The Eagles and Patriots may be playing in the Super Bowl, and Alex Smith beat them both in the first two weeks of the season. After bowing out in the playoffs, as usual, the Chiefs provided a big headline Wednesday night, trading Smith to the Washington Redskins for a 2018 3rd round pick and cornerback Kendall Fuller. Smith has also agreed in principle to a 4-year, $94 million deal with $71 million guaranteed. The trade is expected to be finalized, but can't become official until the new league year begins on March 14. I do doubt that the Skins feeling about Smith will change between now and then, however. Both teams are saving money. The Redskins, who would have paid Kirk Cousins $34M next year if they elected to franchise him, are paying Smith half of that (although there is a rumor that they will franchise tag him and then trade him). Smith leaves behind a resurgent franchise that was downtrodden and quarterback-deficient when Andy Reid and John Dorsey gained his services in 2013. [Read more...]

Depending on what Chiefs team you watched this season, another playoff appearance would either be completely expected, or taken as the result of luck or horrific conference. The Chiefs started the season with five straight wins and ended the season with four in a row. They beat both No. 1 seed's - New England and Philly. They also went 1-6 in between, including losses at the Jets and Giants. Tomorrow’s bout against the Tennessee Titans is another chance for Kansas City to rise above their past misfortune in January, a month that has rarely been kind to the city, it’s fans, and the team. In 46 years of playing at Arrowhead, they’ve won a measly four playoff games. They’re 1-8 in their last nine playoff games. That one win came in 2015, against Brian Hoyer and very overmatched Houston Texans. This weekend is against another overmatched AFC South opponent, but as a fan of the team I’ve learned not to set my expectations too high. Even with my wariness in hoping this Chiefs team isn’t [Read more...]

The Chiefs (9-6) will travel to Denver to face off against their division rival, the 5-10 Broncos, in what is essentially a glorified preseason game. As far as KC is concerned, there’s no incentive to play key starters as they are locked into their seeding. Alex Smith and Tyreek Hill have already been ruled out, and Kareem Hunt, Travis Kelce, and many more are likely to follow suit. The biggest storyline heading into this game is the quarterback starting for the Chiefs: Rookie Patrick Mahomes. Drafted 10th overall after trading up 17 spots, Mahomes was the answer to a snake-bitten franchise that has never been able to successfully identify and groom their own quarterback. The last quarterback drafted by the franchise to start a game was Brodie Croyle. The last rookie was Steve Fuller in 1979. The last quarterback drafted by the franchise to win a game was Todd Blackledge. Only FOUR quarterbacks the Chiefs have drafted have won  game in a Chiefs uniform. WOW. The best quarterbacks the [Read more...]

After sending a resounding message to the rest of the AFC in the last two weeks, the Kansas City Chiefs (8-6) take on the Miami Dolphins (6-8) with a second straight division title in sight. Currently the AFC’s No. 4 seed, the Chiefs have no chance to improve their seeding. The Jaguars (10-4) face the 49ers and Titans in the next two weeks, so while it’s possible KC wins out and the Jaguars lose out, Jacksonville would win the tie-breaker with a better AFC record. So, for the Chiefs and their Magic Number of 1 - a Chiefs win OR Chargers loss clinches the division - they can get if out of the way tomorrow and give many fans what they want and play Patrick Mahomes next week at Denver. Despite the season sweep, Los Angeles plays the Jets tomorrow, led by Bryce Petty, and the Raiders to end the season, so the Chiefs have a small margin for error. However, if the Chiefs were to lose tomorrow, it would re-open the AFC West to Chargers, and possibly even the Raiders. Even at 6-8, they have [Read more...]

Tonight, the Kansas City Chiefs will go against the Los Angeles Chargers in a primetime fight, for the division. The Chargers are red hot, winners of their last four, while the Chiefs have won just twice since starting the season 5-0. These two faced off in Week 3, and Kansas City won 24-10, and while the teams are quite different today than that week, the Chiefs can draw much from their victory if they’re to repeat it tonight. With a win, the Chiefs - who would hold the tie-breaker over the Chargers, thanks to a season sweep, with two games left. The only way they could lose the lead would be losing their final two games, while the Chargers would need to win their final two games. Here's how they'll have to do it: 1. Run Kareem Hunt The standout rookie FINALLY hit the 100-yard mark (and the endzone) last weekend against Oakland, and in Week 3 he rushed for 172 yards and a score. The Chargers have played some seriously good defense since then, allowing more than 20 points just [Read more...]

With another loss (!!!!) last weekend, the Chiefs dropped their sixth in the last seven games and fell into a 3-way tie at 6-6 in the AFC West, continuing their torrid pace to finish as 2017’s most disappointing team. Fortunately (or disgracefully, as I believe) the AFC West is terrible this season, and despite all their failures they still have a chance at the division. YES. The Chargers, who were left for dead at 0-4, and have found a winning formula, the Raiders (also 6-6), and the Chiefs are all stumbling over one another in a chase that seems like everyone is trying to lose. The Chiefs have both at home in the next two weeks, and can take a major step toward reclaiming the division as theirs and setting themselves up for a home playoff game. It starts today as the hated Raiders visit Arrowhead Stadium in a rematch of the entertaining 31-30 Thursday Night game in Week 7. For the Chiefs to exact revenge on Oakland, especially without Marcus Peters (suspended for an argument [Read more...]

When the Chiefs (6-5) take on the New York Jets (4-7) today at MetLife, they’ll be hoping to something they’ve only done only once in the last six games: win. Despite a plethora of talent on both sides of the ball, the Chiefs best players have gone strangely quiet. QB Alex Smith isn’t the MVP candidate we thought he was earlier, and thanks to a poor offensive line, Kareem Hunt isn’t breaking big runs (or any runs) like he was in September. Fortunately, the Chiefs still control their own destiny. They still lead the division, and while the Jets have been far tougher draws than expected, there’s a reason why they have seven losses. To push that number to eight, here’s what the Chiefs must do: 1. Run the ball All week long we’ve heard from various Chiefs about their inabilities to gain yardage against Cover-2 defenses. It’s one of the simplest coverage concepts in football, yet their offense is stumped by it each week. To force defenses into dropping a safety into the box, the [Read more...]