Post by Funkytown on Nov 29, 2017 21:51:30 GMT -6
FiveThirtyEight: The Chiefs Are Collapsing At Record Speed by Daniel Levitt
More at the link: fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-chiefs-are-collapsing-at-record-speed/?sf174615518=1
Through Week 5 of this NFL season, there was no team better than Kansas City. The Chiefs were 5-0 with a league-best offense in almost every major category, and they’d chalked up statement wins over New England and Philadelphia, who are now the best teams in their respective conferences. Alex Smith was the best quarterback in the game and on course for one of the greatest QB seasons in NFL history. Rookie Kareem Hunt was breaking the league as the best running back in the game, averaging more than 120 rushing yards per game and more than six yards per carry. And as we detailed, the last time the Chiefs were that good, they won Super Bowl IV. Life in the Midwest was bliss.
Few could have predicted what has happened since, though. The Chiefs’ decline began in Week 6 with a 19-13 defeat at home against the Steelers; it took a further nosedive two weeks ago when they lost to the lowly New York Giants; and it reached a nadir in their Week 12 loss to Buffalo, the latest setback in what has become one of the most mystifying breakdowns in recent memory. The Chiefs have recorded just a single win (over the Broncos) in their past six games and now sport a 6-5 record, and they have undergone the league’s third-biggest drop in Elo ratings in that time — only the Aaron Rodgers-less Packers and quarterback-less Broncos have dropped further. Fans in KC will be wondering how far their team’s performance might fall, and for good reason: This kind of collapse is essentially unprecedented. Among teams that had an Elo rating of at least 1700 after Week 5 of the season, Kansas City’s decline is the largest through Week 12 in NFL history.
Few could have predicted what has happened since, though. The Chiefs’ decline began in Week 6 with a 19-13 defeat at home against the Steelers; it took a further nosedive two weeks ago when they lost to the lowly New York Giants; and it reached a nadir in their Week 12 loss to Buffalo, the latest setback in what has become one of the most mystifying breakdowns in recent memory. The Chiefs have recorded just a single win (over the Broncos) in their past six games and now sport a 6-5 record, and they have undergone the league’s third-biggest drop in Elo ratings in that time — only the Aaron Rodgers-less Packers and quarterback-less Broncos have dropped further. Fans in KC will be wondering how far their team’s performance might fall, and for good reason: This kind of collapse is essentially unprecedented. Among teams that had an Elo rating of at least 1700 after Week 5 of the season, Kansas City’s decline is the largest through Week 12 in NFL history.
... and neither is this Chris guy.