Chiefs vs. Redskins: This is A Must-Win For Kansas City

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The Kansas City Chiefs have to walk into FedEx Field in Landover, MD tomorrow and beat the Washington Redskins.

I don’t care if it’s by 21, three or even by one single point. However it happens and no matter how “pretty” or “ugly” it gets, the Chiefs are facing a must-win this weekend.

I’ll admin, must-win is a phrase that’s thrown around an awful lot in sports. And many times, it doesn’t seem to fit the equation.

Week 4 against a rival? Sure, it would be nice to win, but calling that game a must-win is just a little over the top. Preseason game No. 3? I think you get my point.

With that being said, its Week 14 and the Chiefs are trying to work themselves out of a three-game losing skid. They’ve dropped from first place in the AFC and in the division, to the No. 5 seed in the playoffs; and that’s not yet guaranteed.

The Redskins are 3-9, and yes, they have the best rushing attack in the NFL (150.4 rush yards per game), but if we’re being honest; this is not a game the Redskins should be able to win.

You see, the thing about football is that even though the rules of “Any Given Sunday” are fair game, more often than not, when it’s business time; the better team usually finds a way to win.

There are games that certain teams just should win, because that’s what playoff teams and contenders do. And for all intents and purposes, this Sunday is that type of game for the Chiefs.

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

If the 9-3 Chiefs are more than just a fluke or a good story, they’ll walk into FedEx Field and take care of business. Again, it doesn’t have to be pretty, but this is the time of year where the contenders separate themselves from the pretenders.

I’ve been critical of the Chiefs this past week, but Kansas City can go a long way toward getting back on the path towards “contender-ship” by beating Washington. Not only would that get the Chiefs back in the winners column, but a win or tie against the Redskins and a loss or tie from either Miami or Baltimore would solidify the Chiefs’ spot in the 2013 NFL Playoffs.

They can’t control what happens with Miami (vs. Steelers) or Baltimore (vs. Vikings), but the Chiefs can control what they need to do, and that’s beat Washington.

Good teams take care of business when they need to, and the playoffs are on the line. That’s why this is a must-win game for the Chiefs.