Tom Brady’s suspension impacts Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs got lucky with Tom Brady’s suspension.

The New England Patriots got significantly weaker on Monday afternoon, with the news coming down that quarterback Tom Brady will be suspended for the first four games of the season, with the U.S. Court of Appeals overturning the previous ruling.

New England will be without Brady when it takes on the Arizona Cardinals (Week 1, away), Miami Dolphins (Week 2, home), Houston Texans (Week 3, home) and Buffalo Bills (Week 4, home). The Patriots would easily have gone 30-1 with Brady if not a perfect 4-0. Without him, the Patriots will certainly lose the first game and perhaps one or two of the home dates as well.

So why does this matter for the Chiefs? Home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs. New England was easily the favorite to be the No. 1 seed in the conference and with this loss, the Chiefs have a real chance to take that mantle. Nobody in the AFC South figures to be in the mix and the AFC North will be playing against each other, while also facing the AFC East. A serious argument could be made that Kansas City has the best path.

If the Chiefs end up playing in Arrowhead Stadium throughout the AFC postseason, you would have to feel very good about their chances.