Out of all the great parts from the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl title run last season, there is one thing that the team hopes won’t continue this postseason.
In each of the three playoff games from last year, the Chiefs trailed by 10 points or more at some point in the game. In the Divisional round and off a bye week, they came out flat against the Houston Texans and fell into a 24-0 hole.
We all know how that contest ended — and while there’s no reason to be less confident in this year’s team if a similar scenario plays out — anyone with a stake in the team realizes the benefits of starting fast. Even quarterback Patrick Mahomes acknowledged the advantages of a better start to games during his press conference on Wednesday.
“It makes it a lot easier,” Mahomes told reporters. “It’s not something that we necessarily talk about, I think it’s just kind of understood that we need to come out playing our best football. The team that we’re playing is coming in with a lot of confidence, playing really good football, so we want to do whatever we can to get off on the right foot and build a lead early.”
In 2020, the team has faced the opposite dilemma for the most part.
There are games where the Chiefs start off looking as great as they’ve ever looked, but then end up coasting and needing plays down the stretch to secure a victory. Even in their only legitimate loss this season, the Chiefs had a first-half lead before it was erased by the Las Vegas Raiders.
For the postseason, they’ll need to mix the fast starts and strong finishes together. The remaining AFC field includes different styles of play; some teams could take advantage of a slow start more than others.
Mahomes said the need to start off strong was an unspoken understanding, but wide receiver Tyreek Hill shared that the coaches are reminding players of that motivation.
“Coach (Andy Reid) brought it up yesterday,” Hill began. “He was like, ‘Let’s not put ourselves in that same position as we did last year, because every team isn’t going to be the same.’
“We just have to come out and have the same energy we’ve had all year.”
Reid makes a great point: the 2020 Cleveland Browns are not constructed like the 2019 Texans team that couldn’t hold onto a three-possession advantage. If the Browns are able to lead by such a sizeable margin, they are built to maintain that score and decrease the chances of a quick comeback by Kansas City.
The Browns boast one of the most effective rushing attacks in the NFL — which has helped them gain the third-most time of possession per drive among all NFL teams. They have also turned the ball over at one of the lowest rates in the league this season.
If any team can be trusted to hold onto a big lead, the Browns look like the team to do it.
The chances of a slow start creep into the minds of Chiefs fans even more when the lengthy amount of rest is considered. Most starters will have had three full weeks with no game play by kickoff on Sunday — and some have gotten closer to a month off. It’s a reason for concern, but Chiefs players understand the importance of avoiding the rust.
“We didn’t start the way we wanted to last year when we came off the bye,” Mahomes reiterated. “So I want to make sure we do a better job of starting a little bit faster and trying not to put ourselves in that deficit.”
The heart health of Chiefs fans might also appreciate a better start on Sunday.