The Chiefs’ extended dominance is starting to suffocate the rest of the NFL

In the first edition of Off the Rails, we dive into how the Chiefs have not just conquered the AFC West with both their play on the field as well as their occupation of the mental real estate of each division opponent. Their extended dominance is now having the same effect on teams in the AFC North.

Every athlete in the NFL has mastered this to an extent. You don’t get to that level without being able to do it first as a kid, then at the high school and college levels, and ultimately you have to possess the ability to be mentally composed and acute enough to present yourself well to talent evaluators and front office members at the NFL level to even have a chance to take their money. Even when players seem to lack composure, they still have better control of their emotions than most based on what they’re doing. It’s just that, at times, the competitive juices flow a little too fast for some of these guys to handle.Football is a game where explosion and composure are blended in an almost incomparable way. I had a coach early on in my illustrious football career that had a Division II ceiling that said the game must be played with a “controlled rage”. I’ve always felt that fitting—that in a sport where you are pissed off, banged up, and tired as hell the entire time you’re playing, you have to keep all of those things in check and keep your mental game at if not above the level that you’re bringing physically.In the first edition of Off the Rails, we dive into how the Chiefs have not just conquered the AFC West with both their play on the field as well as their occupation of the mental real estate of each division opponent. Their extended dominance is now having the same effect on teams in the AFC North.Football is a game where explosion and composure are blended in an almost incomparable way. I had a coach early on in my illustrious football career that had a Division II ceiling that said the game must be played with a “controlled rage”. I’ve always felt that fitting—that in a sport where you are pissed off, banged up, and tired as hell the entire time you’re playing, you have to keep all of those things in check and keep your mental game at if not above the level that you’re bringing physically.Every athlete in the NFL has mastered this to an extent. You don’t get to that level without being able to do it first as a kid, then at the high school and college levels, and ultimately you have to possess the ability to be mentally composed and acute enough to present yourself well to talent evaluators and front office members at the NFL level to even have a chance to take their money. Even when players seem to lack composure, they still have better control of their emotions than most based on what they’re doing. It’s just that, at times, the competitive juices flow a little too fast for some of these guys to handle.That’s the rational explanation for why NFL players act like babies sometimes. The real reason? Because Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have wrapped several teams into a mental pretzel over the course of the last six seasons, leaving them in cognitive and emotional shambles along the way as they have established the league’s newest dynasty. The obvious culprits—the Chargers, Raiders, and Broncos—have tried to combat the effects of Mahomes-ism by building their rosters with the intent of deconstructing what the Chiefs have built. Those efforts have been nothing short of futile thus far. I That’s the rational explanation for why NFL players act like babies sometimes. The real reason? Because Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have wrapped several teams into a mental pretzel over the course of the last six seasons, leaving them in cognitive and emotional shambles along the way as they have established the league’s newest dynasty. The obvious culprits—the Chargers, Raiders, and Broncos—have tried to combat the effects of Mahomes-ism by building their rosters with the intent of deconstructing what the Chiefs have built. Those efforts have been nothing short of futile thus far. I don’t In the first edition of Off the Rails, we dive into how the Chiefs have not just conquered the AFC West with both their play on the field as well as their occupation of the mental real estate of each division opponent. Their extended dominance is now having the same effect on teams in the AFC North.

Every athlete in the NFL has mastered this to an extent. You don’t get to that level without being able to do it first as a kid, then at the high school and college levels, and ultimately you have to possess the ability to be mentally composed and acute enough to present yourself well to talent evaluators and front office members at the NFL level to even have a chance to take their money. Even when players seem to lack composure, they still have better control of their emotions than most based on what they’re doing. It’s just that, at times, the competitive juices flow a little too fast for some of these guys to handle.Football is a game where explosion and composure are blended in an almost incomparable way. I had a coach early on in my illustrious football career that had a Division II ceiling that said the game must be played with a “controlled rage”. I’ve always felt that fitting—that in a sport where you are pissed off, banged up, and tired as hell the entire time you’re playing, you have to keep all of those things in check and keep your mental game at if not above the level that you’re bringing physically.In the first edition of Off the Rails, we dive into how the Chiefs have not just conquered the AFC West with both their play on the field as well as their occupation of the mental real estate of each division opponent. Their extended dominance is now having the same effect on teams in the AFC North.Football is a game where explosion and composure are blended in an almost incomparable way. I had a coach early on in my illustrious football career that had a Division II ceiling that said the game must be played with a “controlled rage”. I’ve always felt that fitting—that in a sport where you are pissed off, banged up, and tired as hell the entire time you’re playing, you have to keep all of those things in check and keep your mental game at if not above the level that you’re bringing physically.Every athlete in the NFL has mastered this to an extent. You don’t get to that level without being able to do it first as a kid, then at the high school and college levels, and ultimately you have to possess the ability to be mentally composed and acute enough to present yourself well to talent evaluators and front office members at the NFL level to even have a chance to take their money. Even when players seem to lack composure, they still have better control of their emotions than most based on what they’re doing. It’s just that, at times, the competitive juices flow a little too fast for some of these guys to handle.That’s the rational explanation for why NFL players act like babies sometimes. The real reason? Because Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have wrapped several teams into a mental pretzel over the course of the last six seasons, leaving them in cognitive and emotional shambles along the way as they have established the league’s newest dynasty. The obvious culprits—the Chargers, Raiders, and Broncos—have tried to combat the effects of Mahomes-ism by building their rosters with the intent of deconstructing what the Chiefs have built. Those efforts have been nothing short of futile thus far. I That’s the rational explanation for why NFL players act like babies sometimes. The real reason? Because Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have wrapped several teams into a mental pretzel over the course of the last six seasons, leaving them in cognitive and emotional shambles along the way as they have established the league’s newest dynasty. The obvious culprits—the Chargers, Raiders, and Broncos—have tried to combat the effects of Mahomes-ism by building their rosters with the intent of deconstructing what the Chiefs have built. Those efforts have been nothing short of futile thus far. I