The Chiefs are heading to their third Super Bowl appearance in the last five years, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
They’re going up against the Philadelphia Eagles, who finished the regular season 14-3 with an MVP-caliber performance from quarterback Jalen Hurts and a dominant defense. Who better to help you understand what to expect from Kansas City when they take on the Eagles than our team community writers covering the Chiefs’ 2022 regular season opponents?
Week 1: Chiefs 44, Cardinals 21
It was obvious from the first game of the season when the Kansas City Chiefs rolled into State Farm Stadium, they were going to be ending their season in the same place. What the Chiefs did, with little to no resistance from the Arizona Cardinals, was a masterclass in utilizing multiple talents in different ways.
Patrick Mahomes was a maestro leading the offensive charge with Travis Kelce, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Clyde Edwards-Helaire doing whatever they wanted against the Cards. It was the defense, though, that showed what this team could potentially be, controlling James Conner and Kyler Murray on the ground and shutting down Marquise Brown in his debut. A 44-21 drubbing that was never that close was a start to what looked like a magical run for the Chiefs. – Seth Cox, Revenge of the Birds
Week 2: Chargers 24, Chiefs 27
The Chiefs have been the elite of the elite in the NFL for what seems like the better part of the last 10 to 15 years. No matter who they throw out there, they seem to find success as long as Patrick Mahomes is their quarterback. One of the scarier things about the Chiefs is that they’ve found a way to develop an athletic and intimidating defense to complement their already unstoppable offense. If your offense can score 30 or more points at will, it gives the defense a lot of breathing room. But what if they don’t need that room for error in the first place? That’s one heck of a team to beat. – Michael Peterson, Bolts From the Blue
Week 3: Chiefs 17, Colts 20
Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the NFL. Andy Reid is one of the most respected offensive minds in football. Travis Kelce is the game’s best tight end. Even without Tyreek Hill, Kansas City has the most efficient passing offense in the league.
The Chiefs’ defense isn’t stingy. The Eagles’ high-powered offense will score points. The question is: Which team would you favor in a shootout?
Game script will matter here.
Perhaps the best play for Philadelphia is to follow the game-plan the Colts deployed early in the season. Keep Mahomes off-balance, be aggressive at all levels, and never get behind. Of course, that is easier said than done and this Chiefs offense is playing at a different level now. – Brett Mock, Stampede Blue
Week 4: Chiefs 41, Buccaneers 31
The Buccaneers were victims to the Kansas City Chiefs’ explosiveness early on in 2022. But the weird part about it was their explosiveness was primarily with shorter fields to work with. The Chiefs had two drives begin in Buccaneers territory where Kansas City easily capitalized with touchdowns. The KC defense also played very well against the run even though Tampa Bay got away from running it, holding the Bucs to just three yards on six carries. Quarterback Tom Brady did fare well, throwing for over 380 yards and three touchdowns. But Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs took advantage of the overall poor play from the Bucs, proving superior with nearly 250 yards through the air and nearly 200 yards on the ground.
The Chiefs are still a very deadly team on the field, and when they want to they can beat you in any aspect of the game. Many thought they’d hurt without Tyreek Hill but it is still very difficult to slow down the Chiefs overall for a full 60 minutes. Just ask the Bucs how they felt after their game back in Week 4, where the 41-31 final shouldn’t have been that close to be honest.
This Chiefs team is already a dynasty as long as Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes are coaching and quarterbacking them. – Gil Arcia, Bucs Nation
Week 5: Raiders 29, Chiefs 30
From a Raiders perspective, the Chiefs were a whirlwind of terror in 2022. This season was supposed to be about catching Kansas City in the AFC West for Las Vegas. It wasn’t, and it wasn’t even close. Actually, for nearly a half, the Raiders looked like they had caught the Chiefs. On Monday night in Week 5, the Raiders jumped out to a 17-0 lead at Arrowhead Stadium. They were thumping Kansas City, but then the Chiefs woke up and roared back to a 30-29 victory.
