SaulGoodman

Clark was ridiculed throughout most of his KC career and couldn't even get on the field for a bad Denver team this year. Sneed didn't really kick it into gear until this season. Just last year, Mahomes was playing on one leg throughout the entire playoff run and they were down 4 of their top 5 WRs in the AFC title game (plus Sneed and Gay). Even with the injuries on defense this year, Buffalo allowed 18 ppg. McD may not have the offensive impact of Reid, but he's great defensively.

Von Miller? Diggs, Tre White and others might eventually have a case too. Chris Jones is borderline. He has some work to do. Over the last two years, I'd say each QB has had one surefire HOFer on his roster. Kelce and Von Miller. Miller wasn't in his prime this year but Kelce wasn't either. It's fair to say that Mahomes had a big advantage in offensive talent in his first few years, but he definitely hasn't the last few years. And when the offensive talent was great, the defense wasn't very good.

A better question is how many all pros has Mahomes had on defense to lose? He's never had an above average defense before this year.

The fact that you snicker at Gabe Davis says it all. Here’s a guy who averaged almost 100 yds/game in the playoffs in four games from ‘21-‘22, with 6 TDs. I guarantee that KC would have welcomed him with open arms the last two years. Hell, he would have been the best WR on the team until Rice’s emergence recently. I’m not saying that Allen’s supporting cast has been absolutely loaded, but how many QBs have that? Not most. Mahomes’ SB-winning teams are #1 and #2 in postseason points allowed in history. I’m willing to bet that the 3rd string OL he played behind in SB 55 was the worst line ever brought to the big game. He hasn’t had a true #1 WR for two years. His receivers led the league in drops by a mile this year. He’s never had a great running game and for years it was non-existent. The offensive tackles haven’t been very good for two years, and run-blocking hasn’t been good for several years. It was dead last in the NFL a few years ago. Have you noticed that Reid transformed from guy who was fired in Philly, and widely ridiculed by fans all over the country, to unrivaled wizard—as soon as Mahomes entered the league? I just think the narratives of Mahomes having everything and Allen having nothing are way off the mark.

From 0 SBs/MVPs to 6 just by replacing McD with Reid? Seems like a bit of a stretch. Especially if he also had mediocre/bad defense every year but one, or the receivers Mahomes has been working with the last two seasons.

I’ll never understand this narrative that Allen’s carrying a bunch of nobodies. That narrative is closer to true for Mahomes the last two years (especially as Kelce’s beginning to slow down a bit). Allen’s had one of the best WRs in the game for several years and has two good TEs. Plus a very good RB and solid OL. Davis and Shakir aren’t chopped liver either.

There obviously isn't a high percentage chance of anyone matching 7 Super Bowl rings, but zero chance? For someone who has appeared in 4 in 6 years, and his worst year is an OT loss in the conference title game? Of course there's a chance. Don't forget that these last two years were rebuilding years. Tyreek Hill trade, defense full of rookies and 2nd-year players, young offense outside of a few positions. They weren't expected to go to back to back Super Bowls. They were expected to take a solid step back. It's pointless to speculate beyond the next few years, but next year's Chiefs team could be their best ever if they land a solid receiver or two and continue drafting well. If he wins next Sunday and again next season, he'd only need three more after playing less than a third of the number of seasons as Brady.

TB could have started Blaine Gabbert and won that SB. Same with the last Patriots' Super Bowl (Rams scored 3 points). And Brady's first 2-3 rings were won by defense/running game. He was a game manager for the first 3-4 years. No rational person thinks Mahomes needs 7 rings to be in that conversation. A couple more is enough. Especially when you factor in rampant cheating at NE. Some may claim it didn't make much of a difference, but I disagree pretty strongly. I think it gave them a huge advantage for several years. There's a reason they continued to perpetuate a complicated and time-consuming process that involved several people for years. All things considered, I don't even consider Brady the GOAT now. I think it's Montana that Mahomes is chasing.

I knew this would be a narrative if KC got back to the SB. I'm highly skeptical of anything that involves corporate entities and large sums of money, so I won't discount the possibility of shenanigans. But I don't think officiating has been blatantly one-sided. There were a couple questionable calls/no-calls vs Baltimore, but there was also a KC TD wiped off the board due to a phantom hold. And if the refs really wanted to give KC a boost, I don't think they'd have overturned the call on the Hardman goal line fumble. They could have easily said there wasn't enough evidence to overturn. KC definitely didn't get much help from the refs throughout the regular season. The Toney offside call, no-call on a blatant PI at the end of the GB game, several TDs called back, etc etc. But there's no doubt that the NFL is glad to see this development.

In a game last year, Mahomes had 509 yds and accounted for all but 14 of the team’s yards. He won the AFC title game with Skyy Moore, MVS and a practice squad WR. Had one of his best games without Kelce or Hill vs a pretty good Pitt D a few years ago (top receivers were Pringle, Darrel Williams, Derrick Gore and Hardman). Beat Denver on the road in his first career start, surrounded by scrub backups. And he’s rarely been supported by good defense. Even last week, his defense failed most of the night. To say he can’t carry a team is crazy.

Yep. I’ll never understand the narrative that Mahomes has had everything and Allen’s had nothing. In Mahomes’ first year, he had arguably the worst defense in the league. Until this year, he’s never had an above average defense. He’s rarely been supported by a good running game and they’ve generally been very one-dimensional on offense. For a few years, KC had the worst interior run blocking in the NFL. 3rd string OL in 2020, and mediocre/poor tackle play at times the last few years. Allen’s had top defenses every year, one of the best receivers in the game for several years, good TEs (two good ones currently), a good LT and decent line, decent RBs (very solid one this year)…I wouldn’t say the cupboard has been bare.

