It’s only a week a way. The divisional round of the playoffs is coming. The Kansas City Chiefs are going up against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who handed the Chiefs worst loss of the season in week four. The final score of that tough to think about game was an embarrassing 43-14. The Chiefs were completely dominated, but there’s reason to believe Kansas City can turn the tables when this matchup sees part two.
Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Path
Steelers Part II
The Chiefs are going to be awaiting the Steelers at Arrowhead for the divisional round of the playoffs. Pittsburgh put up 43 against the Chiefs at Heinz Field last time they met and sent the Chiefs away in embarrassment. This time, the Chiefs are going to be in front of their home crowd, while seeking redemption and playing with a chip on their shoulder.
There are reasons why this game looks brighter for the Chiefs. First off, Arrowhead Stadium is perhaps the scariest place for opposition to play in the entire NFL. The sea of red is capable of drowning out those that are unwelcome and that will be needed when the Steelers come to town. An interesting stat that should perhaps be taken into account is Andy Reid‘s record after a bye. Reid is 19-2 over his career coming off of a bye. In the playoffs Reid is 3-0 after a bye week. Andy Reid’s teams play some of their scariest football coming off of a bye week and this Chiefs squad is no exception.
The stats in the first game between these teams were actually fairly close, besides one. The Chiefs gave the ball away twice while the Steelers never turned the ball over. Turnovers killed the Chiefs more than anything else in that game. Now, after a full season, the Chiefs have the most takeaways and best turnover differential in the league at +16 and the Steelers may be facing a far scarier defense in that regard. The signature style of the Kansas City Chiefs and key to their success is their extremely opportunistic defense that forces turnovers. If the Chiefs keep the ball safe themselves and make Pittsburgh give it away, this will become a winnable game. Kansas City will just need to take advantage of opportunities set up by takeaways.
AFC Championship
Assuming the Chiefs win at home against the Steelers, their next stop would be the AFC Championship. This game would send the winner on to the Super Bowl for a chance to fulfill a dream that 32 teams have every year but just one gets to achieve. The opponent they face in this game would be either the New England Patriots or the Houston Texans. Below both matchups are examined.
Patriots
The Patriots are the favorites to make the AFC championship game over the Texans. New England is a team that has been dominant for a long, long time. They’re led by possibly the greatest quarterback of all time in Tom Brady who, at 39 years old, is playing one of his best seasons yet. Even with no Rob Gronkowski and no household name to speak of in his receiving corps, if Brady can get the ball out of his hands he’ll be deadly. The former Michigan Wolverine put it on the mark almost every single time. Only the Broncos defense has managed to slow him down significantly this year.
For the Chiefs to beat the Patriots, it would take exactly what they’re best at. Opportunistic defense that forces turnovers and a wild spark on special teams or offense to boost them. If the Chiefs pass rush can make Brady uncomfortable and force him to make mistakes they can get those turnovers that they thrive on and turn those into points.
The Chiefs won’t shut down the Patriots completely, so they will need to do some scoring of their own. The most likely source of this will be a healthy dose of Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill. Kelce is currently the best tight end in the league and will pose a major threat to the Patriots. If New England doesn’t find an answer to contain Kelce, he will quickly rack up over 100 yards. He also makes a reliable, dangerous red zone target.
If the defense does key in on Kelce, that’s where Tyreek Hill comes in. Any time the ball is in his hands, Hill is a homerun threat. His blazing speed and elusiveness can get him past every defender New England puts on the field. And don’t forget what the Chiefs do best on offense either, which is chew up time with a steady run game. All of these things would be necessary components to a victory over New England.
Texans
If the Texans beat the Patriots and advance to the AFC championship, it will be because of their top ranked defense. Jadeveon Clowney has become a quarterback nightmare and if he and his crew can harass Brady enough, they have some shot of winning. The Texans problem is their offense. Houston has a solid running back in Lamar Miller and a pair of talented receivers in DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller, but their problem lies at quarterback. Huge free agent signing gone bust Brock Osweiler has more often than not been incapable of accurately throwing the football.
Should the Texans and Chiefs square off for an AFC championship game, it’d be a gritty, tough game. But Houston’s inept and mistake prone offense is exactly what the Chiefs defense thrives on. They would have a field day intercepting Brock Osweiler’s passes. To win this game Kansas City would need to be able to score on Houston’s vaunted defense. Scoring with their own defense wouldn’t hurt either, though.
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