Just five weeks ago, the Kansas City Chiefs were in an unfamiliar, unsettling position. At 0-2, the two-time defending champions looked mortal, flawed, and, for the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era, vulnerable. The “vibes,” as one analyst described it, “were in the trash can.” The offense was “broken.” Key players were injured. Panic was setting in.

It has been exactly five weeks since that moment of crisis. Today, the Chiefs are 4-3, a single game above .500 and, as of this moment, not even in the playoff picture. And yet, in a twist that is “absurd” and “ridiculous,” they are the betting favorites to win the Super Bowl.

This is the story of the great turnaround, the five-week span where the Chiefs “gave the entire NFL a month head start” and the rest of the league, in stunning fashion, “let it slip between their fingers.”

The transformation has been nothing short of staggering. The “broken” offense? It’s now a top-five unit in scoring. Patrick Mahomes? He’s the current “frontrunner for MVP.” The “trash can” vibes? They are, according to those closest to the team, at an “all-time high.”

So what happened? In short, the “shot” the offense desperately needed finally arrived. The return of wide receivers Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy has completely “rejuvenated” a unit that was sputtering. The Chiefs, who preached patience all offseason, are finally seeing their vision come to fruition. The offense is “absolutely back.”

The statistics are jarring. According to a stat from Brett Coleman, the Chiefs are currently scoring on 52.3% of their offensive drives. That number is second only to the historic, record-shattering 2018 offense in the entire Mahomes era. The “explosion is back,” with the team now ranking in the top five for “big plays per game.”

This offensive renaissance, combined with a defense that has remained elite, has led to a bold, almost unbelievable claim: the 2025 Kansas City Chiefs, at a modest 4-3, are a “better football team than they were all of last season when they went 15-2.”

While it sounds like hyperbole, the argument is sound. Last season’s 15-2 run, in retrospect, was “amazing” for the fact that they did it while “g-taped” together. They lost their #1 receiver, Hollywood Brown, and running back Isiah Pacheco, forcing them to sign Kareem Hunt “off the couch” just to field a team. They won, but it was a grueling, defense-led slog.

This year, the script has flipped. After “treading water” through injuries, the offense is finally healthy and “clicking.” The “big three” receiving threats of Rice, Worthy, and Hollywood Brown are on the field together, giving Mahomes the weapons he was promised. The result is a team that has finally found the “knockout punch” it “lacked all of last season.”

The “statement win” that proved the turnaround was real came against the Detroit Lions, one of the NFC’s top Super Bowl contenders. The Chiefs, without Rashee Rice, “beat the brakes off” the Lions in a 30-17 win that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. It was the win that “turned their season around,” proving that even at partial strength, they were still in the league’s elite tier.

Now, as they look at the league landscape, the Chiefs are in a position of power that their 4-3 record belies. They “forfeited the first month of the season,” dropping “gimme games” and spotting their rivals a massive lead. The response from the rest of the AFC? A collective “collapse.”

The Chargers, after a red-hot 3-0 start, have “chargered,” a term fans know all too well, and fallen back to the pack. The Broncos are “squeaking out wins” but are not seen as a legitimate threat. The AFC West, which looked lost, is “still very much so in reach.”

This is why, against all logic, the “smart people in Vegas” have made a non-playoff team the Super Bowl favorite. They recognize what the rest of the league is now being forced to accept: the Chiefs are back, they are “firing on all cylinders,” and they “still control their own destiny” for a run at the AFC’s #1 seed.

The confidence in Kansas City is palpable. For perhaps the first time, as one host noted, “since the year they beat Philly in the Super Bowl,” there is an elite feeling about both sides of the ball at the same time. The defense has proven it can hold any opponent under 20 points. The offense has now re-established itself as a unit that can, and will, get into a “shootout” with any team in the league—and win.

The magic number for this team is 25. With a defense this good, if the offense can score 25 points, “you’re going to win the football game. Point blank simple.”

The league had its chance. The Chiefs were 0-2, wounded, and “freaking out.” The door was wide open to bury the dynasty. No one took the opportunity. Now, the Chiefs are healthy, angry, and back in control. The head start is over.