Monday’s showdown between the Chiefs and Rams will be a future Super Bowl matchup. Obviously, it might not happen this year (thank the Saints), but these two teams are too young and too talented to not cross paths in the final game of the season in the near future. Regardless of how Monday Night’s first encounter goes, both teams are set to be Super Bowl contenders for the next decade. The question is, which of these two powerhouses is better suited to dominate the league down the line.
I’ve broken it down into five simple categories, taking both age and talent into account.
1.Quarterback Play
2.Offensive Weapons
3.Defensive Playmakers
4.Coaching
5.Salary Cap
Quarterback Play
Jared Goff and Patrick Mahomes are both fresh faces in the league that wasted little time to become household names. Goff, the first overall pick of the 2016 Draft is just a year older than Mahomes, the 10th pick of the 2017 Draft. Mahomes didn’t get a real opportunity to play to until this year, and boy has he been a treat. I could go on and on about what he’s done, but you already know the half of it.
For Goff, it’s been much the same. Gaudy passing numbers but just a step behind Mahomes this season. Mahomes entered Week 11 first in the league in passing yards, with Goff right behind him. Mahomes has thrown 31 TDs to Goff’s 22, and while Goff is the more prototypical big, strong-armed passer, it’d be foolish to not give credit to what Mahomes has done this season. Score: Chiefs 1 Rams 0
Offensive Weapons
The most obvious standout weapon between the two teams just so happens to be the best running back in football, Todd Gurley. Gurley is finding the end zone at a historic rate, with 17 total touchdowns on the year and is the NFL’s leading scorer with 108 points. To put that into perspective, last year the top 15 scorers were all kickers, and at 16, the non-first kicker with 114 points, was Todd Gurley.
Outside of Gurley, the Rams boast the best wide receiver trio in the NFL, in Robert Woods, Brandin Cooks, and Cooper Kupp. The average age of those four guys listed you may ask? Just 25 years old. This may seem like a runaway victory for the Rams, but the Chiefs possess a lot of things that the Rams don’t.
First off there’s no player in the NFL that compares to Tyreek Hill. There hasn’t been a player since Desean Jackson’s Eagles days that could physically dominate players at that position with sheer speed, but Tyreek has found a way. Next, you have Travis Kelce, an unarguable top-three tight end who’s also proven to have an ability to control games in the middle. He plays an important role in this offense that I’m sure Jared Goff wishes he had instead of Tyler Higbee. Lastly, you have one of the only running backs who can keep pace with Gurley, Kareem Hunt. Hunt led the league in rushing his rookie season and has scored 13 times this year, just four less than Gurley.
Overall it’s a thin margin, but the consistency and youth from each playmaker position give this one to Kansas City. Score: Chiefs 2 Rams 0
Defensive Playmakers
This was probably the easiest decision to make of the five.
The Chiefs defense has looked substantially better the past few weeks, led by a more consistent Dee Ford and an improved secondary, but they simply just can’t compete with the Rams.
You could remove Ndamukong Suh and Aqib Talib, who aren’t long-term pieces and still be left with more star power on the LA defense. Aaron Donald is doing things from the interior spot of the Rams D-Line that edge rushes dream about, and meanwhile, Marcus Peters is still one of the most opportunistic corners in the game. Those two alone allow complimentary pieces like Dante Fowler and Mark Barron to elevate their play to much higher levels. This one is undoubtedly a win for the Rams. Score: Chiefs 2 Rams 1
Coaching
This was another tough call. Andy Reid is quite possibly the greatest offensive mind of the 21st century, who’s managed to build offenses around all different types of players. From Donavan McNabb and Michael Vick in Philly to Alex Smith and Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City, Reid never fails to cook up something in his lab to confuse defensive coordinators. Watch any game on Sundays and you’ll see elements of Reid’s offenses. Shovel passes were all but dead before Reid started finding ways to modernize them and implement them into his offense.
All of this is great, but I can’t pick against Sean McVay.
Tune into any game, any show on TV, any radio show or podcast and they’ll talk about one thing – finding the next Sean McVay. It seems funny, doesn’t it? Looking for the next 32-year-old football genius who’s mastered the modern NFL offense as if they grow on trees. It’s happening though, and it’s because that’s how special McVay is. He turned Jared Goff from a potential bust into a future MVP. For that, he ties the score. Score: Chiefs 2 Rams 2
Salary Cap
This is where long-term, you know the title, really becomes a factor. How long can these teams keep these special groups of players together? Through 2020 the Rams have Goff, Gurley, Woods, Kupp, Cooks, and Donald all locked up. The Chiefs have Mahomes, Kelce and Hunt locked up through 2020. However, they’ll have to address Tyreek Hill’s contract before that. Both quarterbacks will eventually get paid, but the biggest difference is Aaron Donald’s contract. Donald is special, but that money is going to come back to hamper them, I promise.
The Chiefs, on the other hand, have four core guys to worry about, a few key pieces on the line, and the rest can go to reassuring that defense. Basically, the Chiefs are going to have a window before everyone gets paid where they can fill holes like the Rams did this offseason. Score: Chiefs 3 Rams 2
If you scrolled to the bottom for a synopsis, here you go. Both quarterback are special, both offenses are special, both teams are special. There are unbelievable players on both sides of the ball. If you take a look at the amount of superlatives I used in this, it’s no accident. These teams are littered with generational talents, and are neck and neck in the future. I think the Chiefs will be slightly better over the next 10+ years, but it’s not a wide margin.
Whether you agree or disagree, hit me up on Twitter or Instagram @MS_Persources.