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The matchup the Kansas City Chiefs have been waiting for

By Stacy D. Smith

Dec 8, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Albert Wilson (12) and defensive tackle Chris Jones (95) and wide receiver Chris Conley (17) interact with the crowd during the game against the Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs won 21-13. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 8, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Albert Wilson (12) and defensive tackle Chris Jones (95) and wide receiver Chris Conley (17) interact with the crowd during the game against the Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs won 21-13. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

This football team is a legitimately viable Super Bowl contender. Even the talking heads around the league are beginning to see Kansas City in such a light. The Chiefs’ Rodney Dangerfield act may be approaching a curtain call. This team just enjoyed a postseason bye after winning its first division title in six years. It’ll enter the week as a home underdog to the Steelers, but that’s as much to do with the recent fortunes of both teams than the 2016 season.

The Chiefs were trounced in a Sunday night affair in Week 4, but this game — the one that will send one team to the AFC Championship Game — will not be played in the cozy confines of Heinz Field. The Steelers are the traveling team this time around and as I mentioned last week, Pittsburgh is a different team on the road.

Despite a warmer reception over the past two months, I expect the NFL gallery to pick the Steelers to win this game. A higher seed won’t be enough to warrant serious consideration for the right to play in Foxboro (or to possibly, albeit unlikely, play the championship round at Arrowhead). Beating the Steelers is the only way to establish championship potentiality for the Chiefs (at anything more than a whisper). A respectable showing won’t help them escape the “feel good team” optics surrounding them.

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