Kansas City Chiefs: Important Stretch Of Games On Deck
By Ben Almquist
The Kansas City Chiefs are 1-0 with a win over division foe, San Diego. However, the Chiefs next four games all come against teams with playoff expectations.
The Kansas City Chiefs pulled off the biggest comeback in team history to knock off the San Diego Chargers. That gets KC off to the right start at 1-0. However, the upcoming stretch of four games is about as difficult as one could imagine. All four of the Chiefs next opponents are expected to contend for the playoffs in the AFC.
The Houston Texans, New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Oakland Raiders should all be tough tests. KC has Super Bowl aspirations. However, these are the teams that the Chiefs would likely have to face in the playoffs to get there. That adds even more incentive for Kansas City, but also for each of these opponents.
The Chiefs have beaten each of these opponents within the last two years. While that is not a guarantee of anything, it is an indicator that the Chiefs should be able to contend. In fact, since the start of the Andy Reid/John Dorsey era in KC, the Chiefs are 10-2 against this group of teams. If the Chiefs want that to continue, they need to play better than this past weekend though.
KC Chiefs: 10-2 since 2013 against HOU, NYJ, PIT, and OAK.
The Chiefs struggled early with the San Diego Chargers in a one-sided affair for most of the game. It wasn’t until late in the third quarter that the Chiefs sprung back to life and looked to be the playoff team we expected. If that level of play can continue, the Chiefs should be able to pull off multiple wins in this stretch. If they revert to the first half of the San Diego game, they may not get a single win out of these next four.
While last week’s win is a step in the right direction, it did get some Chiefs fans worried. Notably, KC Kingdom’s own Leigh Oleszczak pointed out that the 2016 season could backfire on the team. The Chiefs do have a tough schedule that includes a number of playoff teams from 2015. The Chiefs will certainly have to earn their way to the playoffs, and that starts right now.
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