The KC Chiefs can surpass the Patriots in the AFC

With their big win Thursday night, the Kansas City Chiefs moved into first place in the AFC after moving to 10-4 on the season and extending their win streak to 7 games.

At least for the moment, The Chiefs have reclaimed the top seed. Whether they keep sole possession or not will depend on what happens this Saturday as the 9-4 New England Patriots take on the Indianapolis Colts.

All eyes will be on that game to see if the Colts and their rushing attack of Jonathan Taylor can top the Patriots and their stout defense. If they do, The Chiefs will claim sole possession of the No. 1 seed and they will control their own destiny with the ability to win out.

The KC Chiefs can surpass the Patriots in the AFC

Chiefs fans should feel pretty good about their chances given this is a tough stretch for the Patriots in their schedule. To finish out, the Patriots will face the Colts who are a dangerous team, the Buffalo Bills who we know can be really good if they can find themselves again, and The Miami Dolphins who have been playing their best football all year as of late. (They play the Jacksonville Jaguars, too but I feel like that is barely worth a mention)

I do think the Patriots lose at least one of those three and that’s all the Chiefs need to happen, assuming they can take care of business.

Mac Jones and the Patriots have become this year’s media darling it appears and there has been a lot of praise for the coaching job Bill Belichick has done this year with a rookie quarterback. However, I’m indifferent when it comes to the Patriots. They do deserve their credit when talking about what they’ve done considering they don’t overwhelm anyone on offense. They are good at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, they play sound defense, and they have a young quarterback that doesn’t make a ton of mistakes.

On the flip side, I think people need to slow down on the Patriots and predict them to do any real damage this postseason. Firstly, the Patriots rank 26th in their remaining strength of schedule. I don’t find many of their recent wins outside of the Bills game that impressive. Browns? Falcons? Titans with no Derrick Henry, A.J. Brown, or Julio Jones? Try again.

To me, this Patriots team gives off strong 2016 Kansas City Chiefs vibes. You know, that team that lost in the divisional round to the Pittsburgh Steelers? That team had a very good defense that only held the Steelers to field goals all night but it didn’t matter because that offense wasn’t ever going to win you games in January. The Chiefs could run the ball then, too. Spencer Ware and Knile Davis, a scrappy group of receivers, and a game manager quarterback. Again, what team does that sound like?

The Patriots have done an admirable job this year all things considered but I don’t think that’s a team the Chiefs should be scared of in particular. With the way the defense has been playing and knowing the offense can put up points, the Patriots don’t strike me as a team with enough firepower to really challenge for the AFC yet.

The Patriots’ ability to run the ball is a threat and some fans may be a little nervous after the way the Chiefs defended the run against the Chargers, but that was without Chris Jones, Willie Gay, and their best run-stopping defensive back in L’Jarius Sneed.

Regardless of how the No. 1 seed in the AFC is awarded at the end of the year, the Chiefs are more than capable of surpassing the Patriots in the AFC.