Kansas City Chiefs: They don’t make any sense
Oct 5, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) celebrates a with tight end Antonio Gates (85) after throwing a touchdown pass to him during the first quarter against the New York Jets at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Over the past 20 seasons, the Chargers have been in the postseason seven times. In those seven visits, they have only been beyond the divisional round once. Four times their season ended in the divisional round, and twice it ended in the wild card. They have won a grand total of four playoff games (two in 2007, one in 2008, and one in 2013) in that time.
That is a better playoff resume than what Kansas City brings to the table, but not by as much as you would think. Over the same period of time, the Chiefs have earned a postseason berth six times (only one less than SD). Three times falling in the divisional round, and three times in the wild card.
When you look at more recent history, you see that the Chargers have only one playoff visit, and no seasons with 10 or more wins in the last five years. Kansas City has been to the playoffs twice, and won 10+ games each time. And that includes being the most recent team not from Denver to win the division.
The Chargers did have one playoff win in the 2013 wild card, but can you really tell me that is why they are getting picked over the Chiefs? I find that hard to believe.
I think Kansas City is not the media favorite more because they have spent the past few years not making enough sense.
That AFC West crown in 2010 was earned with 10 wins – which is the exact same number of victories the Chiefs had earned from the previous three seasons put together. It was a heck of a turnaround, but very short lived. K.C. spent the next two seasons falling to 7-9 and then 2-14.
The Chiefs then proceeded to destroy all expectations by going from 2-14 to 11-5 in the space of one season. That was incredibly exciting, and not what almost anybody thought would happen. Or, at least, not that quickly.
And then we get to last season. A season where a 9-7 record may lead a casual observer to believe that it was rather average. For those of us who followed it, we know it was anything but average.
Kansas City started off with a horrifying home loss to a terrible team from Tennessee. A team that would win only one more game for the entire season. The Chiefs looked simply dreadful in the matchup, and alarm bells started sounding throughout the Kingdom.
However, the very next week, Kansas City marched into Denver, the home of Peyton Manning and the three-time reigning division champs, and had a chance to tie on the final drive of the game. The Chiefs played like contenders on the road and without Jamaal Charles, Derrick Johnson, or Mike DeVito.
Those first two weeks left many scratching their heads. There is no way that a team who played badly enough to get blown out at home should have competed so strongly against a Super Bowl favorite. It was puzzling enough that it could easily have been chalked up to being a fluke. But the season was just getting started.
Next: Then, the Chiefs got good, kinda...