Football is a game in which explosion and composure combine in an almost unmatched combination. Early in my spectacular football career, I had a coach with a Division II ceiling who claimed the game had to be played with a “controlled rage”. I’ve always found that fitting—that in a sport where you’re pissed off, banged up, and exhausted the entire time you’re playing, you have to maintain all of those things under control and your mental game at, if not above, the level that you’re delivering physically.
Every player in the NFL has mastered this to some level. You don’t get to that level unless you can do it as a child, then in high school and college, and finally you must be mentally composed and acute enough to present yourself well to talent evaluators and front office members at the NFL level in order to even be considered for their money. Even when players appear to lack composure, they exhibit superior emotional control than most based on their actions. It’s just that the competitive juices sometimes flow a little too quickly for some of these people to handle.
Glory days
Yeah, they'll pass you by, glory days
In the wink of a young girl's eye, glory days
Glory days pic.twitter.com/RVQDFEeFhh— Bird Law Expert 🇺🇦 (@RealBirdLawyer) September 11, 2024
That is the rational explanation for why NFL players behave like babies at times. The actual reason? Because Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have turned multiple teams into mental pretzels over the last six seasons, leaving them in cognitive and emotional disarray as they construct the league’s newest dynasty. The obvious culprits—the Chargers, Raiders, and Broncos—have attempted to mitigate the consequences of Mahomes-ism by designing their lineups with the goal of deconstructing what the Chiefs have constructed. So far, those attempts have proven to be completely ineffective. I hate to disappoint Broncos supporters, but Bo Nix being the answer is less possible than me winning the Powerball jackpot.
It’s not surprise that less successful franchises will lash out when things don’t go their way. However, when regular competitors allow their emotions to take over, it’s time to break out the popcorn. We have been there before. Remember in the middle of last year when Mahomes and Andy Reid chastised the referees for a rare offensive offsides call against the Chiefs in a game against Buffalo? Hey, this happens. Even the most collected individuals occasionally lose their cool. However, what the Chiefs’ competitors at the top of the AFC are currently displaying is ludicrous to say the least.
“If this is they best that they got…good luck in the postseason”
Surely this won’t backfire for Isaiah Likelypic.twitter.com/SoiILM6a5D
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 6, 2024
Let’s begin with the Chiefs’ opponents this week, the Cincinnati Bengals. This isn’t anything new. The Bengals made a name for themselves in 2021 by winning a regular-season game late and then knocking the Chiefs out of the playoffs in the AFC title game later that season. From there, the trash talk and slights began, not only from Bengals players, but also from possibly the most delusional NFL fan base on Twitter. But delusion in Cincinnati isn’t limited to its fans; even the team’s official app is still clinging to the now-distant victory they had against the Chiefs years ago.
When I first saw this, I immediately thought, “This can’t be real!” Sadly, my reasoning was faulty. We’re talking about a rematch of what is presently the fourth most recent meeting between the two. It’s not even the most recent playoff game between the Chiefs and Bengals. That’s the 2022 AFC Championship, which—surprise!—the Chiefs won. You may recall that this was the game that Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton memorably predicted would be played at “Burrowhead”. That quip marked the end of the Bengals’ present line, just as the previously misused household bleach did for Burrow’s high-fashion flowing locks.
Add to that Bengals wideout Ja’Marr Chase’s bizarrely tenacious refusal to acknowledge Patrick Mahomes’ existence, and you’ve got a de facto crybaby cabal brewing in the city of chili-topped pasta. Chase’s aversion to basic knowledge is becoming less shocking as he continues to pout (and sit) it out in his quest to be the league’s highest-paid receiver, a title normally awarded upon the league’s top performers. I suppose the attitude of relying on the accomplishments of 2021 is a truly basic issue in Cincinnati.
But the Chiefs don’t only dominate the Bengals intellectually. At this point, Patrick Mahomes and his teammates are AFC North mental real estate tycoons. After winning their second straight and fourth of five AFC crowns in Baltimore last year, the Chiefs were certain to give the Ravens their best shot in their Week 1 rematch. After all, Baltimore had plenty of motive going into this game—to avenge their embarrassing defeat at home following the gawdy pep rally they held during the pregame festivities, to establish themselves as a legitimate contender, and to dispel the myth that Mahomes is, in fact, Lamar’s biological father.
The Ravens didn’t do any of those things. The Chiefs (again) won in Week 1, and Lamar (again) failed to deliver when it counted the most. Take away Isaiah Likely’s near miracle in the back of the end zone, and Jackson misses Likely and Zay Flowers almost wide open on two of the game’s final three plays. What about the Likely play? Wow, did we hear about that after the game?
Lamar Jackson on the ending: “I thought it was a touchdown. I still think it was a touchdown.”
pic.twitter.com/BZ54yjMuKZ https://t.co/JCCf6Lpx3Z
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 6, 2024
Isaiah is unlikely to be aware that his former teammate Marquise Brown is out with a shoulder injury, leaving the Chiefs without a WR2. Meanwhile, Jackson has not caught up with the lately recognized concept of boundaries in athletics. We can’t blame them; neither of those pieces of information is readily available at the drop of a hat by simply opening your eyes or perhaps even gazing at the magical piece of internet glass that we all carry in our pockets on a daily basis. When you’re as focused as the Ravens have to be to lose to the Chiefs yet again, I can understand overlooking such nuances.
The Chiefs are currently the most despised team in the NFL. Cowboys and Patriots fans can connect. Everyone else will ultimately become tired of you winning all the time. The top dogs in the AFC North, the Chiefs’ most fierce opposition outside of western New York, appear to be feeling the sting of Chiefs fatigue, which is spreading throughout the league.
What is the good news? It’s fine to be hated since it implies you’re doing or having something that others want. What about the negative news? That’s primarily saved for clubs that are already excited about KC, because things don’t appear to be changing anytime soon.
