Kansas City Chiefs: A Team Not Even At Its Peak Yet
By Ben Almquist
In all the excitement of hosting a divisional round game of the AFC playoffs, it’s easy to forget that the Kansas City Chiefs aren’t even operating at full strength.
This Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs will host a divisional round game in the playoffs for the first time since 2003. Of course, that has Chiefs Kingdom in a complex emotional mess of excitement and trepidation. However, one thing that has been lost in all of this is the fact that this Chiefs team might be a shell of what they will be in 2017.
For much of the offseason, there was a lot of talk from fans and local media outlets about the Chiefs “window of opportunity”. To many, it appeared that Kansas City’s chances for getting to, and winning, a Super Bowl were growing less and less likely. However, as we approach this weekend’s contest, I can’t help but realize that things are actually looking up for the Chiefs future.
Now, the natural response from the more skeptical of fans would be “what about Eric Berry and Dontari Poe?!” Well, apart from that persistent sense of negativity that is ever present with Chiefs fans, there is no reason to think either, or both, players won’t be back. The Chiefs don’t currently have the money to do it, but they have avenues to obtain it.
The Chiefs will have overcome significant injuries to be the number two seed in be AFC and go 6-0 in the division. That's impressive
— Cody Tapp (@codybtapp) January 2, 2017
However, I would also explain to that “Negative Nancy”, that it’s about more than those two players. It’s about the fact that the Chiefs are hosting a divisional playoff game despite missing a number of key players.
In fact, in a certain light it is almost like the Chiefs will be holding a draft of NFL veterans to return to the roster in 2017. So while it may be hard to imagine right now, I fully expect this Kansas City team to be even better next year with the return of these players.