Chiefs Home Field Advantage

Laddie Morse

Every body and their mother-in-law have the Kansas City Chiefs returning to the Super Bowl… if… if… if they can play all their playoff games at Arrowhead Stadium. While their is something to be said for having the Home Field Advantage, we only need to look back two years to the AFC Championship game vs the Cincinnati Bengals to realize is no gimme.

.

Home Field Has Diminished

In an article by Michael David Smith — just two months ago — for Pro Football Talk called. “No home-field advantage” he says,

.

“Road teams are 41-37 through five weeks… [and]… That actually shouldn’t be a surprise, as home-field advantage has been on the decline in the NFL for several years. Betting point spreads have reflected that, as the old rule of thumb that the home team got a three-point advantage slowly shifted to two points, and in the last couple years has been closer to 1.5 points.”

.

What fans need to know about Home Field Advantage is that the 3-point advantage that used to exist… has truly been dwindling. In an article written last summer before this season began, Shawn Wronka wrote a piece for cover.com called, “What NFL Bettors Need To Know About Home-Field Advantage Before The 2023 Season” and he says,

.

“For a long time, if you asked any regular NFL bettor what home-field advantage was worth, you more or less got the same answer: three points on the spread. But the collective understanding of what the home field is worth today has evolved rapidly due to a long-standing downward trend, as well as adjustments suggested and made during the nearly fanless season of the COVID pandemic.”

.

While the league has experienced a downturn in the Home Field Advantage, the question remians for Chiefs fans… has Arrowhead lost some of it’s pizzazz? In an article written 6 years ago, in 2017, for chiefs.com called, “The Arrowhead Advantage is Real” it quotes several classic foes including:

.

“Mark Schlereth, who said – I’ll base it on what I know and the toughest stadium in the National Football League to play in when I was playing, and I don’t think it’s changed much, is Arrowhead Stadium.”

.

“Bill Romanowski, who said – Arrowhead, oh my lord, does that place take it to another level. I remember going there for the first time as a Bronco and everyone warning me about what it was like there.”

.

“Terrell Davis, who said – It’s a tough place to play when you talk about the crowd and the noise, but somehow that team gets energized when they play at home. For me, it was the hardest place to play every year. I used to circle that game as a ‘L.'”

.

“Rodney Harrison, who said – It’s not the same as other places. It’s loud. It’s the loudest I’ve ever played in.”

.

Harrison may have hit the nail on the head. What team in the AFC wants to travel to Arrowhead, not just in the playoffs, but for any game, any time? The above article may have been written more than 6 years ago, but the Home Field Advantage lives on in Arrowhead. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise either.

.

.

Of course Josh Allen is going to hype Bills Mafia, but he also admits Arrowhead is a loud place to play and a cool environment to be in and people love football there and it’s football in it’s purest form! Tell it like it is Josh!

.

Andy Reid on playing Home Games at Arrowhead Stadium:

.

.

It’s that time of year, Chiefs Kingdom, so let’s bring the house down! Go Chiefs!

.

Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

.