As I write this, the Chiefs are 0-2 and the fan base seems torn over whether it ought to take solace in the team’s respectable, but losing effort against the Broncos in Denver last week.
We’ve been here before.
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Many people have been comparing the 2014 Chiefs to the 2011 Chiefs in the sense that the team is destined for a disappointing year after cruising through an easy schedule to a one-and-done playoff berth the year before. There are plenty of parallels. In addition to the ratcheted-up difficulty of the schedule, both years the Chiefs have struggled through early injuries of the sort that will force major modifications to game plans.
But, let’s take a quick trip down memory lane to dispel the notion that the Chiefs are doomed to 7-9 again (although I think many fans would gladly take that outcome at this point).
The Chiefs started 2011 losing three critical players to season-ending injuries in successive games starting with the last match of the preseason. The team’s leading receiver the previous year, TE Tony Moeaki, went down in that game, followed by S Eric Berry in the opener and RB Jamaal Charles in the Week 2.
Compounding the shock of the those losses were the results of the opening games, which were basically a non-stop train of misery through eight quarters resulting in a combined score of 10-89. The team looked crushed.
To make things worse, the Chiefs were then headed to San Diego to face a 2-0 Chargers team that was roundly expected to steamroll the division that year.
But, things didn’t go as expected.
With 1:26 left in the game, the Chiefs found themselves down by just a field goal 17-20. Former Chiefs QB Matt Cassel then pulled out his signature Casselness. With his first play under shotgun he hit TE Leonard Pope for 23 yards, putting the Chiefs on the edge of field goal range. He then followed that up by somehow throwing an interception to Chargers S Eric Weddle on a screen pass with Weddle standing about 10 feet away from him. It was all over but the kneel-downs.
Then as now, Chiefs Kingdom was debating whether moral victories exist or a loss is a loss in the NFL.
In 2011, the Chiefs answered that question for us by going on a four-game winning streak culminating in the Halloween overtime win against those same Chargers in Arrowhead to take division lead.
The Chiefs were zombies before, they could be zombies again.
Granted, that season ended with its own kind of disaster. Two games later Cassel was injured and replaced by QB Tyler Palko, the team’s hilariously bad backup. QB Kyle Orton was claimed off waivers to replace him only to break his finger on his first throw. Former GM Scott Pioli, who, as GM, constructed the QB depth in the first place, fired former HC Todd Haley for it, setting up the greatest tragedy of all — a 2012 campaign led by former HC Romeo Crennel and OC Brian Daboll.
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Like in 2011, I think this 2014 squad is one that can build on its near victory in Denver with a string of real victories and save this season. With a healthy RB Jamaal Charles, and legit backups for both him and QB Alex Smith, I have a hard time seeing the 2014 season falling into the same sort of chasm as it did in 2011 even if the team’s bad luck continues.
Just like that 2011 Chargers game showed that the Chiefs can hang with anyone even with their injuries, the team showed Sunday it has sort of perseverance and talent to get a win in even the toughest of circumstances. Most importantly, they proved this to themselves — not us.
But, speaking of us, this is the other reason why I believe in moral victories. A loss may just be a loss in the standings at the end of the day, but I’m not a fan of the Chiefs based on where they sit in the Win-Loss column. I watch every second because I want to see a team fight, claw, overachieve in its best possible effort to glory. Will they fall short? Inevitably. This is the NFL.
If all you want to see is wins, this is probably the wrong team for you to watch and probably the wrong sport as well. Since 2002, at least one team has gone from worst to first in their division every year and the league is constantly in flux. There are certainly teams that glory hunters can flock to — the Broncos, the Steelers, the Patriots — sure.
But, if you’re a fan of most teams you have to take the good with the bad. And as a fan, a game like Sunday’s is part of the good. They won a moral victory for me.