Beating The Raiders Will Make It All Feel OK
When you’re on a three-game losing streak, not a lot feels right.
Cracks have emerged. The game plan isn’t working. The team isn’t getting it done.
Some fans are already looking to the offseason, sharpening the axe and debating which heads should roll. When you’ve lost three straight and your playoff chances hang by a thread, it’s important to ditch your fan hat for a critic hat and try to figure out what ails the team.
But, it’s not over yet. The Chiefs will (probably) need to beat two division foes at home and a wildly inconsistent Steelers team on the road to get in. On an average day, I’d say that’s pretty doable.
Dec 7, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid reacts in the fourth quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Chiefs 17-14. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
For the skidding Chiefs, the only good news is that the easiest matchup comes on Sunday.
But, just to put this all back in perspective, before the season most national commentators and many fans were expecting a drop off from the team’s 11-5 campaign last year, falling to 8-8 or 7-9. After two losses to begin the season, that prediction seemed charitable, but then the hope began to grow.
With a crushing win over the top AFC team in its pocket, KC went on a tear against softer opponents, making it to 7-3 with a win over the defending Super Bowl champs and finally gaining some national respect. But, while the team could smell the 1st seed in the AFC for a few short days and has now tumbled back to borderline wild card territory, it doesn’t mean all is lost. In fact, a mathematician would probably tell you that the last three weeks have been a correction, a regression to the curve.
Many Chiefs fans and writers have called for the jobs of QB Alex Smith, HC Andy Reid and GM John Dorsey. Red Tribe Cinema (whom I adore) has gone in four weeks from editing together videos of Smith’s heroics to turning their facebook page into an anti-Smith advocacy group.
Dec 7, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith (11) reacts on the sidelines in the final minute of the fourth quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Chiefs 17-14. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
So, let me be the one to get historical here. If the Chiefs only win one more game this season and end up 8-8, as many expected, it does not mean the franchise should be imploded in rebuilt. In fact, at 19-13, Reid’s collective record over his first two seasons would be the best the franchise has seen since going 10-6 in 2005, then 9-7 in 2006. In other words, even if the slide continues, this will still have been the best period of Chiefs football in nearly a decade.
If the Chiefs fight their way back into the playoffs, it’ll be the team’s first back-to-back playoff appearances since 1994-1995. So, even if the Chiefs once again get blown out in that game, it’ll still be the most competitive we’ve seen this team in nearly 20 years.
Progress is slow, and the Chiefs aren’t going to win all of them – especially on the road against the top-ranked NFC team that is undefeated at home and gets the most appallingly bad call I’ve ever seen in their favor to seal the game.
I don’t think any game has ever made me as angry as last week’s game did between the refs, the melting offensive line and that bizarre last possession.
But, beating the Raiders convincingly will bring us back to 8-6 and it’ll all feel okay, for a while.