The Kansas City Chiefs are 3-0 and stand alone atop the AFC. The Super Bowl window has never been more open.
The Kansas City Chiefs are 3-0. Let that sink in. This is a team that, due to strength of schedule and some off-season turmoil, many predicted would take a step back this season. In reality, the exact opposite has happened. The Chiefs have been the best team in the NFL through three weeks, and while it has been ugly at times, they continue to find ways to get the job done. Sunday’s win over the Chargers was a perfect example.
The Chiefs didn’t play their best game, the offense sputtered and there were a ton of penalties. It was sloppy. Yet, the Chiefs won by 14. In the same afternoon we saw the division rival Broncos and Raiders play less than stellar games. The Broncos lost by 10 and the Raiders were blown out by even more.
Kansas City is finding ways to put teams away. In the National Football League, where wins are so hard to come by, this is an extremely impressive trait. In their last 29 regular season games, Kansas City sports a record of 25-4. That is incredible in today’s NFL. The Chiefs have an opportunity, having beaten New England, to force the AFC playoffs to run through Arrowhead. That will be crucial in this team’s chances of sealing a Super Bowl berth. Lets take a minute to examine how the Chiefs could get there.
This is the remainder of the Chiefs schedule:
- vs. Redskins 10/2 MNF
- @ Texans 10/8 SNF
- vs Steelers 10/15 3:25 pm
- @ Raiders 10/19 TNF
- vs Broncos 10/30 MNF
- @ Cowboys 11/5 3:25 pm
- BYE
- @ Giants 11/19 12 pm
- vs Bills 11/26 12 pm
- @ Jets 12/3 12 pm
- vs Raiders 12/10 12 pm
- vs Chargers 12/16 SNF
- vs Dolphins 12/24 12 pm
- @ Broncos 12/31 3:25 pm
These remaining 13 games don’t look all that daunting all of a sudden. With a home Monday night game vs Washington, a road game against a struggling Texans team, and a home game vs Pittsburgh (who has also struggled versus Chicago just last week), you could easily make the case for the Chiefs to be 6-0 heading in to a huge Thursday night game in Oakland. It is not unreasonable to think the Chiefs could be sitting at 8-1 heading in to the bye. If they can accomplish that, or at the very least 7-2, this team will be on the fast track to the AFC’s number one seed. The Chiefs should not lose after the bye.
The reason we are discussing playoff seeding this early in the season is this. The Chiefs have to make the AFC run through Arrowhead to make the Super Bowl. I won’t go as far as to say that it is impossible to go back to Foxborough and win in the playoffs, but it would be very, very hard. The Chiefs have a team that is built to win in January. Kareem Hunt’s ability to deliver back-breaking runs at any point in the game, especially in the fourth quarter, is what puts this offense over the top.
People will try to down play the Arrowhead advantage. It is true that despite hosting a divisional round game a year ago, Kansas City fell to Pittsburgh. But until you have experienced Arrowhead first hand, especially in the post season, you can’t fully appreciate the effect it can have on a game. I don’t want to go back to Foxborough in January, but do you think Tom Brady is going to come to Arrowhead for the AFC Title game and win? I think not.
The Chiefs have been building towards this season for five years now. They have the personnel. They have the coaching staff. If they can keep their foot on the gas, the sky is the limit for this team.
The Super Bowl window has never been more open. Making the AFC run through Arrowhead is the fast track to the promised land.