Are the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Contenders?

Despite all of the accomplishments made by Head Coach Andy Reid and his Kansas City Chiefs, many in the media are not sold on the team being a Super Bowl LI contender. But should they legitimately be in the conversation?

They should.

There isn’t a team in the current Super Bowl discussion that doesn’t have some type of deficiency. Whether is on the offensive or defensive side of the ball, each of those teams has flaws.

The Atlanta Falcons own a defense that yields 27.5 points per game and is ranked 27th in the league in total yards.

The Dallas Cowboys, even with their 10th straight win this season after beating the Washington Redskins, still have defensive question marks in terms of pass coverage; ranking 31st in the league.

The Chiefs are not a dynamic team that wins in spectacular fashion, they simply know their identity. They bring their lunch pails to work and grind it out. And like the others, they have a weakness, ranking No. 29 in stopping the run.

When this Chiefs team faces adversity, it simply responds.

For instance, with their backs against the wall for much of the second half of the Sunday night matchup against the Denver Broncos, the Kansas City players showed how mentally tough they are on a national stage where the lights shine brightest.

Many call KC quarterback Alex Smith a game manager but Sunday night, he stepped up in a big way and won the game for his team. In the first 30 minutes of the ballgame, he was five of 12 for 26 yards. In the second half and overtime, Smith went 21 of 32 for 194 yards and a touchdown, leading the offense on three keys drives to pull out the win.

Kansas City is now 8-3 and one thing is for certain… Reid has his personality infused in this team. For the fourth season under their head coach, the Chiefs have put in the work to be considered among the NFL’s top teams contending for the Lombardi Trophy.