The Kansas City Chiefs win over the Raiders on Sunday made them the #1 seed in the AFC. It also provided a blueprint on how they can win in the playoffs.
The Kansas City Chiefs displayed their dominance one last time in the regular season on Sunday as they pummeled the Oakland Raiders 35-3. The biggest storyline coming out of the game was that the win secured home-field advantage for the Chiefs in the playoffs. However, it also provided a realistic blueprint for how the Chiefs can continue to win games in the playoffs.
Despite having an amazing season that surpassed the expectations of even the most optimistic Chiefs fans there was still a cloud of doubt hanging over the team headed into their regular season finale. The Chiefs were coming off of back to back losses for the first time this season and that combined with the continued struggles of the defense had many KC fans predicting yet another disappointing one and done playoff experience.
To be fair to those with serious doubts about the Chiefs ability to win in the postseason, it is certainly understandable why they would feel that way. First off, this franchise has known nothing but playoff disappointment since Joe Montana was the KC quarterback. Second, the Chiefs defensive production has been so poor this season that it’s easy to doubt that KC can make a Super Bowl (or even win a playoff game) with one of the league’s worst defenses. Then you add on that the Chiefs had dropped back to back games against the Los Angeles Chargers and the Seattle Seahawks and of course people were starting to worry.
That having been said, the Chiefs still have one of the best records in all of football and have been in every game they’ve played this season. The win against the Raiders on Sunday was not only good for home-field advantage and morale (both for the team and the fans) but basically laid out the formula for KC’s postseason success.
As I see it there are five key steps that this Chiefs team needs to follow in order to keep winning in January. The good news is none of them are unrealistic. I’m not asking the Chiefs defense to suddenly become great and hold teams to three points in the playoffs. All five of these steps can absolutely be accomplished regardless of who KC’s opponent is. I truly believe the Chiefs control their own destiny despite their defensive limitations and all five keys were on display in the Oakland win Sunday.
Let’s start by talking about how the Chiefs start the game.