SaulGoodman

I can see why someone might say this, but what I don’t understand is the idea that teams with multiple losses, vs weaker schedules, have been better. Is it more impressive to lose than win a close game? I think people focus too much on numbers like PPG. A much more meaningful stat is points per possession, and the Chiefs have generally done well there, even amidst the injuries. For example, 27 points vs the Raiders may not be eye-popping, but they averaged 3.4 points per drive, which is very good. They also have the best success rate in the league and the best 3rd down conversion rate in 13 years. It’s not an explosive offense but it’s still an efficient one. Which should only improve with Hopkins. LT is shaky, but they’ve been overcoming weak tackle play for years.

You're comparing a team that feasted on a weak schedule to a b2b SB winner that's won 15 straight against the best teams in the league? Lol Incredible how people continue to doubt the Chiefs every year.

Like I said, it was the first time it's been called in Reid's 25 year career, and it's something that is ignored constantly. What was silly was the response to the late hit out of bounds in the '22 AFCC. Mahomes was knocked down a full two yds out of bounds. A truly unignorable call, yet NFL fans lost their minds. Let's face it....people just aren't objective on this issue.

Unignorable? Lol. It was literally the first time that had been called in Andy Reid's career. It goes ignored all the time. In fact, I could find hundreds of examples.

The refs will call penalty after penalty until they get what they “want?” You guys really buy into this conspiracy don’t you? Why did they call an extremely uncommon and devastating penalty on KC in a crucial matchup vs the Bills last year?

The penalty numbers may not prove anything, but they definitely don't help the KC bias argument. That's actually the point I've tried to make. Focusing solely on one call near the end of a 60-min game is silly. Which team benefited more from officiating throughout the course of 60 minutes? The game that started the "KC gets all the calls" frenzy was the '22 AFC title game vs the Bengals. People lost their minds when a defender was flagged for a late hit after shoving Mahomes to the ground two yds out of bounds. Earlier in the same game, a KC TD was wiped off the board and a Burrow INT was negated by penalty. Aside from the fact that the late hit was clearly the right call (and so egregious that they had no choice but to call it), do you think that call had a greater impact on the outcome than erasing a TD and INT? Would the game have even been close enough for it to matter if those calls weren't made? Of course the controversy continued in the SB vs the Eagles. Now, even though rules experts defended the holding call, I'd agree that the timing was very fortuitous for the Chiefs. But if they hadn't wiped out a defensive TD earlier in the half (on a very questionable call), would it have come down to that? I read recently that KC's had more TDs erased by penalty than any team during the Mahomes era. Even if they're not #1, they're definitely way up there. For awhile it seemed to happen every game. Last postseason, they were the only team to have a TD erased and it happened multiple times.

It’s easy to say that, but no one ever has numbers to back it up. As for Taylor… if anything, he’s proof that there’s no agenda to help the Chiefs. I think he was penalized more times in half a season last year than in four years in Jacksonville. Nothing about his alignment or habits changed when he arrived in KC, yet he was targeted relentlessly starting in week 1. Then the rate of flags slowed down, and people claimed conspiracy. So was there a conspiracy to help Jacksonville?

Remember the Dee Ford call that cost them a SB appearance in Mahomes' first season? Shortly before that, they called Chris Jones for roughing for tapping Brady's shoulder pad. In the 2020 SB, flags were falling like confetti. Last year, SF drew a flag on 3rd down that gave them a fresh set of downs in OT. In the 2nd half of the SB vs the Eagles, a defensive score was wiped off the board on a very questionable call. The list of late calls that went against the Chiefs in the regular season would be a mile long, including the call on Toney last year vs your Bills. Imagine if the roles were reversed and KC got that call and the win. Your fanbase would've gone ballistic and claimed fix. But when it benefits one's own team....crickets.

Have you ever considered that your perception might be skewed because you’re looking for it? Case in point…the ATL game a month ago. KC was flagged three times on the Falcons’ last drive, at least one of which was an awful call. The refs almost carried Atlanta into the end zone for the winning TD. The fan reaction to the game? “Did you see that missed call on the 2nd to last drive?! Obvious fix!” It’s comical that haters pretend to have objectivity on this.

