{"id":7378,"date":"2016-12-05T12:35:41","date_gmt":"2016-12-05T17:35:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=7378"},"modified":"2016-12-05T12:42:05","modified_gmt":"2016-12-05T17:42:05","slug":"kansas-city-chiefs-eye-superbowl-shot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2016\/12\/05\/kansas-city-chiefs-eye-superbowl-shot\/","title":{"rendered":"Kansas City Chiefs Eye Superbowl Shot"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Kansas<\/strong> Chiefs<\/strong> (8-3)\u00a0sit in second place in the loaded AFC West <\/strong>behind the 9-2 Oakland Raiders<\/strong>.\u00a0The Denver Broncos<\/strong>, at 7-4, are in third place in the division\u00a0. The AFC West is wide open and the division could realistically go to any of these three contenders. But, in the bigger picture, where do the Chiefs realistically fall in the race for a chance at a Lombardi Trophy?<\/p>\n

Kansas City Chiefs Eye Super Bowl Shot<\/h2>\n

The wide open AFC West may be completely shaken up by season’s end.\u00a0Every team in\u00a0the division,\u00a0besides the Broncos, has a favorable schedule remaining. Here’s how the division may fall with the remaining match-ups:<\/p>\n

Kansas City Chiefs: 13-3<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oakland Raiders: 11-5<\/strong><\/p>\n

San Diego Chargers: 8-8<\/strong><\/p>\n

Denver Broncos: 8-8<\/strong><\/p>\n

How Will it Happen?<\/h3>\n

Broncos<\/h4>\n

The Broncos beat the lowly\u00a0Jacksonville Jaguars\u00a0<\/strong>in Week 13, and that will likely be their final win on the season. Their remaining games on the schedule are against the Tennessee Titans<\/strong>, New England Patriots<\/strong>, Chiefs, and Raiders. All four of those teams pose major challenges that Denver will likely not overcome.<\/p>\n

Chargers<\/h4>\n

The Chargers are a very talented team who have beaten themselves time and time again.\u00a0San Diego\u00a0just lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers\u00a0<\/strong>but they should be able to beat the Carolina<\/strong> Panthers<\/strong>, Raiders, and Cleveland Browns.\u00a0<\/strong>The only game remaining on their schedule this season that\u00a0could be a realistic potential loss is their game against the red hot Chiefs. There is a high likelihood that San Diego ties Denver for third in the division at .500. Despite Denver having a high powered defense, the Chargers are much more well rounded and have a talented offense spearheaded by Melvin Gordon\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>along with a decent defense.<\/p>\n

Raiders<\/h4>\n

The Raiders are red hot right now. They have an explosive offense, a talented defense, and keep winning football games. However, with the schedule ahead that’s about to change. The Raiders will most likely win only one more game this season. That final win will come against the weak defense of the Indianapolis Colts.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The other three\u00a0remaining games for Oakland this\u00a0season are against the Chiefs, Chargers, and Broncos, all division games. The way all these teams have been playing, the Raiders are going to lose every single one of the remaining divisional match ups. They won’t be able to overcome the stout defense of the Broncos, the opportunistic play making of the Chiefs, or the talented and well-rounded Charger squad.<\/p>\n

Keys to Chiefs\u00a0Winning Out<\/h4>\n

The Chiefs are playing some incredible football. The defense is filled with opportunistic play makers\u00a0who are coming\u00a0up big in all the right moments. The defense is\u00a0making all the big stops and keeping their team in games. Th offense has also opened up a new dimension with the blossoming super star rookie Tyreek Hill<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong>The incredibly talented speedster is burning defenses in almost every way imaginable. Against the Broncos he had a receiving, rushing, and return touchdown, something that hasn’t been done since Gale Sayers\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>did it as a member of\u00a0the Chicago Bears<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The remaining match ups for the Chiefs are against the Raiders, Titans, Broncos, and Chargers. All of those games are winnable.\u00a0Andy Reid<\/strong>‘s team\u00a0already beat the three division opponents once this year and they are now\u00a0playing even stronger football than they were earlier in the season. If the Chiefs\u00a0can play the way they have been recently, they have a good chance of being 6-0 in division games. Tennessee is a good young football team, but they’re fairly one dimensional. They rely on a strong rushing attack and mobile quarterback Marcus Mariota<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong>The extremely talented pass rush of the Chiefs is going to neutralize Mariota and\u00a0Tennessee’s ground game should be slowed down as well.<\/p>\n

The Playoff Picture and Chiefs Road To the Super Bowl<\/h3>\n

Projected AFC Teams<\/h4>\n

The teams from the AFC that will most likely\u00a0make the playoffs\u00a0are the Patriots, Baltimore <\/strong>Ravens<\/strong>, Titans, Chiefs, Pittsburgh <\/strong>Steelers<\/strong> and Raiders. The Patriots and Chiefs will both get a first-round bye and fourth seed Tennessee will take out fifth seed Oakland while third seed Baltimore falls to the sixth seed Steelers. In the divisional round the Patriots will then take down the Steelers in a tight game while the Chiefs defeat the Titans. This will lead to a rematch of last year’s AFC Divisional Round matchup in the AFC Championship game. But\u00a0this year will see a different outcome. The Chiefs will edge out the Patriots by three points to earn their trip to the biggest stage in football.<\/p>\n

The talented Seattle Seahawks <\/strong>will represent the NFC in Houston, setting up a matchup with the Chiefs in Super Bowl LI.<\/p>\n

The Big Game<\/h4>\n

Both the\u00a0Chiefs and Seahawks would be\u00a0very deserving of a championship. This would be a game that could go either way but the clutch playmaking abilities of the Chiefs defense just might come through in the biggest way possible. If the Chiefs could keep dynamic Russell Wilson<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>under control and find ways to score, this is a highly winnable game.\u00a0This just might be the year of the Chiefs.<\/p>\n

Main Photo<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n