In Week 18, Kansas City secured the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs by throttling Las Vegas 31-13 (and it wasn’t that close). Since the 17-0 Raiders’ lead, the Chiefs outscored Las Vegas 61-25 in about six quarters. Maybe next year will be the season the Raiders catch the Chiefs. – Bill Williamson, Silver & Black Pride
Week 6, Bills 24, Chiefs 20
Buffalo went all-in to beat Kansas City this season. They signed Von Miller; he had two sacks, and affected Patrick Mahomes on the game-sealing interception by Taron Johnson. They rested some banged-up starters in Week 5 just for this game; safety Jordan Poyer traveled to Arrowhead in a rental car because he couldn’t fly due to a “rib” injury. It was all hands on deck for Buffalo, and it almost didn’t matter — even on a day when the Chiefs were missing several key players. Buffalo kept the Chiefs one-dimensional, turned Mahomes over twice, and still only barely won the game. Mahomes and Travis Kelce were unstoppable. The defense played aggressively and kept them in it. That’s how you beat the Chiefs — weather the statistical storm from their stars, and capitalize on the one or two mistakes they might make. Good teams can beat the Chiefs, but it’s never easy. – Brian Galliford, Buffalo Rumblings
Week 7, Chiefs 44, 49ers 23
The 49ers actually had a 10-0 lead over the Chiefs. But Patrick Mahomes threw an interception which gifted the 49ers a short field. If you settle for field goals against Kansas City, you have no shot. The 49ers went into halftime trailing 14-13, but failed to score a touchdown on a pair of trips inside of Kansas City’s territory.
You’ll need speed. The Chiefs struggle to tackle, and forcing them to run only makes it worse. The 49ers had success getting to the outside, but a Jimmy Garoppolo interception did the offense in. The Chiefs can get away with a turnover. You cannot.
Mahomes is the greatest quarterback we’ll ever see. But outside of Travis Kelce, the Chiefs’ receiving corps leaves a lot to be desired. Teams go out of their way to slow down Kelce, but he always seems to end up with close to 100 yards.
In a dream world, you’d throw out Derwin James to match up with Kelce 1-on-1, and shut down the Chiefs’ other wideouts. The Eagles’ path to slowing down the Chiefs will resemble what they did in the NFC Championship: Wreak havoc with their defensive line and not settle for field goals when they get into the red zone. – Kyle Posey, Niners Nation
Week 8, Bye
Week 9, Titans 17, Chiefs 20
The Titans played one of their best defensive games of the year in Kansas City on Sunday Night Football. Tennessee lost that game in overtime and most likely would have won had they been able to keep Patrick Mahomes from picking up yards with his legs. There were multiple third downs where the Titans had everything covered and Mahomes escaped and picked up the first down. The key to slowing down that Chiefs offense is pressuring Mahomes, and even that’s not a guarantee. The Titans brought that pressure, but just weren’t able to finish the plays.
That game was also Malik Willis’s second career start. He didn’t play well but also didn’t get help from his receivers on the outside. There were multiple drops on good throws that he made that would have extended drives.
Oh yeah, and it didn’t help that the officials gave the Chiefs three tries to pick up a two-point conversion. One of those times came when Travis Kelce ripped the helmet off of a Titans’ defensive back. The DB was called for holding on the play. – Jimmy Morris, Music City Miracles
Week 10: Jaguars 17, Chiefs 27
The Jacksonville Jaguars faced the Kansas City Chiefs twice this season — once in Week 10, and once in the Divisional Round — and both games played out pretty similarly. The Jaguars fell behind, were able to stabilize, but couldn’t take advantage of opportunities given to them. That is one of the best things the Chiefs can do to other teams; punish them for not being able to capitalize on scoring chances. Realistically, no matter what you do, the Chiefs are going to get their points. You’re just going to need to take those chances when you get them to put points on the board to keep pace. You’re almost going to have to “steal a possession,” so to speak.
