The Arrowhead Fix: AFC West Thursday Night Football Edition

Dec 8, 2013; Landover, MD, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles (25) shakes hands with fans while leaving the field after the Chiefs

Many people need their coffee to get up and going in the morning, and especially in the middle of the afternoon when things are starting to drag.  Here at Arrowhead Addict, we understand that for a Chiefs fan, coffee is simply not enough.

Here’s all that’s happening around Chiefs Kingdom today.

Welcome to The Fix.

It’s Thursday morning at the start of Week 15 in the NFL. While many playoff teams are shaking out and separating from the pack there have only been two teams in the NFL who have actually clinched a playoff spot. The Denver Broncos secured a ticket to the post season last week as well as the Seattle Seahawks. That leaves ten teams fighting for a spot at the table after the new year. While the Broncos are in the playoffs and the Chiefs have a chance to clinch on Sunday with a win, the San Diego Chargers are still very much in the hunt and can further that goal by upsetting the Broncos tonight in the Mile High City.

However, with the Chiefs scenario to clinch, would come their 11th win this season. With that win would come the comparisons to the 2003 Chiefs team, as that is the last time the Chiefs had 11 wins in a season. Chiefs Team Historian, Bob Moore, has posted a great article, remembering the epic playoff game dubbed the “No Punt Bowl” in Kansas City in 2004.

"The year was 2004 and I was standing in the Arrowhead Stadium press box. The Chiefs were in a tight game with the Indianapolis Colts and Manning was weaving his magic, once again. ESPN’s Ron Jaworski was standing next to me and as everyone around us marveled at Manning’s brilliance, “Jaws” turned and whispered to me, “What about the game your quarterback is having? That’s why you’re in this game.”"

While comparing Chiefs current quarterback Alex Smith to the former all star, Trent Green, is a bit of a stretch one thing that can be said is it all starts with the line. Adam Teicher at ESPN talks about just that in his latest blog.

"“It just takes time,” Schwartz said. “We’re fortunate that now it’s starting to click, just at the time we need it to. We’ve done a better job up front with the little details, with us working with the back, knowing what the back is going to do.”"

Finally, let’s talk Pro Bowl. If you haven’t heard, the rules have completely changed this year in regards to the NFL All Star Game. There are no more conferences, and it’s all fan voting. And, one of the biggest vote-getters is Chiefs running back, Jamaal Charles. Randy Covitz at the Kansas City Star has a piece up about it.

"Running back Jamaal Charles continues to rank among the top five vote-getters for the 2014 Pro Bowl, and outside linebacker Tamba Hali, offensive tackle Branden Albert, and punter Dustin Colquitt are the top vote-getters at their positions."

This is some confirmation for Chiefs fans and the legitimacy of their team.

That wraps it up for today’s edition. With a huge AFC West showdown tonight on NFL Network, we’re all Chargers fans for a couple of hours. See you tomorrow for the Red Friday edition.