‘We can punt, man’: Why Chiefs’ win over Bengals was testimony to a key mental shift

If you wanted to marinate in or fixate on the worrisome stuff on Sunday at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs furnished an ample supply.

Their once-vaunted offense mustered only one touchdown, after all, and there was the now-customary jaw-dropping decision: returning a punt from inside the end zone. They had another pivotal turnover and the usual exasperating dropped passes, and they fell into their fifth first-half double-digit deficit in six games.

But the day reiterated something more than merely their flaws.

It attested to their capacity to overcome them.

And a new prototype.

Or at least their most promising path toward a postseason run after the Chiefs churned their way to a 25-17 win over the Bengals. The victory secured their eighth consecutive AFC West title — the second-longest such streak in NFL history to New England’s 11 straight from 2008-19.

Take it from the decidedly fresh perspective of Patrick Mahomes, whom I seldom, if ever, before recall actually taking credit for anything at all.

When he did on Sunday, it spoke not just to the moment but to at least a would-be shift in philosophical mindset tapered to this team.

Other than his fumble, he said, “I thought I did a great job of just when it wasn’t there deep, get it to underneath guys (and) try to get the first downs. If not, we can punt, man.”

Honest, the two-time NFL and Super Bowl MVP, who has spent much of his career as a revolutionary big-play force, really said that.

As if to acknowledge how against his nature that sounded, he smiled and added, “I know that’s not how I’ve always rolled.”

Then he said it again.

“We can punt,” he said. “Defense gets us the ball back, and we’re going to find ways to win football games.”

It’s essentially the opposite of the blueprint that the Chiefs have used in the five-plus seasons since Mahomes became QB1 — the blueprint they applied to host five straight AFC Championship Games and play in three of the last four Super Bowl, and win two of them.

But 16 games into this season, it’s starkly apparent that the Chiefs’ greatest strength — and perhaps their only true advantage — is on defense.

And embracing that identity is what’s going to give them the best chance to prosper in the playoffs.

“It’s a different (feeling),” Mahomes said. “It’s different, man, to have this good of a defense …

“It’s going to keep us in every single game; it’s going to be on the offense to go out there and score enough points to win.”

It’s one thing for observers or fans to say it. But it’s another for Mahomes to seemingly try to speak it into existence — perhaps even as what might be called an affirmation to himself to fend off the ever-lurking temptations.

Because this victory over the Bengals (8-8) provided a template of what you can do when your defense is second in the NFL in points allowed (17.63 points a game) and can flex like it did Sunday, with four sacks in five plays down the stretch.

The offense can still push the envelope at times, sure, but needn’t force the issue.

It can turn to Isiah Pacheco, who rushed 18 times for 130 yards. And it can let Harrison Butker kick six field goals — anticlimactic as each might feel along the way.

Within all that, it also can judiciously conjure some deep passes, such as Mahomes’ 67-yard completion to Rashee Rice — the Chiefs’ season-long play from scrimmage — and another of 41 to Justin Watson.

It’s not as fancy or glitzy a formula as we’re used to, for sure. And it’s going to take being more fundamentally sound offensively for the mentality to become a prevailing wave instead of another false restart in the wake of three losses in their previous four games.

But this isn’t about style points. It’s about finding a way ... starting with recognizing the way.

Ultimately, that’s been the theme of extending this remarkable AFC West run — a trait that could be harnessed going forward.

“I do think adversity can be beneficial by the time you get to the playoffs, because the playoffs are never going to be easy,” Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said after the game. “So I think it speaks to the character of the team, and that will benefit us going forward.”

It’s largely been a confounding and fickle team to this point. Especially after midseason, when the Chiefs normally have surged in the Mahomes Era. Instead, as Mahomes put it, the pattern has been “good game, bad game.”

Whether this one breaks the trend remains to be seen.

With the Chiefs’ seeding set at No. 3 in the AFC, they’re likely to rest key starters (such as Mahomes) next week against the Chargers in Los Angeles. Whatever the case, the postseason is, in fact, a season unto itself, presenting its own physical and psychological challenges.

Still, at least they got some compelling data on Sunday.

Not just because they won another AFC West title. But because they seemed to see the light toward what could give them some traction.

“I thought we did a good job of just letting the game come to us,” Mahomes said. “Not trying to force it, not trying to do too much.”