Last year, the Kansas City Chiefs barely missed out on winning the AFC West. They came on strong just as the Denver Broncos began to stumble. Had the Broncos lost one more game, the Chiefs would have become division champions. The Broncos may have won the Super Bowl, but the off-season was not easy on them. After barely missing out in 2015, 2016 might be the year, as we find the Kansas City Chiefs poised to take the AFC West.
The Kansas City Chiefs Are Poised to Take the AFC West
In 2012, the Kansas City Chiefs went 2-14 in a season that was one of the those seasons that seems to just go from bad to worse with only a few bright spots. It was a season that included Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher murdering his girlfriend and then shooting himself in the head, right in front of then general manager Scott Pioli and head coach Romeo Crennel. Kansas City fans were accused of cheering when then starting quarterback, Matt Cassel, went down with an injury. Everything anyone needs to know about how that season went can be summed up in one sentence. There was a quarterback controversy between Cassel and Brady Quinn.
It was a dark season for the Chiefs, but one bright spot was that they had six players selected to the Pro Bowl. Eric Berry, Jamaal Charles, Justin Houston, Dustin Colquitt, Tamba Hali, and Derrick Johnson were named to the NFL’s All-Star game. The Pro Bowl has become a pretty meaningless game, but only four teams had more players selected to the Pro Bowl, and all four of those teams went to the playoffs. By getting six players voted in, the Chiefs showed that they had a solid future in store if they could just build around these talented players. The Chiefs also drafted future Pro Bowler, Dontari Poe, in the 2012 draft.
After a 2-14 season that went as bad as a season could go, it was time for Kansas City to do some front office cleaning. Kansas City fired Pioli and Crennel, and hired John Dorsey to become the general manager. They also hired Andy Reid to be the head coach and the Executive Vice President of Football Operations. The Chiefs traded two second draft picks in 2013 and 2014 for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith. It’s becoming a time honored tradition in Kansas City to trade with the 49ers for a quarterback, and Reid liked what he had seen in Alex Smith in San Francisco. In the previous couple of seasons, Smith had led San Francisco to the NFC Championship game in 2011, and then he had them off to a great start in 2012 before getting a concussion, and ultimately losing the job to Colin Kaepernick.
The 2013 season showed what the Kansas City Chiefs could be capable of, starting off 9-0 before finishing the season with an 11-5 record. Kansas City became the first team to earn the number one draft pick and be the last undefeated team in consecutive years in NFL history. They would later blow a 38-10 second half lead in a Wild Card game against the Colts. This was a tough loss to shake off for Chiefs fans, but they had plenty to be optimistic about moving forward.
2014 was a little bit of a rougher season for the Chiefs. They finished the season second in the AFC West, but narrowly missing the playoffs. It was a rough season for fans, being forced to see their team just narrowly miss the playoffs. Despite that, they could see the true promise of their team, even without recording a single touchdown catch from any of the receivers. Kansas City saw the making of a rising star though, with tight end Travis Kelce recording 67 receptions for 862 yards and five touchdowns. It was a sign that they might have finally found the tight end they have been missing ever since Tony Gonzalez left for the Atlanta Falcons. Kelce showed plenty of speed and elusiveness with his 6’5″ size that garners comparison to Rob Gronkowski.
Fans were excited about 2015, and then the Chiefs started out 1-6. Just when things couldn’t get any worse, the fan base as a whole held their breath as Charles went down grabbing his knee against the Chicago Bears. What once appeared as a bright season with so much promise seemed to be over at the beginning. The next thing people knew, the Chiefs were on a roll. After losing five in a row, they rattled off 10 straight wins and were set to play the Houston Texans in the Wild Card game. After losing a running back like Jamaal Charles, people feared that the Chiefs were doomed, but they found a two-headed running attack with Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware.
The Chiefs would win their first playoff game since 1993 when they beat the Houston Oilers in Houston. It would be fitting that to break their playoff losing streak they would have to beat a team in Houston. After winning in Houston, the Chiefs had to travel to New England to face the defending Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots. They would lose to the Patriots by seven and watch their division rival Denver Broncos go on to win the Super Bowl, with fans wondering what could have been. However, the 2016 season shows a lot of promise.
The Chiefs look poised to take the AFC West crown in 2016 and potentially compete for a Super Bowl. Last year’s winners, the Broncos, lost both quarterbacks as Peyton Manning retired and Brock Osweiler signed with the Texans. Denver still has most of their defense intact though, so they will still be tough in 2016. The Oakland Raiders also appear to be building quite a team, even signing ex-Chiefs cornerback Sean Smith during the off-season. It will be a tight race in the AFC West, but Alex Smith and company should have the advantage, especially with Smith’s ability to not turn the ball over.
2016 appears to be a good year for Kansas City. The Chiefs go into the season with three solid running backs lead by Charles. They are building up the receivers unit with signings like Mike Williams and Rod Streater, as well as the draft picks from the past couple of seasons. The defense returns most of their starters as well from the past few seasons. After a long wait, the Kansas City Chiefs are finally poised to take the AFC West.
