Chiefs Can Make A Statement
Oct 26, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Knile Davis (34) is congratulated by quarterback Alex Smith (11) after Davis
Being in the company of these teams has naturally resulted in the Chiefs being associated with them in more ways than one. While owning the same record, the Chiefs have undoubtedly played better competition than any of the other 5-3 AFC teams. Tough games against Denver, New England, San Francisco, and a hard-to-predict Rams team, as well as a close win against a Chargers team that at the time was red-hot are all notable moments in the Chiefs season thus far. For the most part as well, in the losses the Chiefs have accumulated, the team kept the game close until the very end.
While owning the same record, the Chiefs have undoubtedly played better competition than any of the other 5-3 AFC teams
As a result of this pairing with the other 5-3 teams, it would seem many in the media are assuming that what may be true about the other teams is also true about the Chiefs; many believe the Chiefs are not as good a football team as they truly are, because of the company they keep.
The Chiefs, of course, have an opportunity to change this in the next two weeks, starting with the game this Sunday against Buffalo.
When the Chiefs take the field at Ralph Wilson Stadium, they’ll have the opportunity to prove definitively that they are a class above the other 5-3 teams in the AFC. A decisive victory here won’t be enough in and of itself to establish the Chiefs as a playoff threat, but it’d go a long way towards that goal.
A Chiefs victory coupled with a victory against the reigning Super Bowl Champs the following Sunday would absolutely send notice, though. Seattle, unlike Buffalo, is under-performing from where they were merely a year ago. The team is struggling to replicate the defensive success it experienced a season ago, and possible locker room turmoil is in the news often. Still, the Seahawks are a strong, competitive team, and one that last year the Chiefs would have likely lost to. This year Kansas City gets a shot to spank the ‘hawks and in the process remind the league how dominant this team can be when firing on all cylinders (see: New England Game). Two consecutive wins against Buffalo and Seattle will do exactly what the Chiefs have been looking to do since they pulled things together in week 3. It will say, “here we are, the Kansas City Chiefs. We are good. And we are coming.”
The rest of the league will have no choice but to listen.