Mahomes Allen Lamar Stafford Rodgers Herbert Stroud Burrow Hurts Love Goff Dak Cousins Mayfield Lawrence Murray Tua Purdy

Outside of last year’s Bengals game (weather played a part), and McD’s coaching decisions at the end of the 13 seconds game, the Bills have nothing to be ashamed of. They’re right there every year. Might have a SB appearance or win already if they were in the NFC.

Buffalo will get over the hump eventually. I’m sure Allen will win a SB if not multiple. Too bad the Bills aren’t in the NFC. They’d probably have multiple SB appearances already.

Prior to the game, everyone was saying the Bills’ roster was better. Especially the receiving weapons. KC’s D certainly wasn’t great last night, and receivers dropped passes and fumbled away a TD.

Good luck to Bills fans and players. Except Von Miller. I think that guy’s a dirtbag and shouldn’t be playing.

I think Allen realized it wasn’t meant as disrespect to him. They’re friends and I think they talk pretty regularly, so their exchanges aren’t as formal as most.

You people really want excuses to hate Mahomes, don’t you? He shouldn’t have exploded on that ref, but that’s literally the only moment in his career that he wasn’t a class act. It isn’t hard to see why somebody would be ticked in that situation. To look the other way at offensive Offside all game and consistently in other games for decades, never calling it once in Reid’s career, then throwing the flag in that moment? Face it, any of us would be pissed. Fans get mad and scream at refs constantly, but a player isn’t allowed one moment in his career? It’s not like Allen hasn’t had classless moments. He threw the ball at a KC player just because he was mad that he took a sack. Fought with teammates in training camp, etc.

KC's D has allowed a little over 14 ppg at home and 17.6 away from home. The score in Denver is misleading. KC's offense turned it over 5 times and gave them really short fields all day. Denver finished with 240 yds and 3.7 yds per play. I'd say the Packers game is the only one in which the opponent moved the ball fairly consistently. KC was down their top two linebackers that day though.

The play of the WRs this year (outside of Rice and Watson) has been truly pathetic. Toney seemed to drop every other pass, and always at crucial points in the game. Twice he bobbled a perfect pass directly into the hands of a DB. Moore hasn't done anything right this year. Can't run routes correctly, can't adjust or find soft spots in the zone, can't catch. MVS is either invisible, running the route incorrectly, or dropping perfect passes. Thankfully, MVS is getting fewer targets and snaps. It's up in the air as to whether Toney or Moore will be active on Sunday. I'm hoping that Moore won't be (addition by subtraction), and I'm on the fence with Toney. He can be electric, but he hasn't had his head screwed on right all season.

Well, off the top of my head, I can remember about a half dozen dropped TDs and several TDs called back due to penalties. That's a number I'd be curious to know...how many TDs have been called back for other top teams. I think there's been at least a dozen for KC within the last two years. The narrative that KC gets all the calls is ludicrous. They've been one of the most penalized teams in the league.

Allen obviously killed him when it comes to rushing TDs, but Mahomes' underwhelming passing numbers are mostly due to the performance of the receivers. His receivers led the league in drops by a mile. Even Kelce hasn't been sure-handed this year. He'd have a lot more TDs and at least two fewer INTs if his receivers had been able to catch balls that hit them squarely in their hands.

I'm just refuting the narrative that they're always at full strength in the playoffs. They were pretty healthy in 2019, but last year they were down four of their top 5 WRs in the AFCC. They were left with MVS, Skyy Moore and Kemp from the practice squad. That has to be the worst group of WRs to ever play in an AFC title game. They were also without Sneed and Gay. And of course, Mahomes had the high ankle sprain early in the first playoff game. In 2020, they lost several O-linemen throughout the season. But yes, the backbreaker happened in the AFCC. Also, don't forget that Mahomes missed the 2nd half of the divisional game that year.

In case it weren't obvious, I'm a KC fan. I'm not here to troll anybody though. I honestly feel a little badly about the way some Bills fans have been treated at Chiefs Planet. But at the same time, it's just internet banter. Can't take it too seriously. Most of these people are guys you'd probably have fun drinking a beer with if everybody set their silly sports differences aside. One thing you have to understand about the KC fanbase is that half of it doesn't even like the other half. Those on the KS side of the border tend to be more refined, classier and easier to get along with. Some on the Missouri side can be abrasive and crude. The KU and Mizzou fanbases despise each other as much as any rivals from any sport, which makes it interesting when they come together at Chiefs games. But it's a rivalry that goes beyond sports. Kansans and Missourians have hated each other since William Quantrill's guerrillas burned down Lawrence (where I live) during the Civil War. I have no predictions for this game. I think both teams are too unpredictable to know how this will play out. I do think that both QBs will likely play well though. Allen's usually at his best against the Chiefs, and Mahomes has a different level of focus in the playoffs.

If anything, it's closer to the opposite. I hear almost nothing but positivity regarding the Bills and Allen, and often hyperbole. Even when they barely beat Easton Stick or the Patriots. Obviously Nick Wright is an exception, but that's mostly schtick. With KC, they're all saying "they've played badly all year, not what they used to be, offense sucks," etc. Meanwhile, they're 9th in total offense and have one of the best defenses in the league. The media also crushed KC during their slump in 2021. They were flat out labeled a bad team and predicted to miss the playoffs, before finishing with 12 wins. And then the media crushed Mahomes after the 2nd half collapse vs the Bengals in the playoffs. Outside of that, there's been a lot of positive media coverage for KC and Mahomes, yes. What would you expect?