Chiefs head into postseason with confidence of complete team

Kansas City Chiefs romped ir way to AFC championship game last year by leaning heavily on ir high-powered offense, with Patrick Mahomes slinging ball all over field and a fleet of wide receivers hauling in everything in sight.

n ir defense let m down.

w, as Chiefs enjoy a week off before preparing for divisional round of playoffs, y are brimming with confidence borne of most complete team y've had in years. offense is still plenty potent, but that once-dismal defense has undergone a complete makeover under coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, shutting down everyone during a six-game winning streak that allowed Kansas City to leapfrog New England for . 2 seed in playoffs.

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“ variety of ways of winning is biggest thing,” Mahomes said. “We've won games obviously putting up points and doing those things this year, but we've also won games when defense has stepped up and controlled games for us. For us, it's about when you get to playoffs t every game is same, and we've found ways to win in different ways.”

Chiefs (12-4) scored at least 30 points seven times, twice hit 40 and were held below 20 just once. Mahomes eclipsed 4,000 yards passing despite missing most of three games with a knee injury, and he tossed 26 touchdown passes against just five interceptions. Travis Kelce became first NFL tight end with back-to-back 1,200-yard receiving seasons while Tyreek Hill had seven touchdown catches and rookie running mate Mecole Hardman had six.

Chiefs won shootouts against Ravens, top seed in AFC, and Lions in consecutive weeks. And y scored so quickly and efficiently in blowouts of Broncos and Raiders that outcomes were never in question.

On flip side, Chiefs put toger a string of 10 straight quarters without allowing a touchdown during final three weeks of regular season. y allowed 52 points total in five games following ir bye, a run of dominance that came against quarterbacks that included Tom Brady and Philip Rivers.

“This team plays with tremendous swag. It's confidence,” said veteran defensive end Terrell Suggs, who was claimed off waivers from Arizona Cardinals for final two weeks of regular season and playoffs, and w has a chance to add ar Super Bowl ring to one he won with Baltimore Ravens.

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“That's . 1 edge that a football player has: confidence," added Suggs, who has played in 18 playoff games. “When you have a team that's playing with swagger, and head ball coach is encouraging that and your position coach is encouraging that, that can help you in January in playoff football.”

Also helpful is having that week off.

Chiefs lost safety Juan Thornhill to a torn ACL against Chargers last weekend, so bye gives Spagnuolo a chance to adjust his personnel to cover a big loss in secondary. Chiefs also have plenty of bumps and bruises up and down roster, and offensive lineman Andrew Wylie could use week off to return from an ankle injury.

“It's extremely important,” safety Tyrann Mathieu said. “I think you can really take that week to get healthy, and n you can scout everybody that's playing. That's t something that you'd probably be able to do if you had a game that week. It will be important for us to kind of put work in, obviously get a little dose of information on who we could possibly play, n hope that it shakes out for us. Whoever shows up here, we have to be ready to roll.”

Chiefs gared for meetings Monday before coach Andy Reid gave m next two days off. y planned to have light padded practices Thursday and Friday, primarily starters against starters, before ratcheting back a bit this weekend.

That's when y learn wher Patriots, Texans or Bills will visit Arrowhead Stadium for divisional round.

“Just staying focused is biggest thing,” said Mahomes, who planned to watch this weekend's games with teammates at his home. “Obviously, Coach Reid does a good job of preparing us by giving us right amount of time off, but at same time keeping us in building and keeping us preparing for whoever we get to play."

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