The mark of a great team is winning close games that other teams have no business of winning.
If that’s the case, then what do you call what the Kansas City Chiefs have done this season?
There’s snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, and then there’s whatever Patrick Mahomes is doing.
A deal with the devil? Perhaps.
There’s no way to spin the Chiefs escaping with improbable wins on a weekly basis other than the fact, this is what great teams do.
They find ways to win, no matter what it looks like.
Football isn’t a beauty pageant.
Or else Joe Burrow and the 5-8 Cincinnati Bengals would be undefeated.
All that matters in the NFL, are wins.
And Kansas City has a league best 12, tied with the Detroit Lions.
In an exclusive talkSPORT interview with Jason Bell, the former NFL player and current analyst says it doesn’t matter what the wins look like.
“There’s so much parity in the NFL,” Bell said. “It’s hard to win.
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“So if you are winning games, my only concern is for your opponent, because you can find a way each week, and that’s what they do.
“We criticize them because they’re supposed to be high flying. They got Patrick Mahomes, they got all the attention, but it’s hard to win in this league.
“Every game is unique and you have to find your way through that. You have to navigate your way through that and they do it each and every week.
“This is why this team is dangerous because we know that’s what happens in the playoffs. It’s a matchup league. Can you find a way to win that game?
“That’s all that matters.”
A lot of their wins have been close, but four in particular have been downright miraculous.
The Doink
‘The doink for the division’ as Mike Tirico called it. The Chiefs beat the Chargers on Sunday Night Football, 19-17, as Matthew Wright’s 31-yard-field hit the upright and bounced in.
A luck of the bounce, or in this case, the luck of the doink.
With the win, the Chiefs clinched their ninth consecutive AFC West division title. And with Harrison Butker back from injury’s Wright’s ‘reward’ is to be waived.
The Botched Snap
On Black Friday, it seemed as though the Las Vegas Raiders were going to once again spoil a Chiefs’ victory on a standalone national game, just as they did last Christmas.
Except this time, Raiders quarterback, Aidan O’Connell, botched the snap with Las Vegas in clear field goal range to setup the game-wining kick.
The Chiefs recovered the fumbled snap, sealing another 19-17 victory.
The Missed Field Goal
The Denver Broncos were going to do it. All they needed was a chip shot 35-yard field goal by Wil Lutz to defeat the Chiefs in Kansas City.
On the game’s final play, the kick was blocked.
Chiefs escaped with a 16-14 victory.
Fourth-and-16
Way back in Week 2, before anyone knew anything on the young season, the Chiefs beat the Bengals in a highly anticipated matchup of Mahomes versus Burrow.
Facing a fourth-and-16 at midfield, all Cincinnati needed was one stop to clinch a win against the two-time defending champions.
Instead, Mahomes threw a pass to Rashee Rice, that looked uncatchable, but Bengals safety Daijahn Anthony committed pass interference, giving KC the first down.
Butler was then able to kick a game-winning 51-yard field goal for the win.
A 26-25 victory.
The season has been filled with close victories such as these four, which might just make the Chiefs, believe it or not, the team of destiny.
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