Some things stay the same, like the Kansas City Chiefs having an excellent record and losing to the Cincinnati Bengals, but one thing is different for Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid this season and it is starting to show.
That is the view of NFL pundit Colin Cowherd, who believes the Chiefs are not the superpower they once were, with the departure of superstar wide receiver Tyreek Hill taking its toll, with the Bengals snatching a late 27-24 win on Sunday, repeating their play-off win over Kansas City earlier this year.
Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins in the off-season and he is having an incredible year, leading the league in receptions (96) and receiving yards (1,379), and he has combined with Jaylen Waddle and Tua Tagovailoa to create one of the most potent offences in the league.
Without 'The Cheetah' on their roster, the Chiefs remain among the class of the league. They are 9-3 and have a commanding lead in the AFC West, with their hopes of being the AFC number-one seed still alive.
But they have lost to the Buffalo Bills and the Bengals – their biggest rivals in the race to top AFC – already this season and Cowherd believes the lack of a home-run hitter like Hill could cost them big in the potential rematches in the playoffs. He says they are not the 'knockout' force they once were.
"It is much, much easier to be the hunter than the hunted, and that is what Kansas City is now and it's been a couple of years," he said on The Herd. "Kansas City gets every team's best shot, they get every coaching staff's best gameplan.
"Kansas City is the NFL's most hunted. They've got the ring, they've got Mahomes and Andy Reid and the networks love them and they get the attention. Some of their best players have got the bag and now everybody is going to pick, pick, pick. Kansas City are the standard in the NFL and Cincinnati and Buffalo have the quarterbacks to go toe-to-toe.
"When the Chiefs lost Tyreek Hill, we said they will still score a bunch of points and they will still be productive, but they will miss his lightning. They will not be able to score as quickly, they will not be able to come 24-0 or 17-0 down, and Cincinnati and Buffalo know it.
"We never questioned whether Kansas City would be smart and brilliant and win and be productive, but they miss Tyreek Hill's lightning. They feel like a heavyweight fighter that doesn't quite have the knockout punch they used to. They can't claw back after being beaten in the early rounds like they used to.
"Instead of Travis Kelce being the number two to Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce is the number one to Marquez Valdes-Scantling and JuJu Smith-Schuster. It is not the same. Buffalo has got Josh Allen and weapons and Cincinnati has got Joe Burrow and weapons, and what is impressive about both of those teams and scary for the Chiefs is now they have got running games. Both can keep Mahomes off the field."
Despite Sunday's defeat in Cincy, the Chiefs will fancy their chances of going unbeaten for the remainder of the regular season.
They face just one team with a winning record – the Seattle Seahawks – and they play the Denver Broncos twice as well as duels with the Las Vegas Raiders and the dismal Houston Texans.
