Story by Trenton Brink
The Kansas City Chiefs picked up from where they left off last January when they lost their first playoff debut since 1994 to the New England Patriots this month with the return of NFL season on Sept. 11.
Whether you like it or not, football season is back and so is the sea of red, white, and yellow from all the Chiefs fans taking over the Kansas City area. With the team coming off of a positive preseason with an even 1-1 record aided by the hunger of a super bowl title with last year’s playoff run, popularity is higher than ever.
The hunger for a championship title may seem familiar. In fact a similar situation occurred with the Chiefs neighbor, the Kansas City Royals lost in the postseason a year before but came back the following year to win it all.
So far, the Chiefs are following that track well. For week 1, the Chiefs earned a crucial victory over the now 1-1 San Diego Chargers in overtime 33-27 in their home opener. The game had a slow start with a dominant performance by Charger’s running back Melvin Gordon wiping the floor with the Chief’s defense.
The offense had it’s shortcomings in the first half only putting up only putting up 3 points from a field goal. However, just before halftime, the exact opportunity the Chiefs needed happened. An ACL injury to Charger’s wide receiver Keenan Allen took the steam out of San Diego’s spirit.
This gave time for the Chiefs to take that steam and develop it into their own beast in the locker room during halftime. They came out and had a successful 3rd quarter with the defense holding San Diego to nothing. The offense utilized new recruit wide receiver Tyreek Hill to score, leaving the score 21-10 at the end of the quarter.
Quarterback Alex Smith used fantasy darlings Spencer Ware and Jeremy Maclin in the 4th quarter and a field goal to tie it. With the score being 27-27, the Chiefs ended the overtime early with a QB sneak by Smith to score and win 33-27.
This game has set the tone for the rest of the Chiefs season. After all their first game of the season ended up being the greatest comeback in franchise history for the Chiefs. They’ve shown their strength as a team and how they will carry it with them to Super Bowl LI.
Although the Chiefs were less fortunate during week 2 in a close loss of 12-19 to the Houston Texans, most professional NFL analysts think that the Chiefs are due for a winning playoff run.
According to the NFL, 12 out of 20 NFL analysts predict that the Kansas City Chiefs will win their division of the AFC West. Many cite reasons such as having versatile talent on both sides of the ball being under the direction of “special” head coach Andy Reid. Other reasons include the Chiefs massive depth in the back field with “3-headed-monster” of Spencer Ware, Jamaal Charles, Charcandrick West.
Taking their division isn’t an easy feat either. It includes of current Super Bowl champions, the Denver Broncos, and the both even Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers. Especially with the retirement of Denver’s all star, Peyton Manning, it leaves a door open for our Kansas City Chiefs.
One bold prediction for the Chiefs season comes from NFL media analyst Elliot Harrison. His bold guess is that 7 year veteran Jamaal Charles will rush for 1,000 yards and a 5 yard carry average. “Why is this bold, given that Charles has never averaged less than 5 yards per carry in eight seasons? … Charles knows he’s running out of time on the football field, and has set major goals. I wouldn’t bet against him” said Harrison.
The Chiefs are predicted to win week 3 by 8 out of 10 expert analysts against the New York Jets (1-1) here in Kansas City. Many are unsure about Alex Smith due to his inconsistent performances, but he was able to lead his team to a week 3 victory against the Jets 24-3 on September 24th.