No, they definitely don't always end up on the positive side of officiating. They've been one of the most penalized teams in the league since Mahomes took over. And even if you want to focus solely on late-game calls, I could list numerous late calls that went against them, including in the playoffs. The ref narrative is a reach to discredit KC/Mahomes. Nothing more, nothing less.

So they'll take TDs off the board and negate turnovers, but won't call holding?

KC was also the only team to have a TD taken off the board last postseason, and it happened twice. Overall, they’ve been one of the most penalized teams in the league since Mahomes became the starting QB. The logical conclusion is that refs are inconsistent. Which everyone already knows, but it tends to be forgotten whenever a call goes the Chiefs’ way.

Taylor was penalized relentlessly last season after never having an issue in 4 years in Jacksonville. And the takeaway is that the league has a different set of rules for KC? Lol. Apparently they had a different set for Jacksonville.

Mahomes has had mediocre/bad defense for most of his career, including an awful run defense for years.

There might be a possibility of that, but lately I’ve been hearing there’s a good chance he’ll be back before the end of the regular season.

You judge the success of an offense purely by PPG? And you think they just happened to score exactly enough to win each of the last 13, vs the best the league has to offer? Lol. The offense will score what's needed. If the defense is allowing under 18 ppg, why would they need to score more than 25? Reid's never been one to run up the score, and he gets very conservative when up double digits. This is nothing new. Even looking at ppg alone, they're currently sitting at 9th and just added Hopkins. Not my definition of a "poverty" offense. I wouldn't expect any offense to average 30 per after losing most of their best skill players. But Hollywood Brown, Pacheco and Smith-Schuster should all be back by the postseason.

First of all, how do you think the Bills would look if you took away their top 3 WRs, top RB, and multiple starters on D? I think most rational people are impressed by staying undefeated vs arguably the toughest schedule. Now they add Hopkins and Uche, and will soon get a few more starters back. Plus Hollywood Brown will likely return before the playoffs.

I didn't ask what moving the goalposts means. I asked how I'm moving them. Pretenders go 7-0 vs the toughest schedule in the league despite losing six starters, including their top three WRs and top RB? Alas, another year without enough style points. Too bad.

That poverty offense happens to lead the league in success rate. And they just added Deandre Hopkins.

How am I shifting goalposts?

Lol. Allen has "no help" while throwing to Diggs/Davis/Shakir/Kincaid/etc, but Mahomes is expected to put up huge numbers with guys who can't even get on the field for bad teams (and a bum who was just cut by your Bills).

Interesting. I seem to remember him winning MVP and SB MVP with Juju Smith-Schuster and MVS as his top WRs. And another SB MVP with scrub WRs last year. As for the excuses, let's not forget that he was playing on a high ankle sprain throughout the entire '22 playoff run, and that MVS was (by far) his best WR available in the '22 AFCC. Or that he had a third string OL in the 2020 playoffs and weak tackles/WRs the last two years, and has never been supported by an above average running game in the playoffs. I've never said that Mahomes is "on another level," btw. But I do think he's proven to be better. Largely due to the mental aspects of the game and his drive to win.

It never seems to be mentioned that there's a big difference in sample size and strength of opponents. Allen's played in one championship game and played poorly. Meanwhile, I'm pretty sure that Mahomes' stats in the WC/divisional rounds are unmatched. Mahomes' less impressive playoff performances happened in championship games and Super Bowls, against some of the best defenses in modern times.

Yes, his numbers have definitely been better over the last season and a half. Which is less than a third of their careers. Let's see Allen put up the same numbers with WRs like Toney, Moore, Hardman, JJSS, MVS, a rookie Worthy, etc, and poor tackle play. Also, it's pretty clear that Nagy is a big step down from Bienemy, and that Brady's been very beneficial for Allen. It's interesting that the same people who discredit Mahomes' accomplishments based on personnel differences don't acknowledge that Allen's offensive personnel advantages the last two years have played a big role in the stats. Do people think that Mahomes just suddenly lost the ability to put up numbers? I think it's also pretty clear that Mahomes is somewhat bored with the regular season at this point. As evidenced by the switch flipped last postseason, when he became nearly perfect after a very imperfect regular season. He's just doing enough to win, and doing it while all his top skill players are dropping like flies.

Jackson's been excellent this year. Not sure he deserved MVP last year, but does this year, as of now.