Locked on Chiefs – Chiefs starting the offseason right?

The Kansas City Chiefs have to start the offseason in a positive direction.

That may have become more difficult after Sunday when tight end Travis Kelce appeared on Sunday countdown on ESPN. Kelce took to the airwaves and double down on his complaints about the officiating in the divisional game. He even began to write a check to the NFL.

Now for entertainment value, that was a good segment by TV standards. For the team, however, it may prove to be a concern.

Kelce, who is preparing for the Pro Bowl, later said the team needs to find a way to move on. That will be critical not only for Kelce but for the entire team. Kelce, who has enjoyed an ascension to the top tier of tight ends in the NFL, still has a lot of room to grow as a professional player. As it was with other distractions in the last offseason, Kelce needs to shake this one off and continue to improve his game.

The AFC Championship game is, even more, proof of a lost opportunity.

As the Pittsburgh Steelers played the New England Patriots for the AFC Championship the mismatch was glaring. As the previous game in the Arrowhead demonstrated, Kansas City is a solid matchup for New England.

The Chiefs kept the Steelers from scoring a single touchdown, while the Patriots were not able to match that defensive performance and allowed two Pittsburgh TDs. The Patriots used 5-man fronts to force the Steelers line to adjust their blocking. It changed the dynamic of the Steelers run game with Le’Veon Bell. Had Bob Sutton been able to make the same adjustment, the Chiefs would have been in position to be playing for the AFC Championship. Eventual injury to Bell sealed the Steelers chances, making them one-dimensional. The Patriots now return to the Super Bowl.

For Kansas City, these are the lessons to be learned in order for them to progress in 2017.

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Locked on Chiefs is a daily podcast show that drills down to the bottom line and gives you a 360-degree view of the Kansas City Chiefs. Take a few minutes to hear about your Chiefs each day. We’ll cover the offseason, the draft and all the way to the Super Bowl and want to cover the topics you want to hear about. So reach out to us on twitter @LockedOnChiefs with questions and for up to the minute analysis and episode information.

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