Craig Carton takes a hammer to Patrick Mahomes & Travis Kelce’s Chiefs’ playoff credentials
The Kansas City Chiefs haven't been quite as dominant during the 2023 NFL season as they have been in recent years. They still won the AFC West division title and earned the fourth seed in the conference for the NFL Playoffs. Considering Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce have already won two Super Bowl rings, many believe they are still extremely dangerous in the postseason this year.
Apparently, Craig Carton doesn't agree with them being legitimate contenders to win another ring and defend their championship from last season. He pointed this out during an episode of "The Carton Show" and explained his concerns about their outlook in the playoffs:
“I don’t believe in Kansas City at all. Because every single week when I said to myself, ‘All right, Kansas City’s at home. Yeah, Mahomes is ticked off. They’re having players-only meetings. Guys are taking ownership of ‘I’m the reason we lose,’ and all that stuff. And Kelce’s talking about it, and Reid’s talking about it, and yet it never got better.
"There wasn’t a single game you could look at in the last two months where you can say Kansas City got right, that Kansas City got rid of all of the ailments that have bothered them throughout the year. Whether it’s the drops, missed assignments, bad throws, bad play-calls, whatever it is, it never changed, it never got better.
“I think we were all expecting at some point in December that they were going to flip the switch and go be the Kansas City Chiefs. They’ve played a lot of football, they know how to win, they’ve got three Super Bowl appearances and two rings. And maybe if they’re bored in October, I can get it, but that switch never got flipped.”
The Chiefs opened their 2023 NFL season by losing to the Detroit Lions. They seemed to correct their issues by then winning six consecutive games after that. Their remaining 10 games were truly average, with an even 5-5 record to finish the year at just 11-6, well below their usual standards.
On the positive side, they have won three of their past four games, including in each of the final two weeks. They also have an incredible 11-3 franchise record in the NFL Playoffs when both Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are playing. They will try to lean on their postseason success when they face off against the Miami Dolphins in the Wild Card round.
Chiefs playoff schedule: Will Kansas City's showdown against Miami be on local TV?
When the Kansas City Chiefs face off against the Miami Dolphins in the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs, it will include an unprecedented viewing schedule. While it will kick off at 8:00 p.m. ET on Saturday night, it won't be available to watch on national TV.
Instead, the game will be streamed exclusively on Peacock nationwide, NBC's official streaming service. The game can only be viewed on local TV in the Miami and Kansas City markets on their local NBC channel. Fans who live anywhere else will need to stream the game.