Former All-Pro Mitchell Schwartz DELIVERS Bold Take on Chiefs’ Offense
The Kansas City Chiefs have had one of the more interesting starts to the 2025 campaign across the NFL. They aren’t exactly dominating at the level we’ve been accustomed to seeing from them during the Patrick Mahomes/Andy Reid era, but they have recently earned a pair of major victories over the Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions to help push their record back to .500 at 3-3.
Given their unusually slow start, concerns about the team have emerged, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. If you ask former Chiefs’ All-Pro offensive lineman Mitchell Schwartz, though, he doesn’t seem too worried just yet. In an interview with casino.org, Schwartz provided Heavy on Chiefs with some exclusive comments on his thoughts about Kansas City’s offense, and whether or not the team is still a Super Bowl contender this season.
Mitchell Schwartz Doesn’t See Chiefs Trading for More Help on Offense
After spending the first four seasons of his career with the Cleveland Browns, Schwartz landed with the Chiefs in 2016 and immediately turned himself into one of the top right tackles in the league. Schwartz earned four straight All-Pro selections from 2016 to 2019, with his best season coming in 2018, when he earned a spot on the All-Pro First Team. Most importantly, though, he helped Kansas City take down the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV.
Unsurprisingly, Schwartz has been paying close attention to K.C.’s offensive line, which underwent some big changes over the offseason. There’s no doubt this group is going through some collective growing pains, but that’s to be expected. Schwartz likes what he has seen from this group, and he believes that the heightened expectations they face are unfair, as fans have gotten too used to seeing guys like Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith immediately become stars.
“They’re definitely getting better, which is the encouraging thing,” Schwartz said to Heavy on Chiefs. “I think Chiefs fans have gotten a little spoiled with Creed and Trey, just showing up starting from week one and being one of the best of their position from the get-go, that’s not normal.”
Part of the problem has been that Mahomes has been forced to hold onto the ball longer than usual because he’s struggling to find open receivers down the field. As a result, the Chiefs have popped up in trade rumors for just about every offensive playmaker who could be available. With wide receiver Rashee Rice set to return from his six-game suspension in Week 7, though, Schwartz doesn’t think the front office will end up bringing in more help on offense.
“It’s tough to bring in skill guys halfway through the season,” Schwartz admitted. “You’re learning a new playbook, it might have different terminology compared to what you’re used to, because every coach has a slightly different terminology for certain plays.”
“If you look at Rashee Rice’s start to last season, I think those first three or four games, whatever it was, he was on pace to have 1,500, 1,600 receiving yards in the season. He had a seriously high volume … When Rice and Worthy are back out there together, Kelce can slot back into the role that they really envisioned him for at this stage in his career. Coach Reid is going to be excited, and I’m excited talking about it right now.”
Does Mitchell Schwartz Think the Chiefs Are Still a Super Bowl Contender?
GettyPatrick Mahomes with Mitchell Schwartz.
Even with their big Sunday Night Football win over the Lions, the Chiefs still have just a 3-3 record through six games. While that has them sitting a game behind the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos in the AFC West, there’s still a lot of football left to be played this season. Schwartz still is of the belief that Kansas City is one of the best teams in the league, labeling them a top contender in the AFC alongside the Buffalo Bills.
“It’s potentially being a prisoner to the Chiefs’ success in recent years, but I feel like they have to be, amongst the favorites, if not the favorite, alongside Buffalo,” Schwartz said. “You probably still have Buffalo as the favorite to get the one seed because of the way the schedule unfolds. I think they have the easiest schedule or one of the easiest schedules in the NFL … They play Kansas City on Nov. 2, and that could be the game that determines the one seed.”
There’s no doubt the Chiefs have dug a hole for themselves early this season, but now that they are finally getting healthy on offense, that could be the key to helping them return to the top of the league. Kansas City will look to push its record above .500 in Week 7 by picking up a win over the Las Vegas Raiders, with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon.
Two Big Reasons For Cubs Fans To Stay Optimistic For 2026
It is easy to focus on the negatives of the Chicago Cubs' season, especially after the bitter taste of losing a game five in the playoffs, pointing the finger at every mistake that led to going home instead of playing for the National League Pennant.
However, it's important to remember that the team had a great season even though it didn't end where they wanted it to.
The Cubs made the playoffs after missing the previous four. This was also their first trip to the NL Divisional Series round since '17 and their first 90+ win season since '18. Good things happened this year that the team can build on for 2026, hopefully avoiding the same spot when October rolls back around.
Young Talent All Over the Place
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Cade Horton easily takes the cake for the up-and-coming talent that is on this Cubs' roster. It was so disheartening that he didn't get to take the mound in these playoffs after his breakout rookie season, but he will be back next year.
The way he improved throughout the year is something to truly get excited about. Horton finished the season 11-4 with a 2.67 ERA and nearly 100 strikeouts.
Even though Pete Crow-Armstrong had been ridiculed lately, it is crucial to remember a couple of things. 1) PCA is only 23 years old, and this was only his second full year in the majors. 2) He had 35 stolen bases (by far the most on the team), complemented by 31 homers and 95 RBI. 3) PCA is a deadly defender.
Crow-Armstrong and Horton aren't the only young guns on this team, however. There is also Matt Shaw. This was Shaw's rookie season as well at 23 years old. He was a nightmare for opposing bats with his ability to make plays at third base, and even though he started slow swinging a bat, he found his groove towards the end of the season with a .429 slugging percentage in his last 30 games.
Owen Caissie might not have finished the year on the roster, but everyone remembers him. He made his debut this year as well as the best guy in the Cubs' farming system. Even though he didn't last long with the Cubs before being sent back to Triple-A, he showed signs of brilliance. A stacked outfield has kept him down in the minors for far too long, and surely his time is coming.
A Very Strong Bullpen
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Craig Counsell called his relievers "out getters" because that is what they did. Four pitchers were used in more than 50 games this season, who all had an ERA under 3.00 — Brad Keller, Daniel Palencia, Drew Pomeranz, and Caleb Theilbar.
These four came through in a big way for the Cubs in the playoffs. Thielbar didn't allow a single run in five games, with only two hits and five strikeouts by the end of it. And Pomeranz and Keller both had a 1.5 ERA in over 11 combined innings with 11 strikeouts.
It is easy to focus on the negative when things didn't turn out as the organization had hoped, but there were many positive developments this year. They easily had plenty of time where they looked like they could potentially make it to the World Series. Heck, the team stretched the NLDS to a five-game series without an ace in the starting rotation.
This team could look similar next season and, with a few tweaks, could be playing late in October.
