Eeny meeny miny moe, who will be the Chiefs next foe?

Eeny meeny miny moe, who will be the Chiefs next foe? by Phillip Maxwell – first off, let me say that what transpired last Sunday was nothing short of a miracle. Sure, every one of us woke up that morning with a minuscule glimmer of hope that the Miami Dolphins would travel into New England and upset the Patriots… haha, who am I kidding, no we didn’t! The odds seemed better that morning, of me turning down my acceptance into Harvard because I just won the Lottery for the 3^rd week in a row, but low and behold, Hades froze over and the Miami Dolphins, along with Kansas City’s continued dominance over the LA Chargers, awarded the Chiefs the #2 seed in the AFC and the much-coveted Bye Week to get nice and well rested.

So who is it going to be? Who makes the trip to Arrowhead Stadium on January 12^th to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional round? I’ll tell you here today. Maybe. There are currently 3 possibilities: the NE Patriots, the Buffalo Bills and the Houston Texans. The Tennessee Titans, being the lowest seed in the AFC playoff picture, can only travel to Baltimore if they were to advance. Let’s not diminish the importance of that one and bears repeating: the Tennessee Titans, being the lowest seed in the AFC playoff picture, can only travel to Baltimore if they were to advance.

The Patriots Option (Most Likely)

The Patriots with a win can only travel to Kansas City and Kansas City alone as they are the highest seeded team playing in the first round and Kansas City is slated to play the highest seed standing after next weekend’s games. The Patriots are at home against the Tennessee Titans and the fact that the game is in Foxboro makes the Patriots slight favorites. (-4.5)

Eight or so weeks ago, I would have bet the farm on the Patriots in this one, but now I’m torn. The Patriots are looking uncharacteristically dysfunctional as of late. Tom Brady is underperforming — by his standards — and is putting up some of the lowest numbers he has had in over a decade. You would have to go back 13 years to find where Tom had a lower QB rating than this season.

The Defense has done well for the Patriots. One glaring hole though has been their run defense when the opposing RB goes wide right, they rank 27^th in the league when this happens. Now you have the 6’3” 247 pound Derrick Henry coming to get you… plus, you better believe the Titans are going to ride Henry harder than a stolen rental car.

The Texans Option (Next Most Likely)

The Houston Texans trip to Arrowhead needs two thing to happen. #1, they need to win at home against the surprising 2019  Buffalo Bills and then, #2, the Tennessee Titans would also need to upset the N.E. Patriots in Foxboro.

If this were to happen, the Texans would then be the highest remaining seed and their reward for that would be an accrual beatdown at Arrowhead Stadium. Just sayin. Again, the home team Texans are favored in this one (-3).

I think the big question in this matchup is which Josh Allen will show up. He has truly been a Jekyll and Hyde QB this season, and the results have been that when he does well… so go the Bills.

The problem with the Texans is their Offensive line is full of matadors. Only 7 NFL teams gave up more sacks than the Texans this season and Buffalo’s swarm of bees style of defense is going to keep this one interesting.

The seemingly oft injured, but absolute terror, JJ Watt, has been activated for this one and should make Josh Allen’s day much harder.

The Bills (the Least Most Likely) 🤣

The Buffalo Bills trip to Arrowhead would also need two things to happen, although, both going would be bucking the odds. They would need to defeat the Texans in Houston where they have lost 3 straight… and… the Titans would have to defeat the Patriots in New England.

Here is the thing: Buffalo took advantage of an incredibly weak schedule (.461 strength of schedule). To corroborate this point you simply have to look at their 2019 season results. 10 wins against the league’s bottom dwellers such as the Dolphins (twice), Bengals, Giants, Cowboys and Jets… yet 4 of their 6 losses being against teams like the Patriots (twice), Ravens and Eagles. One against the Browns… and then one against the Jets in a meaningless season finale since they had  already secured the #5 seed in week 16.

That said, the Bills are confident, and they are also pretty dang good, then there is always that “any given Sunday” thingy… right Miami?

Eeny meeny miny summary…

My gut says it will be the Texans. I don’t think the Bills are quite there yet and I think the Texans have just enough to limp past the young Bills. Also, I think the Titans will roll over the reeling Patriots with the Incredible Hulk Derrick Henry leading the way.

What do you think Chief fans?

Phillip Maxwell — ArrowheadOne

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