Kansas City Chiefs Rapid Reaction: AFC West belongs to KC

The Kansas City Chiefs have punched their ticket to the 2017 playoffs as AFC West champs. This is the first time the Chiefs have won the division in back to back years.

I will tell you right now that the Kansas City Chiefs will be a very dangerous team to face in the NFL playoffs. The Chiefs locked up the AFC West today with a convincing victory over the Miami Dolphins. Kansas City won 29 – 13, and definitely left quite a few points on the board. Put the rest of the AFC on notice.

After a dismal eight week stretch, the Chiefs have turned into one of the hottest teams in the league down the final stretch. Their last three games have all been solid victories over teams that were still in the playoff hunt. That should help Andy Reid’s guys build some confidence and momentum in the postseason.

There is still one more game left in the regular season, but Kansas City has nothing to gain or lose there. It is widely believed that the Chiefs will rest their starters some against the Broncos, and give their depth some opportunities to get reps. That may include the highly-anticipated debut of Patrick Mahomes.

A Noteworthy Offense

The Kansas City Chiefs became just the fifth team in NFL history to have a running back hit 1000 yards rushing, and two receivers at 1000 yards through the air. They are only the SECOND team in NFL history to hit those marks and have a 4000 yard passer. So much for Alex Smith holding this team back.

Speaking of Alex Smith, he’s already set career marks for passing yards and touchdowns. However, going over the 4000 yard mark is another solid milestone for him. It is widely believed that Smith will be traded in the offseason. 4000 yards passing definitely adds to that potential trade value.

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What is really big for the Chiefs offense though is that they have a young core of playmakers on offense that should be around for a while. Tyreek Hill, Kareem Hunt, and Travis Kelce will all likely be in KC for the foreseeable future.

Andy Reid Setting KC History

Prior to today, the Kansas City Chiefs had never won their division in back to back years. Not Hank Stram. Not Marty Schottenheimer. Not Dick Vermeil. Andy Reid is the first coach to lead the Chiefs to back to back division titles. Yet another mark that Reid has achieved during his time in Kansas City.

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Next up for Andy Reid will be going for the first home playoff win for Kansas City since January 8, 1994. This is one of the few remaining monkeys on the back of the Chiefs organization (the Super Bowl being the biggest). Reid has already made it a bit of a trademark of knocking those monkeys off the back of the franchise.

Of course, the expectation at the start of the 2017 season was a Super Bowl. That hasn’t changed (nor should it have), especially with how well this team is playing right now. The Chiefs should have the confidence to make that happen. They absolutely have the talent.

It’s time to get excited Chiefs Kingdom.

The Kansas City Chiefs have rebounded nicely in their final run towards the playoffs. The Chiefs are playing some of the best football in the entire NFL right now, and there is still room to get better. If they can tighten up some of the little things over the next week, they will be one of the tougher teams to beat in the playoffs.