One reason the Chiefs have become an NFL dynasty under Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes is they manage adrenaline better than their opponents do.
They almost never choke, despite the enormous pressure of being the favorite in most games.
Reprising that composure now has them off to a 2-0 start in their attempt to become the first franchise to win a third Super Bowl in a row.
Sunday, despite being outplayed by the Bengals, they eked out a 26-25 victory when Harrison Butker kicked a 51-yard field goal as the game clock expired at Arrowhead Stadium.
So on the surface, nothing has changed for the AFC’s other Super Bowl contenders such as the Chargers (2-0), Bills (2-0), Steelers (2-0), Texans (1-0 entering Sunday night) and others including the Ravens (0-2).
The Chiefs remain the AFC’s alphas.
But know this: they have a serious problem to solve.
At left tackle, it’s clear that rookie Kingsley Suamataia is overmatched.
Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson blew by him on five pass rushes or more Sunday, and Reid held the 21-year-old out of Kansas City’s final drive.
Problem: Chiefs replacement Wandy Morris was just as overwhelmed.
Morris promptly shoved Hendrickson in the face shield. The 10-yard infraction nixed a 21-yard pass play on fourth-and-6 as the Chiefs tried to drive for the winning points.
The Chiefs still converted on fourth-and-16. That’s because a Bengals rookie safety proved no less overwhelmed than K.C.’s two left tackles.
Mahomes chucked a desperate pass, and defender Daijahn Anthony banged receiver Rashee Rice from behind before the floater arrived.
The whistle blew, the flag flew and Mahomes could be heard on the CBS broadcast.
“He hit him before the ball got there, he hit him before the ball got there,” Mahomes said.
Yes, Patrick, he did.
So instead of losing by two points, the Chiefs advanced 29 yards and added four more yards before Butker — as he almost always has done when given the chance — kicked home the winning points.
But the left-tackle blocking failed once again on the final desperate throw. Hendrickson flushed Mahomes out of the pocket despite the Chiefs double-teaming him and the Bengals dropping eight defenders into coverage.
Though Reid and Mahomes solve problems better than any other coach-QB combination in the NFL, they’ve never had left tackle issues this acute so early in a season.
While Chiefs offensive tackles last year weren’t so hot, finishing first and third in penalties in the NFL, they were veterans who had strengths that facilitated work-arounds.
A neck injury would sideline left tackle Donovan Smith for the season’s final four games, but Smith provided adequate blocking in the Super Bowl run spanning four games.
All told, Smith returned solid value on a $3 million salary.
Smith, 31, went unsigned this past offseason; at right tackle, Jawan Taylor returned.
Drafted late in the second round out of BYU, where Reid was a backup offensive tackle four-plus decades ago, Suamataia started against the Ravens in the season opener and had a mixed performance with two glaring breakdowns.
Sunday brought a severe falloff for the 6-foot-4 ½-inch, 326-pounder.
Advantage, Chargers
It’s clear the Chargers have the best tackle tandem in the AFC West in Rashawn Slater and rookie Joe Alt.
Praise goes to the Chiefs for starting out 2-0 while breaking in — and perhaps force-feeding — a blind-side protector who was far less advanced than Alt, drafted 58 spots earlier.
“His natural power, size, and athleticism do not come around often and he did not allow a sack in 22 of 23 career starts … but the occasional lapse in concentration and overall sloppy feel to his bend and body control will create the need for some extra time on the bench,” wrote the ex-NFL scouts at OurLads.com of Suamataia entering the draft.
Mahomes and Reid will have to manage the left-tackle challenges inside domes in the next two matches. The second of those road opponents is a Chargers D that boasts perhaps the best four-deep group of edge rushers in the AFC.
It’s almost never easy for a defending Super Bowl champion.
Given that no team has won three in a row, defending a second consecutive Super Bowl is almost impossible.
Two games into their defense, the Chiefs have to figure out how to protect Mahomes’ blind side.
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