The Chiefs have built their bye-week conversation around one simple fact: they’re still undefeated. That puts them in a tiny club, with only the Minnesota Vikings matching that record in the NFC, though Kansas City looks a lot more convincing than Minnesota does.
Mike Sando of The Athletic used his weekly “Pick Six” breakdown to sort through what’s likely to last and what might be headed for a downturn. He also identified one area that could swing the rest of the season for Kansas City.
The safest bet, according to Sando, is the running game. That’s a pretty natural place to start, but it’s also the right one.
New running back Kenneth Walker III has been a wagon for the Chiefs, and his pace has him lined up for some massive numbers: 2,282 rushing yards and 2,640 scrimmage yards in a single season. Kansas City may try to ease off his workload a bit to keep him healthy and fresh, but the foundation he’s provided feels real.
Walker’s impact goes beyond the numbers. He’s given the Chiefs another way to beat defenses, which matters even more now that Patrick Mahomes is back and playing well. Defenses are stuck choosing their poison, and Kansas City has even more room to grow with rookie running back Emmett Johnson developing behind him.
The less stable piece is Mahomes’ success on deep throws. Sando pointed to the long passing game as the area most likely to cool off, especially after the Week 4 injury to receiver Tyquan Thornton, who is now out for the long haul. Mahomes has gone 7 of 14 for 285 yards on passes traveling at least 20 yards past the line of scrimmage, and Sando’s point is that this isn’t the same level of deep-ball production Mahomes showed early in his career.
There is, though, another receiver-shaped question hanging over that part of the offense: Xavier Worthy. He was left out of Sando’s explanation, but he remains something of a mystery, and the Chiefs need him to start making the kinds of plays Thornton was making before the injury.
For the X-factor, Sando went with the pass rush. That’s the kind of pick that makes sense on the surface and then opens up a bigger debate underneath.
Kansas City is 32nd in sack rate, but its pressure rate is 11th, which suggests the actual truth sits somewhere in the middle. The Chiefs aren’t getting the sack totals they want, but there’s clearly room for that part of the defense to climb.
In Other News...
Chiefs Still Have A Left Tackle Problem They Cant Define
Josh Simmons entered the Chiefs plans with plenty of intrigue after a torn patellar tendon two years ago altered his draft path, and his recovery has been watched closely ever since. He did enough in rehab to win the starting job for the first five games of the 2025 season, which at least suggested Kansas City might have found some stability at left tackle after a long search for it.
Instead, the position remains unsettled because Simmons has barely been on the field since arriving in Kansas City. He has played in only eight of the teams 21 games since being drafted, and the club still does not have a clear timetable for when he might be back, leaving the Chiefs to keep sorting out the blind-side spot without a defined answer. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Got The Bye Week Break They Needed Before A Tricky Stretch
The bye week gave Kansas City a chance to sit back, rest up and watch the AFC West landscape shift around it while the Chiefs stayed undefeated at 4-0. Their lead in the division held firm as the Las Vegas Raiders fell to the New England Patriots, even as the Denver Broncos managed to win despite some offensive trouble, a reminder that the standings can look steadier than the football underneath them.
Now the attention turns to the bigger race, where the Chiefs are tracking the Jacksonville Jaguars and Baltimore Ravens as some of the most relevant challengers, with Buffalo still set to take the field on Monday night. The next test on the schedule is a tricky one against the Los Angeles Chargers, and after a week off, Kansas City enters it with a little more clarity on the road ahead and a lot less margin for error. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Unbeaten Start Is Rewriting What Fans Thought About This Roster
The early weeks of the season have given Kansas City a very different kind of storyline than many around the league expected. A perfect 4-0 start has pushed the Chiefs into a place where the usual questions about aging stars and depth pieces have, at least for now, been replaced by evidence that this roster is producing in all the right places. Kenneth Walker III has been one of the biggest drivers of that surge, Travis Kelce has been dependable again, and rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane has already looked like he belongs after going sixth overall.
What makes the opening month especially interesting is how much of this success has come from players who were not penciled in as the main attraction when the season began. Kahlil Benson, in particular, has carved out an unexpected role up front, giving the Chiefs stability at a spot that often decides how far a team can go. The bigger question now is whether this fast start reflects a real reworking of what the roster can be, or just the kind of early-season momentum that still needs to survive the grind ahead. [Read more 🡒]