thoughts on chiefs-eagles + more

Some quick thoughts on MNF: 

Obviously the drops are a concern. The Wide Receiver room is holding back the offense, without question. But let's go a bit deeper. 

The deep ball to MVS was 2nd and 10 from the KC 49 with 1:50 to go. People are reacting like that was going to win the game. First of all, the Eagles would have had 1:45 and only been down 3. That was not at all a game-clinching play. Second, that's not the right play/throw to make there. Chiefs needed to score a TD with under 30 seconds to play. They needed to focus on getting first downs. A 7-yard pass would have been better than a touchdown on that play. 

People like Bill Simmons have been writing off the Chiefs saying that they're not as good as the Chiefs that we're used to. That's entirely focused on the offense. What's being missed is the defense is the best it's been in the Mahomes era. Allowing only 21 points to the Eagles and holding A.J. Brown to nothing is impressive. And Mahomes is playing well and healthy so far. So you give me a good defense and a healthy Mahomes, they can hang with anyone. 

Going back to last night, the Chiefs were up 17-14 with 13 minutes to go. 1st and 10 at the Eagles 14, Kelce catches a 5-yard pass. He gets the ball knocked out of his arms. If the Chiefs score a TD there and make it 24-14, we're having a different conversation. It was raining. Kelce doesn't have a huge fumbling problem. 

The Chiefs also showed they have no way to stop the tush push which is honestly just as concerning to me regarding a potential Super Bowl rematch as the WR issues. 

Here's how I rank the best teams in the NFL right now:

1. 49ers

2. Eagles

3. Chiefs

4. Ravens

5. Lions

Jaguars, Dolphins and Cowboys are in the next tier and beyond these eight, the only team I can see making the Super Bowl is the Bills if they were able to get right and get hot going into the playoffs.

So if you were drafting Super Bowl predictions right now, I think 49ers over Chiefs should be the first choice and Eagles over Chiefs should be the second choice. 

But if you go back to last night, the Chiefs had a 10 point lead at the half over the Eagles. It was raining and Kelce fumbled and there were some WR drops. It doesn't mean the sky is falling, but I think it's absolutely fair to have the Chiefs as an underdog vs Eagles or 49ers. 

And as for #TankWatch, it really seems like the Panthers are gonna go back to back #1 picks. Respect the commitment to the bit.