Time for the Kansas City Chiefs to make a statement

The Kansas City Chiefs have an opportunity to declare, once and for all, that they’re a team to be reckoned with in the AFC. Will they?

The Kansas City Chiefs’ 2016 season ended with a home loss, to the Pittsburgh Steelers s in the divisional round of the playoffs. The team’s aspirations of taking another step forward in the AFC were dashed in a game where their opponent didn’t score an offensive touchdown. Just 24 hours shy of their season-opening tilt with the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, the Chiefs are again faced with the question of exactly when they’ll become one of the conference’s elite teams. Since 2013, when head coach Andy Reid came to Kansas City, the team has won 43 regular season games. Unfortunately, it’s the postseason that’s posed problems for the organization.

In four playoff appearances, Reid and company have only one win—a road victory over the Houston Texans in 2015. The Chiefs played the Patriots well the following week in the divisional round, but fell 27-20 before a capacity crowd in Gillette Stadium. The other two losses were much more heart-wrenching in nature. In 2013, the Chiefs had a historic collapse against the Indianapolis Colts (the 2nd-largest comeback in NFL playoff history). This past January, the Chiefs lost a game where its defense held the Steelers to just 18 points. Where the stakes have been the highest, Kansas City has rarely answered the bell.