We do this every year with the Kansas City Chiefs. Despite a slow start to the season – in particular offensively thanks to a suspension to Rashee Rice and injury to Xavier Worthy – Patrick Mahomes didn't look like Patrick Mahomes through three weeks of action, and thus the Chiefs not like a real Super Bowl contender. Then, everything changed in a flash as KC faced the also-struggling Baltimore Ravens, a fellow AFC favorite looking to avoid a disastrous start of their own. One of these teams was bound to go home unhappy. The Chiefs made a statement.
Kansas City won 37-20, but the game itself wasn't even all that close. Mahomes had four touchdown passes to four different receivers – Hollywood Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Isiah Pacheco and Tyquan Thorton.
Taylor Rooks talks Chiefs-Ravens and the AFC West outlook
Taylor Rooks, who was in Kansas City during that heavyweight AFC matchup, got a front-row seat to everything Arrowhead Stadium had to offer, both on and off the field. The Emmy-nominated sports journalist Rooks spoke to FanSided's Patrick Allen this week on behalf of Crown Royal.
"I mean, this is the thing about the Chiefs, even if early on they look a little shaky, you can never count out the fact that they are going to get it figured out...it's funny that everyone does write them off to start," Rooks said. "I would say the Chiefs are back but I don't necessarily know if they left. I think maybe we were wrong about them to start the season."
Rooks is right. The NFL has a long, arduous 17-game season. There are bound to be pitfalls, and the Chiefs merely fell in the their early. This isn't even the Chiefs first rough start in the Mahomes era, as they began 1-2 back in 2021, but still recovered for a 12-4 overall regular-season record and hosted the AFC Championship Game.
Why the AFC West is wide open for the Chiefs
Perhaps even more critical for the Chiefs chances is that the Los Angeles Chargers surprisingly lost to the New York Giants on Sunday in Jaxson Dart's NFL debut. At 2-2, Kansas City is suddenly just a game behind the Chargers and Broncos in the division, though LA holds the tiebreaker.
"It's hard for me not to pick the Chiefs. I learn from my mistakes," Rooks added. "There have been times I (didn't believe in) the Chiefs, then I blinked and they were in the Super Bowl. I'm going to say the Chiefs can get it done."
Kansas City's schedule doesn't get any easier, as they face off against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday Night Football and then the Detroit Lions in Week 6 at Arrowhead. Yet, with seven games left against AFC West competition, the Chiefs have a chance to earn back the tiebreaker they lost in a season-opening loss to the Chargers in Mexico and then some.
Taylor Rooks spoke to FanSided on behalf of Crown Royal, which is celebrating its fifth year as the Official Whisky Sponsor of the NFL. This season, the Crown Royal Rig is on a mission to crown Passenger Princesses across the country with the help of the Royal Seat, surprising the real MVPs of game day with premium ticket upgrades at 10 marquee matchups.