The Kansas City Chiefs finished the 2022 regular season with a dominant 31-13 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 18.
This win was especially sweet because it completed a season-long sweep of the AFC West division and locked the Chiefs into the No. 1 seed in the AFC conference. They’ll now get the lone bye week in the first round of the playoffs, allowing them extra time to heal and prepare ahead of the divisional round.
So what exactly did we learn about the Chiefs in their Week 18 win? Here are four of our biggest takeaways after the game:
Chiefs get their complete game in season finale
Heading into Week 18, not a single person in Kansas City felt that the Chiefs had played what they consider a “complete game.” From the fans to the coaching staff to the players — they all wanted to see the offense, defense and special teams fire on all cylinders. Well, they got what they hoped for against the Raiders.
The offense didn’t turn the ball over and produced in both the passing game and running game. The defense got after the quarterback and created turnovers. Special teams were perfect in the kicking game, punting game, coverage and return units.
“Yes, we needed that,” Chiefs HC Andy Reid said following the game. “We really hadn’t put it all together. I thought this was a good time, if I had to pick a time, to do it. This was a good time to do it. We strive for it every week, but it seemed like it all kind of came together today, which was a plus.”
If they can keep that same energy heading into the playoffs, this team will be tough to beat.
Ronald Jones needs more short-yardage work
Jones had his most extended look of the 2022 NFL season in Week 18 — and I liked what I saw. Firstly, before garbage time, Jones got a few snaps. One of his first snaps came in the red zone on a short-yardage situation. He ran for a two-yard score, notching the first touchdown of his tenure in Kansas City. He picked up two first downs late in the fourth quarter to ice the game and finished the day with 10 carries for 45 yards.
It’s a small sample size against a not-so-good defense, but I have to think this gives the Chiefs some renewed sense of confidence in Jones. Isiah Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon are fine running backs, but if you need someone to be a battering ram on short-yardage situations, Jones is your guy.
This defense is better than anyone has given it credit for
It has taken a full NFL season for this unit to get there, but the Chiefs’ defense is better than it has been given credit for.
Entering the year, everyone was concerned about the team’s potential lack of pass rush. Yet, with the regular season now behind us, the Chiefs’ 55 sacks in 2022 were the second-most by a defense in a single season in franchise history. The only defense in Kansas City with more sacks was the team’s 1990 defense, when Derrick Thomas, Neil Smith and Dan Saleaumua combined for 29.5 sacks between the three of them. Eight others combined for 30.5 sacks.
But it’s not just the pass rush.
Nick Bolton set the team’s single-season record for total tackles and helped lead a young linebacker corps to one of the better seasons in recent memory. L’Jarius Sneed is having an All-Pro type of season, with production as a blitzer, interceptions and forced fumbles. Justin Reid and Juan Thornhill are catching fire at the right time.
Then, there’s the youth movement with players like Trent McDuffie and George Karlaftis catching steam down the stretch. Yeah, they’ve had their rookie mistakes, but those also seem to be in the past after a good chunk of regular season games to work out the kinks.
This group has seen its shaky moments, but they’re looking like they can be a big part of why the Chiefs make a deep playoff run.
No one can tell you that the Chiefs didn't earn this
One of the first comments in response to my “Chiefs clinched the No. 1 seed” article was someone trying to claim this team didn’t earn or deserve it. There’s no denying that the Bills-Bengals game being ruled a “no contest” didn’t help Kansas City, but there’s also no way of knowing whether they’d otherwise be in this position. The Chiefs kept pace, finished the season with a 14-3 record and did their part to put themselves in contention for the No. 1 seed. Everything else was out of their control.
To attempt to devalue what it took for this team to earn that 14-3 record — well, it doesn’t sit well with me. The AFC West spent nearly half a billion dollars offseason and traded a ton of draft capital to level the playing field against a Chiefs team that has dominated the division. Well, those same AFC West teams all went 0-6 against Kansas City this season. All the while, the Chiefs traded away a top-2 receiver in football and will likely finish the regular season with the fifth-most rookie snaps in the league.
What K.C. has done this season is nothing short of remarkable and anyone telling you otherwise can kick rocks.
