Kansas City Chiefs: Three must win games in 2019
By Kole Berrey
MUST WIN GAMES IN 2019
Week 17: Kansas City Chiefs vs Los Angeles Chargers, 12 pm Kickoff (CST)
This one just kind of goes without saying, doesn’t it? It was tempting to put the Week 11 Chiefs and Chargers match up on Monday Night Football here, but that is just too early. That game is going to be played (hopefully) in Mexico City, and should receive its fair share of hype. It probably won’t be the Chiefs and Chargers’ most important contest, though.
Last year, the Chiefs played the Chargers on Thursday Night Football with a chance to wrap up the division with a win. Instead, the Chargers came back down 14 in the 4th quarter to win the game on a two point conversion catch by a wide open Mike Williams.
That game stung, doubly so because I was there, triply so because it was my very first time seeing Mahomes play live. Don’t worry though, because I was at the AFC title game, too. The sting from that Thursday night is pretty much all but forgotten at this point.
The Chargers win that night did open the door for them to possibly win the division. It all would come down to Week 17, because a Chargers win and Chiefs loss would give Los Angeles the AFC West crown.
We all know that didn’t happen, but it is easy to see how a similar situation could play out this time around. The drama will be raised even more because the teams will actually be playing each other this time, not other AFC West rivals. Schedule makers like ending the year with divisional games in hopes of creating even more drama. This game has all signs pointing towards that very scenario unfolding.
The hope among fans is that the Chiefs will have the division already wrapped up by this point. This game could also matter in the scope of the AFC as a whole, as well. Last year if the Chiefs and Chargers would have both lost, the Chiefs still would’ve claimed the AFC West throne. The Patriots, however, would’ve take the number one seed.
A loss at that time would have put the Patriots and Chiefs at 11-5, and because New England beat Kansas City in the regular season last year, the Patriots would have gained home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
So even if the division is already wrapped up by Week 17 next year, this game will hold a ton of importance for the postseason.