3 reasons the Chiefs are the AFC favorites again
By Byron Smith
The Kansas City Chiefs are rolling and appear to have re-established themselves as the top team in the AFC.
The Kansas City Chiefs were “broken” just eight weeks ago. Now, they are leading the AFC West at 9-4 and have the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoff picture. Oh, and they’ve put together one of the best defenses in the NFL.
After stomping the Las Vegas Raiders, 48-9, the Chiefs are closing in on locking up the AFC West for the sixth straight season. With a win on Thursday Night Football over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15, Kansas City would be just one win away from locking up the division.
3 reasons why the Chiefs are the AFC favorite
The Chiefs’ Defense has become elite
Since Nov. 1, the day the Chiefs’ six-game winning streak began, the Chiefs’ defense has only allowed an average of 10.8 points and 311.6 yards allowed per game. Those figures are better than any other team over said stretch and is much better than the 404.5 yards per game they were allowing in the seven games before that.
Grabbing 2.6 turnovers and 2.6 sacks per game, and allowing scores on only 38 percent of the opposing team’s trips to the red zone, the defense has become a completely new beast in the last few weeks. Every player has stepped up and made their impact made in different ways, from Frank Clark’s return to his 2017 form to Tyrann Mathieu getting back to being his old physical self.
Even Daniel Sorenson has turned around what was a miserable beginning half of a season, grabbing four pass breakups and two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown.