AFC stock reports: Chiefs struggle with identity, Colts out of playoff picture

Playoff Outlook following Week 10

There’s no question that the Chiefs have found themselves in a tighter race than many of us anticipated going into the season. Even the AFC West has become closer than we would have thought a few weeks ago. The Oakland Raiders are just a game and a half behind, and the Chargers still could make a push. Losing a game like this one against the Titans is one of those games like every other year in recent memory that the Chiefs shouldn’t have lost. It’s almost like the team likes to have their backs against the wall.

While some of the issues we can easily chalk up to the alarming number of injuries the team has sustained through ten weeks, much of it has to do with decision making and cleaning up the game. If Kansas City wants to get to the Super Bowl this season, the number of penalties every game has to drop significantly. Another issue has been the ability for the defense to play for an entire four quarters.

It’s easy to sit here and be pessimistic using the “we’ve seen this before” line. Something to remember is that every team in the AFC has issues that could knock them out of the race or lose in January. New England struggles to stop the run and has struggled to get their offense going without Rob Gronkowski and a struggling offensive line. Baltimore still has it’s weaknesses as we saw when they came to Arrowhead earlier in the season.

Even the Colts and Texans each have plenty of weaknesses. Indianapolis has an average at best quarterback that likely won’t take them past the first round of the playoffs. Houston has a weak secondary and inconsistent offensive line. They’ve also lost their biggest weapon on defense.

The Chiefs should still have plenty of chances to make the playoffs and even host the Wild Card round at home. Maybe going on the road for the rest of the race will be a good thing for Kansas City as they’ve tended to play better away from Arrowhead as of late.