Kansas City Chiefs: Potential trap games for 2018 season
By John McCarty
The Kansas City Chiefs lose at least one game every year that they shouldn’t. In 2018, what game could that be? Maybe we can guess.
As was said, every year the Kansas City Chiefs suffer losses that you wouldn’t expect. Last year, the Chiefs were unable to defeat the Giants and the Jets in a run of just awful football. The year prior, the Chiefs inexplicably lost the Buccaneers at home. The 2014 season saw the Chiefs lose to Jake Locker and the Titans at home. There will be a loss this season that will at the minimum surprise and may approach on stunning. Can we forecast what that loss will be? We can take a look at five.
Week 1, at Los Angeles Chargers
The Chiefs defense, especially their defensive backfield, is in complete disarray and there are questions about if safety Eric Berry will be back from an apparent lingering heel injury. The offensive line has struggled (the Chiefs averaged below three yards per carry) especially at left guard.
Combine with the investment in the defense by the Chargers along with Melvin Gordon, Phillip Rivers and Chief killer Keenan Allen, and the potential for the Chiefs to lose, especially in a blowout, is there if the defense is unable to get a stop. Perhaps the best hope for a victory lies in the turnover-happy arm of Phillip Rivers.
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Week 3, vs. San Fransisco
After the first two games of the season on the road against the Chargers and the Steelers, the Chiefs will return home to face the 49ers. Second-year head coach Kyle Shannahan has his starter in Jimmy Garappolo and hopes to be explosive on offense. The 49ers investments in the recent drafts, as well as the return of Ruben Foster, have the potential for the 49ers to be a sneaky team in the NFC.
After coming off what is likely to be a physical, punishing game on the road against the Steelers, could the Chiefs come into week three worn out and not ready against a 49ers team that could be poised to compete for the playoffs in the NFC West? Complacency (home game after road games, especially coming off a physical opponent) and potential of a strong QB could be a recipe for disappointment.
Week 5 vs. Jacksonville
If we have learned anything in recent years, it’s that if the Chiefs are going to lose a game, it doesn’t matter who the QB is. Jacksonville appears set to have a solid running game and an especially tough defense, including perhaps one of the better defensive front seven’s in the game. The Chiefs will have been coming off a road game against the Broncos and a week away from traveling to New England to face the Brady led Patriots. If ever there was a trap game based on the bracketing games, this could very well be the game.
Week 9 at Cleveland
Cleveland has to win a game this season, don’t they? Maybe a couple of games? Right? Who knows, but if the Browns do win a couple of games this season, it likely is a result of a team coming in overconfident and believing the game is over when the opening whistle blows. Is Baker Mayfield starting by this point? Can the Chiefs guard any of the young pass-catching options the Browns now have? If the Browns defense stymies the Chiefs offense, if the Chiefs defense doesn’t show up, the opportunity is there for an embarrassing loss.
Week 13 at Oakland
This is the last time the Chiefs will visit Oakland. Perhaps more then any other season, no one has any idea what the Raiders are going to look like late in the season. Will Khalil Mack be back with the Raiders at this point or has he been shipped off? Are the Raiders veterans able to stay on the field or do the young players that made plays in the preseason continue to make plays during the regular season?
Is David Carr ready to take the next step or is he going to prove to be an overrated player that will crush the salary cap? There are so many questions and unknowns about the Raiders it’s impossible to know what’s coming. With that type of uncertainty, especially combined with the depth and talent concerns with the Chiefs, and this could be an opportunity for the Raiders to pull the upset.
Will the Chiefs lose these games? Don’t know. Perhaps they will win all five handily and we look back at this article and have a good laugh. But these games, at least in my opinion, share possibilities for the disappointing Sunday afternoon and a long week to the next game.