Chiefs' Regular Season Graded Outside Top 10 After 'Luck-Fueled' 15-2 Effort

Despite the Chiefs having perhaps the best regular season in franchise history, one outlet has an interesting outlook on how that should be graded.

Jan 5, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) before the game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The bar was set sky-high for the Kansas City Chiefs this year, although a large chunk of that revolves around the club's upcoming playoff run. Given the nature of their three-peat push, the reigning Super Bowl champions have plenty of stock tied up in their performance in the month of January. What they did beforehand was merely an appetizer for the main course.

Despite that, it's still important to note what Andy Reid's group did during the regular season. Not only did they set a record for the most wins in franchise history with 15, but they did so even after dealing with numerous injuries throughout the year. Nothing was easy for Kansas City, yet they managed to earn the AFC's No. 1 playoff seed and a first-round bye for the postseason.

That should matter a ton, but one analyst's recent grades don't quite reflect that. In a recent article for CBS Sports, Will Brinson handed out marks for each team's regular season efforts and has the Chiefs ranked just outside his top 10. While a B-plus is nothing to scoff at, Brinson's logic is Patrick Mahomes and friends not living up to the standard on a weekly basis.

"A B+ for 15-2?!?!" Brinson began. "Yeah, that's what happens when the entire world thinks the NFL has rigged things in your favor to land a three-peat and you don't score more than 30 points once in a single season. The bar is really high for the Chiefs, and while they ended up tied for the best record in football, they didn't exactly do it in incredible fashion. If Patrick Mahomes and Co. turn it on offensively during the playoffs and win another title, no one will be surprised, but this felt like a luck-fueled record in somewhat of a cruise control season, even if there were a lot of injuries on offense to overcome."

From a flat-out dominance standpoint, sure, Kansas City didn't accomplish what many thought it should've as a 15-2 team. They finished the regular season slotting in at ninth in EPA/play on offense and 15th on defense. Several of their games, especially early in the season, were close calls that easily could've gone the other way with one play being different. Weeks 1-3 against the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons come to mind, as do Weeks 9 and 10 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Denver Broncos. It's safe to say the Chiefs didn't accumulate style points en route to their 15 victories.

Context is important, however. Although Reid's team ranks fifth among the current playoff field in scoring margin against playoff teams, a 38-0 loss to the Broncos to end the regular season is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Without that drubbing (which saw many starters resting) included, the Chiefs would be in second place. They also won all but one of their contests against that same field, and Week 11's defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Bills was closer than the final score suggests.

Considering the adversity they faced, anything less than an 'A' feels somewhat harsh. At no point during the season was Kansas City at full strength, and at very few points were they operating at maximum efficiency. Being able to pull through in countless clutch moments against quality opponents despite that should be met with nothing but respect, in this writer's opinion.

It's fair to be skeptical of how sustainable that strategy is come playoff time but in a result-driven league, it's hard to disagree too much with what the Chiefs put together in the regular season.

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