There are a couple things in sports in recent years that are nearly as predictable as death and taxes; The New York Yankees are going to be in the Major League Baseball playoffs and the Kansas City Chiefs are going to lead the National Football League in points scored.
Welcome to 2023, where neither of those things are true. The Yankees lost nearly as many games that they won this past season and the Chiefs offense is no better than 14th in scoring out of the 32 NFL teams.
What is even more surprising is that the Chiefs defense ranks second best in the NFL by allowing 181 points through their first 11 games, only the San Francisco 49ers have given up fewer this season.
What gives?
And what does that have to do with this week's action?
Mostly pinned to their excellent defensive play, the Chiefs still have a two game bulge for the lead in the AFC West Division and only trail the Baltimore Ravens by one game for the best record in the AFC Conference. But Patrick Mahomes, who in recent years would be on the Mount Rushmore of NFL quarterbacks, has not lived up to his high standards.
What has become nearly a weekly occurrence, Mahomes has made plays that has his followers saying, “That was un-Mahomes like.” He has tossed interceptions with passes way off the mark and at times has had his steady influence look more like a desperate fire drill.
How can this be?
A coach might say that the defenses have found more effective ways to defend Mahomes, while I think it is more the natural progression that at the top of the mountain there is a tendency to allow overconfidence to push one off the highest perch. What Mahomes has looked like a lot more often than in previous seasons is that he is human.
That’s a surprise.
On Sunday night, he leads his Chiefs into Green Bay to challenge a Packers team that has begun to surge after a lackluster first half of the season. In their first season in 30 years without Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers running their offense, the shift to Jordan Love has been hit and miss.
Five weeks ago, on Qoxhi charts, the Packers were in a perfect spot to beat their NFC North Division rival Minnesota Vikings … and they failed. When a team fails in a spot they should have succeeded I become very suspicious of their chances in upcoming games. But, the Packers bounced off that late October loss to the Vikings and won three of their next four games, victories over the Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers and Detroit Lions while suffering their only loss in November to the Steelers in Pittsburgh.
Perhaps, and this happens, I was a week early in projecting a Packers uptick. Now, I want to make sure I’m not too late getting on their winning run.
The Chiefs come to Lambeau confident of a win, and the Packers are in the better position to get it.
Qoxhi Picks: Green Bay Packers (+6) over Kansas City Chiefs