Tennessee Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins scores a touchdown past Green Bay Packers cornerback Eric Stokes.

DeAndre Hopkins is a Kansas City Chief – What does that Mean?

Eitan Ohana October 24, 2024 Football, NFL 77 Views

DeAndre Hopkins has a new home – the two-time defending NFL champions Kansas City Chiefs.

Hopkins was acquired Wednesday morning. In the exchange, Kansas City sent the Tennessee Titans a fifth-round pick that can turn into a fourth-round pick.

Naturally, the trade has become one of the leading headlines due to the team involved and the way its season’s been going. It also sets the tone for every other team in the league with winning aspirations, because they’re all chasing the Chiefs.

A Sigh of Relief?

Patrick Mahomes hasn’t had his greatest season – in fact, it’s been statistically his worst. The most glaring, in-your-face example of this is his touchdowns-to-interceptions. Mahomes, who’s almost unanimously regarded as the best quarterback in football, has thrown only six touchdowns to eight interceptions, a far cry from the heights we’ve seen him touch.

Yet, even with their superstar’s poor performance, the Chiefs are 6-0. That’s because they’re no longer the team people want them to be – the high-flying, 40-point juggernaut. These days, they’re a defensive football team. They have been for a while now.

I know it might get confusing because of how often the Chiefs are in the Super Bowl, but that game against the Eagles was the 2022 season. We’re in 2024. That’s a whole lot of football.

Against that defense, every team the Chiefs have played this year, except for the Cincinnati Bengals, have scored almost a full touchdown less than they average. The Baltimore Ravens are averaging 31.1 points per game this year – they scored 20 on the Chiefs. The 49ers are averaging 25.7 points per game – they scored 18 on the Chiefs. You get the point.

What Hopkins will do is add more reliability to that offense. He won’t be a gamebreaker, and he won’t elevate them into what they used to be. He will be there on third down, though, and that’s what matters.

Then, their secret weapon. At the end of the game, if it’s close, Mahomes will pull it off. No matter how poorly he’s played the rest of the game, he will make the plays that have to be made in the biggest moments.

AFC Contenders must be Exhausted

The Baltimore Ravens. The Buffalo Bills. It has to be infuriating seeing Kansas City keep chugging along regardless of how bad their best player might play on any given Sunday. Especially when they’re playing incredible football.

Look at the Ravens. On the field, offensively, nobody has looked better this season. And yet, the specter of the Chiefs has to be hanging over their shoulders. It always will be until they finally overcome them and get that proverbial monkey off their back.

The Bills are in the same boat. The 13-second game. Last year’s divisional round game. It’s been heartbreak after heartbreak in the biggest moments for Buffalo against Kansas City. This year, Josh Allen is playing the cleanest football of his career.

It seems like these teams, at this moment, are primed to break through this year. And yet, deep down, their hearts must have started beating just a little faster when they saw the news of the trade, especially considering how midseason trades have worked out for the Chiefs in recent years.

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