Kansas City Chiefs schedule prediction; Part 3
By Brandon Fry
Dec 28, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Justin Houston (50) celebrates after a sack against the San Diego Chargers in the first half at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
Happy Memorial Day weekend, friends. Some of you will spend your weekend with your family, firing up the grill and indulging on some delicious food, so I will also fire up and serve you some sure-to-go-wrong predictions for the upcoming season. They will be delicious.
Picking up where I left off on last week’s predictions:
I had the Chiefs finishing the second quarter 5-3, which isn’t a bad spot. The team has been blessed with a bye week to rest up before entering a critical third quarter of the season heavy with divisional opponents.
@Broncos: The Broncos in Denver will be a tough matchup, as always, I had KC beating them at home early in the season but a sweep might not be realistic. I expect the Chiefs to come in and compete all the way to the end since they will be still fighting for the division. The difference could be how well the offense is running at this point in the season. In both games last year Kansas City only scored two total touchdowns aside from field goals. If the Chiefs can muster up four touchdowns, they can win this game.
Key Players To Watch: Travis Kelce. The Broncos were among the worst in the league against tight ends last year. Travis said he wasn’t 100 percent last season, but was still able to produce 862 yards and 5 touchdowns; he could have a monster year and game against the Broncos in 2015.
Outcome: Loss
Last Time They Played: Nov. 30, 2014; this was a Sunday Night Football game at Arrowhead, which resulted in a 29-16 loss. C.J. Anderson had more than 160 yards of offense for the Broncos.
@Chargers: I expect the Chargers to be in the race for the division too and man, do I hate it that they will have Melvin Gordon running the ball for them. Kansas City will get a taste of what it’s like to have to contain a running back who’s almost identical in style to Jamaal Charles. This could be a huge for the defense in their first matchup against him, or maybe the Chiefs defense has the advantage since they practice against a back like Charles every week.
Key Player To Watch: Derrick Johnson. Derrick’s number will be called upon once again to stop a great running back. If he can contain Gordon, Chiefs have a great shot at winning.
Outcome: Loss
Last Time They Played in San Diego: Oct. 19, 2014. Carlos Santos made the biggest kick of his young career: a 48-yard field goal with 21 seconds left in the game. Chiefs beat the Chargers, 23-20.
Bills: Hey look, another trap game! I hate playing Buffalo, it seems we play them just about every year. This defense will be stout, especially with Rex Ryan running the show. The good news is that the Chiefs might be playing against Matt Cassel!
Key Players To Watch: Marcus Peters. This will be a low-scoring game that may require a pick-six from the Chiefs defense. Why not the rookie?
Outcome: Win
Last Time They Played: Nov. 9, 2014. Even though the Bills dominated the Chiefs two years in a row, Kansas City somehow pulled off wins. Fate would say that KC’s luck has finally run out and the Bills will hand the Chiefs a loss. However, Fate might also field Matt Cassel as the starting quarterback, in which case, the Chiefs should win.
@Raiders: This isn’t the same old Raiders, and it pains me to say that. There was once a time when we all would sit back and laugh at the Raiders as if they were a bunch clowns driving a tiny car. Sadly, it’s looking like those days are behind us as the team consistently put together better drafts and roster moves two years in a row. I can’t look at the schedule and just put a “W” wherever I see Oakland any more. With all that said, I’m still picking the Chiefs to win in Oakland because they are just the better team.
Key Players To Watch: Tamba Hali. This seems like a game that the old warrior could show up and have one of his last great performances against the Raiders.
Outcome: Win
Last Time They Played in Oakland: Nov. 20, 2014. After a short week of preparation, Kansas City fell in a trap game against a winless Raiders team that was hungry for a win. We all knew the Chiefs were in trouble when this happened:
Kansas City finishes with a 2-2 record in the third quarter of the season, and heads into the fourth quarter with a 7-5 overall record. With this record, the team would certainly be in playoff contention, which will make for a interesting final four weeks.
What do you think, Addicts?