Chiefs: Unrealistic Expectations

 

Chiefs: Unrealistic Expectations – I think as fans, we want our team to be perfect. I am, of course, talking about the Kansas City Chiefs, but this would apply to any team, of any sport, that we are fans of.

 

Expectations: We Want…

• • We want… our offense to score a touchdown on every possession. We want our defense to never allow a 1st down and preferably to force a turnover on every possession of our opponent.
  • We want… our punter to do nothing but be a holder for PATs, but on the off chance he has to punt, we want the ball to go at least 50 yards every time and have it downed inside the 5 yard line.
  • We want… our place kicker to kick the ball out of the end zone on every kickoff, and to never miss a field goal, no matter the distance or the conditions of the weather or the field.
  • We want… our team to win every single game, and to do so in a convincing fashion. 70-0 blowouts on a weekly basis shouldn’t be too much to ask for, should it?

 

The harsh truth, and the reality is, what is often said is true, there is very little difference between the best teams and the ones that struggle. That’s why every week, we see teams that win games that probably shouldn’t. How many times have we seen New England go to Miami and lose. Just this past weekend, should Miami have beaten the Eagles? Or should the winless Bengals have destroyed the Jets?

 

“Any Given Sunday” is a real thing. A couple of bad plays, or the football bouncing the wrong way can completely change the outcome of a game.

 

NFL players make an obscene amount of money to make plays, but what we have to remember is that the players on the opposing team make a comparable amount of money to make plays also… or to prevent the good guys from making plays. There’s going to be a give and take, most of the time.

 

So our (at least my) expectations should be tempered a little… but I still want “our” Chiefs to win.

 

4th Quarter of the Season and Playoff Picture

For the Chiefs, it’s really pretty simple, they need to win the last 4 regular season games. Home field advantage is not out of the question, mathematically speaking, but it would require some crazy scenarios, basically, the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens would each have to lose two of their final four games and the Houston Texans would have to lose one more. Here are the relevant schedules:

 

AFC
10-2 Ravens- @ Bills, v Jets, @ Browns, v Steelers
8-4 Chiefs- @ Pats, v Broncos, @ Bears, v Chargers
8-4 Texans- v Broncos, @ Titans, @ Bucs v Titans

10-2 Pats- v Chiefs, @ Bengals, v Bills, v Dolphins
9-3 Bills- v Ravens, @ Steelers, @ Pats, v Jets (1 gm back of Pats)

— Ladner Morse (@Laddiemorse) December 2, 2019

 

A slightly more likely scenario, would be two losses each by the Patriots and Bills and one more by the Texans, would give the Chiefs the number 2 seed and a bye week, with the Ravens earning home field.

 

Now, if by chance, both Kansas City and Buffalo win out, then the Bills would end up with the 1 seed and home field advantage, with the Chiefs as likely the 3 or 4 seed. This scenario would push the Patriots to the 5 seed and a game at either Arrowhead or Houston.