that spot, and when you haven't done it yet, tarnishes a legacy far more than hitting your min outcome under a regime.
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It hurts the Ravens, sure. As it would literally any team? The Bills, the 9ers, you can say this about most teams.
My contention is just that it should hurt the Chiefs too if they want to be considered the best ever. The best ever would defend their title, dethrone the MVP, erase the “road playoff game” narrative, overcome a lack of roster talent.
No shame in not being able to do that. Those are lofty goals. No one is infallible. But it’s a double standard to expect others buy into the inevitability of the Chiefs as the best ever even if they lose when not one person here will buy into the inevitability of the Ravens eventually breaking through even with their consistency/talent.
Just to be clear, I’m not singling you out. You’ve been fair/balanced. It’s more so the people who want to insist the Chiefs are in a different universe even if they lose. Well, no. If you want that treatment, win.