Ranking the toughest games left on the Kansas City Chiefs schedule
By Matt Conner
Now that the first half of the season is over, let’s take a closer look at the back nine, so to speak, by ranking the remaining games for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Todd Haley used to divide the season into four quarters. We’re taking a look at two halves. As the Kansas City Chiefs prepare to kick off the second half of the 2017 regular season on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, they will do so tied for the AFC lead at 6-2 overall, a record matched only by the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots in the conference.
What’s even more impressive for the Chiefs is that they were able to put up six wins in eight games against the toughest part of their schedule. They lost to the Steelers and Oakland Raiders, but they easily put away the Patriots to open the year, handed the Philadelphia Eagles their only loss on the entire season and overcame the Washington Redskins and Houston Texans. They also largely took care of business within the division against the L.A. Chargers and Denver Broncos.
It’s in that last category that they can actually feel a sense of relief. The AFC West is a cakewalk at this point for the Chiefs if they can simply stay the course. The Chiefs are the only winning record in the division, and the Broncos are searching for any signs of life on offense. The Oakland Raiders can’t get anything going (unless they face the Chiefs, of course), and the Chargers waited until too late to find their competitive fire.
It’s possible one of those teams finds its mojo in the second half enough to make some noise and ascend the wild card ladder, but the Chiefs are experienced and savvy enough to know they’ve got the division lead under control.
Here are the five toughest games left for the Kansas City Chiefs, starting at No. 5: