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Mind-blowing stat makes the Kansas City Chiefs' 15-win season even more impressive
© Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Some people are still in shock over how the Kansas City Chiefs managed to win 15 games in 2024. It's hard to blame them considering the obstacles they had to go through during the season. 

Four key starters missed multiple months of action due to injury, they've had a revolving door at the left tackle position, and the schedule makers were not kind - giving them an early bye week and making them play three games in 11 days during December.

Finally, as Pro Football Reference pointed out on X, Kansas City is now the only team in NFL history to win 15 or more games during the regular season without having a single player record 1,000 scrimmage yards.

There are a couple of things to consider with this stat. The first is that running back Kareem Hunt would have all but certainly racked up 1,000 yards if he was on the Chiefs' roster in Week 1. 

Secondly, if wide receiver Rashee Rice had stayed healthy, he likely would have had over 1,000 receiving yards at the level he was playing at. Finally, the three who had a realistic shot at 1,000 yards (Hunt, Travis Kelce, Xavier Worthy), were all sat out to rest for the playoffs in Week 18.

However, at the end of the day, none of those things actually happened, and the Chiefs did the best with the hand they were dealt with. A portion of opposing team's fans will cope by blame the referees, but in reality it was a combination of great coaching, savvy front office moves, and high effort from the players on the field. The Chiefs won 11 games by one possession, and went 7-2 against playoff teams (one of those losses coming in Week 18 as they rested their starters).

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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