Game planning against the Chiefs is hard, because they have Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes is almost the perfect amount of everything you want in an NFL cornerback, so he’s going to be hard to game plan against. If his ankle is still bothering him, actually keeping him in the pocket is probably the best play for the Eagles and when he’s forced to plant to throw is when it’s shown to be the biggest issue for him. – Alfie Crow, Big Cat Country
Week 11: Chiefs 30, Chargers 27
Week 12: Chiefs 26, Rams 10
People refer to football as “the ultimate team sport,” but for me what makes football so interesting is that I see it as both a team and individual sport combined: The quarterback controls the action, so I believe that position is like a golfer making his way through a course, while every other player on the field is “the conditions” of the field. Like in golf, there will always be a few players, maybe even only one, who stands head and shoulders above everyone else. And clearly Patrick Mahomes is in his “Tiger Woods prime” moment, which is why the Kansas City Chiefs are going to the Super Bowl for the third time in four years. – Kenny Arthur, Turf Show Times
Week 13: Chiefs 24, Bengals 27
For all the talk Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense gets, Chris Jones has a good argument for their best overall player. He’s up there with the best defenders in the game and can absolutely wreck an offensive game plan. Keeping a hat or two on him at all times is critical to an effective offense. However, he’ll be going against what’s likely the best offensive line he’s faced this season. The Eagles’ interior offensive line vs. Jones is easily my favorite matchup to watch in Super Bowl 57. – Jason Marcum, Cincy Jungle
Week 14: Chiefs 34, Broncos 28
No team has been brutalized by the Kansas City Chiefs more than the Denver Broncos. The last time they beat them was in Week 2 of the 2015 season. Patrick Mahomes has never known what it is like to lose in the Mile High City. However, it’s getting harder for the Chiefs and Denver’s defense has kind of figured out how to slow Mahomes down at times.
In both games this season, the Chiefs used turnovers to secure the win. In that first matchup, Mahomes threw three interceptions, but a pick-six from Russell Wilson ended up being the difference in the 34-28 contest. In the last game, the Broncos held a lead in the fourth quarter. However, another Wilson interception led to two touchdowns in the span of a minute to put the Chiefs out in front where they’d hold on for the 27-24 win.
Mahomes has thrown five interceptions since Thanksgiving, and four of those came against the Broncos. The Eagles have a very good defense, and getting pressure on Mahomes is going to be the most important aspect of their game. If they can force him into turning the ball over then they have a chance to keep the Chiefs in catch-up mode. Denver was unable to take advantage of the turnovers due to their wretched offense, but the Eagles are a completely different story offensively. I would definitely give them an edge here if they win the turnover battle. – Tim Lynch, Mile High Report
Week 15: Chiefs 30, Texans 24
Say what you will about the overall Xs and Os of football, the huge lights of the Super Bowl, the momentum of a team, or anything else that feels measurable and you can reasonably predict an outcome. But all that goes out the window when a player like the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes takes the field, puts a team on his back and wills them to a win. Mahomes brought the Chiefs from behind to annihilate the Houston Texans in the last playoff appearance for H-Town. If the Chiefs jump out to an early lead, the Philadelphia Eagles won’t have a chance. If the Eagles take that spot early on, the Chiefs will still have a chance. All because of Mahomes and the magic he brings to the gridiron week in and week out. – Mike Bullock, Battle Red Blog
Week 16: Seahawks 24, Chiefs 10
Which team was the only one to hold the Chiefs to under 300 yards of total offense? Yup, you guessed it, the Seattle Seahawks. Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City’s offense only managed 297 yards and had four three-and-outs. It was a frigid Christmas Eve at Arrowhead and that might have played a role in slowing down the Chiefs, but it was one of Seattle’s better defensive showings all season.
Of course, the Seahawks offense was stuck in neutral. Geno Smith, missing star receiver Tyler Lockett, struggled to find open targets not named DK Metcalf. Kenneth Walker ran for over 100 yards, but Seattle’s young offensive line was completely overwhelmed by Chris Jones, one of the sport’s best defensive linemen. Jones had eight pressures, four QB hits, and a sack in KC’s 24-10 win.
The Eagles’ outstanding offensive line against Chris Jones is easily one of the biggest in-game Super Bowl storylines. – Mookie Alexander, Field Gulls
Week 17: Broncos 24, Chiefs 27
Week 18: Chiefs vs. Raiders
Check out Arrowhead Pride for all of our Chiefs coverage leading up to Super Bowl LVII, and visit Bleeding Green Nation for our Eagles coverage.
