The Kansas City Chiefs have lost four of their last six games and now need a “must win” mindset to keep control of the division and their playoff hopes.
The Kansas City Chiefs were supposed to be one of the premiere teams in all the NFL this season. A popular Super Bowl pick and the team considered the most likely to unseat the New England Patriots in the AFC, the Chiefs were supposed to be out in front of the pack by this point in the season. Instead, the Chiefs find themselves a couple of games back in the race for a first-round bye in the AFC and in danger of losing their hold on the division as well.
Simply put, the Chiefs need to have a “must win” mindset for both tonight’s game with the Los Angeles Chargers and their upcoming match up with the Oakland Raiders after the bye week.
The term “must win” is thrown around far too often in the NFL. By definition, a game isn’t a “must win” unless losing it ends your season or playoff chances. Therefore, tonight’s game against the Chargers isn’t technically a “must win”, but the Chiefs certainly need to treat it like it is. The Chiefs still have two possible paths to follow as the season plays out. The first is a path that leads to a commanding win of the AFC West, the third seed in the AFC (with a chance at a bye if the Patriots or Baltimore Ravens slip up), and at least one home playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium. The second path is one where the Chiefs are in a dog fight for the AFC West and their playoff lives for the rest of the season.
Is it possible that the Chiefs could take that second path, squeak into the playoffs, and still get hot and win a Super Bowl? Yes, its possible, but in a season where the Chiefs have repeatedly found ways to lose games, the more obstacles that they have in their way, the less likely a Super Bowl win becomes. This is a team that needs to find its swagger and winning ways before the playoffs roll around. That starts by retaking control of the AFC West over their next two games, starting on Monday by beating the Los Angeles Chargers.
While the Chiefs status in the AFC West and position in the AFC playoff standings are important (and we’ll break those down in just a minute), this is about more than that. During the Chiefs current 2-4 stretch they have lost the last three games where Patrick Mahomes has been the primary quarterback. Those three losses came to the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, and Tennessee Titans. While those three teams are all .500 or better, they are all teams that were viewed as behind the Chiefs in the AFC hierarchy. They were all games where KC could have (or even should have) won if they just took care of business. They were all games where the Chiefs had to come away feeling like they dropped the ball (in some cases literally).
The Chiefs played with more focus and intensity while Patrick Mahomes was out with his knee injury. Those three losses I just mentioned prove that the Chiefs need that same focus and intensity even with their MVP quarterback in the mix. That is why the Chiefs need to play with a “must win” mindset these next two games. That is why they can’t just relax and treat these division games like they are just another game that counts the same as any other. The Chiefs need that edge they had while Mahomes was out. They need that “we don’t have any room for mistakes” attitude. The reason they need that attitude is because those other losses have taken away their safety blanket in both the division and the AFC.
Let’s break down exactly where they stand in each, starting with the AFC West.