Repeating as Super Bowl champions is a difficult feat, for a number of reasons. One has to do with the parity built into the NFL schedule. Division winners have a tougher schedule than teams that finish lower the previous year. Then there’s the draft, which sets its selection order opposite to the order of finish from the prior year. Injuries play a significant role; even in seasons where it does not seem like we have ten more players tearing an ACL each week, injuries take their toll on teams, particularly at the skill positions. Finally, there is the question of hunger. After winning a world championship, will that team be as motivated the next season? Don’t miss our sports betting preview focusing on whether Kansas City can make it two Super Bowl wins in a row when January comes around.
As you consider your online NFL betting on football futures, consider our thoughts on this question.
NFL News: Do the Chiefs Have What it Takes to Repeat?
The last team to repeat as Super Bowl champions was the New England Patriots, who won the title in 2003 and 2004. Their offense was terrific, but it was not as high-octane as the Chiefs’ unit is. It seems like every time the team needs a scoring drive, Patrick Mahomes can lead his team down the field and deposit the ball into the end zone. Look at how their game in Las Vegas finished. Even this win over Denver on Sunday night required a last-minute march down the field.
At times, the offense goes off early and then settles back to wait. This is what happened when the Chiefs beat the Buccaneers earlier this season. They rolled out to a 17-0 lead; Patrick Mahomes found Tyreek Hill for 203 receiving yards — in just the first quarter. Yes, Tampa Bay came back and only lost by three, but the game never felt that close.
We’ve seen this sort of flipping the switch in Kansas City before. In the playoffs last year, the Chiefs trailed the Texans, the Titans and the 49ers by double digits in the divisional playoff, the AFC Championship and Super Bowl LIV. Each time, they came back to win with dominant offensive performances in the second half. The team faced some questions in the running game during the off-season, so they added Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the draft from LSU, and they also picked up Le’Veon Bell from the Jets this season, to shore up that position.
So what could slow the Chiefs down? The same unit that threatened to slow them down last year — their defense. Note that the Chiefs went to Las Vegas and gave up 31 points to a Raiders team that has gotten shut down lately, as coaching staffs have figured out that if you harass Derek Carr, he will throw the shortest possible pass, so you can limit damage.
In that win over the Raiders, Las Vegas only had to punt two times. The only other drive on which the Raiders did not score ended with an interception by Daniel Sorensen in the last seconds of the game. For most of the game, Carr was able to sit in the pocket and find receivers well down the field. He threw for 275 yards and three scores. If the Raiders hadn’t had their own coverage fall apart late, leaving it open for Mahomes to find Kelce for a touchdown in the last minute, Carr would have led the Raiders to a season sweep of the Super Bowl champions.
So while the Chiefs have a transcendent offense, once again their execution on defense, particularly against teams with a veteran quarterback, is falling short. Will it cost them in the Super Bowl? Only time can tell. However, the game usually slows way down in the Super Bowl, making the team that can get stops much more likely to win.
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