Lessons the Colts can learn from the Chiefs, the Super Bowl champions: The quarterback is king.
This past Super Bowl Sunday night, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime to win the championship again.
With three Super Bowl victories and four appearances in NFL championship games in the last five years, the Chiefs, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, are currently at the forefront of the newest NFL dynasty.
Although it won’t be simple for prospective NFL players to duplicate such success elsewhere, the Indianapolis Colts can take note of a few things from Kansas City’s recent dominance in football:
Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston Texans
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1. At starting quarterback, find your inner Superman.
With his performance in Sunday’s Super Bowl, Mahomes has unquestionably established himself as the best quarterback in the game and, given his incredible individual and team success thus far, is probably now ranked among the top three quarterbacks of all time. He is also in the driver’s seat to become the unanimous choice to replace Tom Brady at the end of the day.
The quarterback position at the top of the AFC is occupied by a number of elite players, including Mahomes, Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, and, most recently, possibly C.J. Stroud. This means that things won’t get any easier anytime soon.
Can Anthony Richardson, the quarterback for the Colts in his second year, soon join such esteemed company?
Not only did Mahomes display remarkable composure and poise under duress during the game’s most crucial moments on Sunday, but he also demonstrated impressive playmaking with his legs, amassing 66 rushing yards in overtime.
If Richardson can remain healthy and avoid injury, which ended his rookie season last year, he might be the best young quarterback in the game aside from Jackson when it comes to running with the football.
The Colts need their own “alien” to start at quarterback, and if Richardson can continue to develop his already intriguing dynamic skill set, there’s reason for real optimism—even with his limited playing time prior to a season-ending shoulder injury.
Which brings us to…
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Indianapolis Colts
Mitchell Leff took the picture/Getty Images
2. Is it possible for hostile minds to think alike?
Both Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes would not exist today without Bill Belichick and Andy Reid, respectively, as the seasoned head coach is perhaps the greatest offensive strategist in professional football history—with “Big Red” emerging victorious once more!
Reid was a master at calling offensive plays on crucial downs and in crucial late-game scenarios. One such play was Mecole Hardman’s game-winning 3-yard touchdown out reception after some initial movement inside.
Shane Steichen, the head coach of the Colts, is currently one of the NFL’s most brilliant young offensive-minded head coaches. Just ask Nick Sirianni and the Philadelphia Eagles if they didn’t miss him during the final stretch of the previous campaign.
In spite of losing Richardson for most of the previous season and going much of 2023 without star workhorse Jonathan Taylor, Steichen managed to keep the Colts offense among the best in the league, even when using backup quarterback Gardner Minshew.
The Colts routinely scored 20 points or more offensively (they did so in 13 of their 17 regular season games), and they were competitive until the very last offensive play of the season.
Steichen deserves credit for that.
Though, to be fair, it starts with winning the division, which Indianapolis hasn’t done since 2014—the longest current drought in the AFC South—Steichen is nearly as crucial as Richardson in helping turn the corner in Indianapolis and put the Colts back in the running for a Super Bowl.
Although Steichen appears to be a lock to be hired by Indianapolis, his early coaching results have been excellent. However, he still needs to support Richardson’s ongoing development if the Colts are to have any chance of making the playoffs in the future.
