The Kansas City Chiefs have continued their steady climb of the Touchdown Wire power rankings. After tumbling down the rankings following their Week 5 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, they’ve now once again reclaimed a spot at the top of the pack. Following their Week 7 win over the Denver Broncos, the Chiefs have advanced to the No. 2 team behind only the Pittsburgh Steelers after being named the No. 4 team just last week.
Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrer wrote a dissertation this week on what makes the Chiefs so dangerous, but the story about the 1940 Boston Braves is certainly my favorite part:
“During the 1940s, the Boston Braves were a formidable baseball team. They were led by a tandem of pitchers, left-hander Warren Spahn and right-hander Johnny Sain. The two were almost dominant, and during the 1948 season Sain pitched nine-straight complete games, including in Game 1 of the 1948 World Series.
That year, Boston sports writer Gerald Hern crafted a poem that over time would be shortened to a single line: ‘Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.’ The meaning? Outside of the two pitchers the rest of the rotation was not as good, so the Braves’ best hope was for the elements to play a part.
Over the past few seasons many defensive coordinators have perhaps felt the same about facing the Kansas City Chiefs. Getting some help from the weather gods might allow you to slow down Patrick Mahomes and company. Well, the Denver Broncos got just that on Sunday, as the game was played in a falling snow, our first true “weather game” of the 2020 season.
Kansas City won by 27.”
It doesn’t matter the conditions — rain, snow or heat — this football team will do their thing to the best of their ability. Andy Reid loves when it rains at training camp for exactly that reason, it gives the team a chance to practice in the elements.
That’s just a part of what makes the team so dangerous, though. They’re like the Hydra in Greek mythology, cut off one head and two more are there to take its place.
The defense and special teams are capable of elevating their play on any given Sunday as they did against the Broncos. The running game is just scratching the surface of how dominant it can be. Then, of course, there’s Patrick Mahomes. A “snow-game guy” and comeback king who can take the offense down the field to score at a moment’s notice. Even if the one unit for the Chiefs doesn’t play their best game, they’re capable of beating a team by 27 points.
That’s scary.
Rest assured this team is still a contender, just a year removed from their first Super Bowl win in 50 seasons. Lord help the team that faces K.C. when all three phases of the game play up to their highest possible abilities.
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