Justin Houston is on pace for 24 sacks, and 5 more things we learned in Chiefs win over Jets

1. No one is surprised the Chiefs beat the Jets

The Chiefs were a huge favorite in this game. I was more confident the Chiefs would win this game than any other game in the Andy Reid era. So confident that I didn't write how confident I was for fear of jinxing the Chiefs. The Chiefs don't lose to bad teams (Titans outlier aside). Beating the teams you should goes a long way to stacking up wins in the NFL.

You probably don't learn a lot about yourself in a game like this. It's great the Chiefs went and did what they were supposed to do ... but can we learn much about the Chiefs from this game? Probably not much from what we already knew.

2. Justin Houston is on pace for 24 sacks

We're halfway through the season now, which is a decent sample size. Is Houston really going to threaten Derrick Thomas' franchise record 20 sacks in a single season? Or Michael Strahan's NFL single season sack record (22.5)? He sits at 12 sacks through eight games. Andy Reid has mentioned that Houston is becoming a leader. I noticed Houston led the team in the postgame locker room cheer. This guy is not going anywhere.

3. Alex Smith is playing great football

He has a 67 percent completion percentage this year. That is a really, really good number. He has a passer rating over 98 in five of the last six games. He has one interception to his 10 touchdowns since Week 1. He is obviously in control of the offense. Every player in the locker room points to him as the leader. Andy Reid couldn't be happier with him. Smith is performing as the Chiefs want him to.

4. Chiefs offensive line is, dare I say, improving

The Chiefs o-line gave up 13 sacks in the first four games. They have given up six in the last four games. There are obviously issues at times with the line, notably in pass protection. But Andy Reid and Alex Smith have done a good job to combat that by getting the ball out quickly. It doesn't hurt that getting it out fast to Travis Kelce or Jamaal Charles is probably one of your best plays. This team fits together.

5. The Anthony Fasano butt TD* says something about both teams

Good teams have tipped balls that land perfectly in the tight end's hands near the end zone. Bad teams tip balls that land in the hands of the other team's tight end near the end zone. This is the type of thing that absolutely would have happened to the 2012 Chiefs, which is a team that looks a lot like this year's Jets.

*H/T Butt Fumble

6. The Chiefs are a really good team

Let me count the ways:

• They are a balanced team.
• They can run the ball when they commit to it.
• They don't have a lot of stars but they have depth.
• They don't give up big plays.
• They don't turn the ball over.
• They are strong on third downs.

I talked to a couple of media guys before Sunday's game about MNChiefsfan's post asking if the 2014 Chiefs could beat the 2013 Chiefs. Everyone seemed to be in agreement that this year's team is absolutely better. The schedule obviously comes into play but this year has allowed the Chiefs to prove they can hang with the NFL's best teams (Broncos, 49ers) and even beat some of the good ones (Patriots, Chargers), which they weren't able to do last year.