KC Chiefs have an easier late-season schedule than we thought
Dallas Cowboys (Week 11) & Denver Broncos (Week 13 & 18)
The Chiefs will face the Dallas Cowboys this weekend in what stands out as the toughest test they will have to face for the rest of the regular season.
Dallas is clearly a very good football team – the Cowboys are 7-2 and sit atop the NFC East. Their offense is second in the league in points and total yards, and they have the fourth-best points differential. On the other side of the ball, their defense is ranked in the top 10 in points allowed, yards, takeaways and scoring percentage.
Dallas will head to Arrowhead coming off a dominant 43-3 win over the Atlanta Falcons, but while they a daunting opponent, their 30-16 thumping at the hands of the Denver Broncos in Week 9 shows they are clearly not invincible.
The Cowboys got flat out smoked in that game, with the score line suggesting it was a closer contest than it really was. Dallas was down 30-0 halfway through the fourth quarter and had just 145 yards on offense, before two late touchdowns helped salvage some respectability.
Dallas are certainly one of the top teams in the league, but their loss to Denver shows that they are by no means unbeatable.
For the Broncos, that win was clearly their best performance of the season. They had over 400 yards of total offense and over 40 minutes of possession. But as good as they looked against Dallas in Week 9, they looked just as lacklustre a week later against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Coming off such a huge win on the road, the Broncos had a chance to climb to the top of the AFC West, but instead they lost at home to a 3-5 Eagles team.
It was the latest result in what has been a hot-and-cold season for the Broncos. After starting off 3-0 they then lost four-straight games and now after Week 10 they find themselves at the bottom of the division. They currently sit at 5-5, but their four other wins have all come against mediocre teams – the Giants, Jaguars, Jets and Washington.
The Chiefs still have to face the Broncos twice this season – first in Week 13 following their bye and then to close out the season in Week 18. Denver may have beaten the Cowboys and they still have a decent record, but these two games are likely to be the two easiest games the Chiefs have remaining.