Why Chiefs Fans Are Thankful Through Week 10

Welcome to being a fan of the best team in the league that experts refuse to call elite. How's it feel? For me, it's a lot of worrying about our Kansas City Chiefs only being good enough to get to the playoffs and disappoint yet again, then a lot of just trying to relax and appreciate this remarkable team that's good enough to give us all those worries. Since now’s the time for giving thanks, we’ll stay positive today and look at unique statistical breakdown that should make all Chiefs fans feel thankful.

The 2016 Chiefs defense consistently limits opposing teams to less than their average points per game. Just take a look at the points scored by KC’s opponent’s this year/that team’s current average points per game (and how they rank league-wide in that statistic)*:

San Diego Chargers – 27/29.2 (3)

Houston Texans – 19/17.9 (29)

New York Jets - 3/17.9 (28)

Pittsburgh Steelers – 43/23.8 (15)

Oakland Raiders – 10/27.2 (5)

New Orleans Saints – 21/29.4 (2)

Indianapolis Colts – 14/26.6 (7)

Jacksonville Jaguars – 14/19.3 (27)

Carolina Panthers – 17/24.6 (12)

*It should be noted that I omitted Thursday's game to keep things even.

So, KC has already faced three of the five highest-scoring offenses in football. The Chiefs won each of those games and held their opponent to less than their current points-per-game averages. KC hasn’t allowed a team to score higher than their current average since October 2nd, when they looked awful against Pittsburgh in Week 4. The only two times they allowed a team to score more than their current average (at Houston and at Pittsburgh) coincide with the Chiefs’ only two losses. Kansas City keeps winning in spite of their franchise QB, but they’ve proven their ability to win against any team not considered top-shelf.

What’s arguably more important than KC’s currently-firm grip on a ’16 playoff berth is the promising future of this Chiefs defense. Dee Ford continues to lead the league in sacks and make me feel dumb for counting him out earlier this season. Marcus Peters is still on pace for the most interceptions in NFL history, and continues to make ridiculous, game-changing plays. Chris Jones looks like he could become great, or at least good enough to replace Dontari Poe if the Chiefs can't afford to keep them both. I'm not saying KC will make a Super Bowl run year-after-year, but the Chief's shouldn't be bad for a very long time.

Now that (*long sigh*) is definitely something we should all be thankful for. By the way, if the Chiefs shared Thanksgiving dinner together, who do you think would carve the turkey? Does Andy Reid let Alex Smith do it? Maybe they'd hold hands around the knife and carve it together? Sorry, I'll stop. Have a great Thanksgiving.

Doug LaCerte's favorite Thanksgiving side-dish is oyster casserole, and if your family doesn't make that, man, you're missing out. He also has Twitter and Facebook.

3 Things KC Must Do to Win in Denver

So we got this, right guys? Total trap-game, right? The Kansas City Chiefs bring a deflated team to Denver in the coming hours, and most would consider their chances to be sigh-inducingly slim. What can KC do to make this game competitive, or even pull off a stunner at Mile-High? Well, sadly, the gameplan for victory this Sunday involves some awfully lofty goals. If KC ends the day with a seemingly miraculous 1-1 record, a lot of things will have gone very, very right. Here are the three things that must happen for KC to win this afternoon:

 

3- Jamaal Charles gets 15 touches or more for 150 yards or more.

Andy Reid took some well-deserved flak for Jamaal having only 11 touches in Week 1, but he also deserves credit for being candid and honest about his failure in that regard. It should be clear that Reid will make #25 more of the offensive gameplan this time around, but a struggling offensive line must also succeed in giving their star player a seam on running downs. Despite this being the easiest goal on this list to accomplish, it’s far from a safe bet against an improved Denver defense that now includes Vince Wilfork stuffing up the center of the field.

 

2- Chiefs win the turnover ratio by at least +2.

Shaun Smith and Marcus Cooper are both polarizing starters in KC’s secondary that sometimes get burnt and sometimes make incredible, game-changing plays. As fans, we can only hope that we get the good side of that coin today. If first ballot Hall of Famer Peyton Manning helps us out with some errant passes, nobody in the Kingdom will complain, but the Chiefs clearly aren’t banking on that. To force turnovers, KC needs to go out and get them. This means pressuring Manning to get rid of the ball early and allowing the aforementioned guys in the secondary to go after that pick-six with reckless abandon. Maybe with a better team on paper KC would avoid such a rogue gameplan, but not this year, and especially not today.

 

1- Justin Houston, Tamba Hali and Dontari Poe combine for 3 or more sacks on Manning.

With the dreadful loss of both Mike Devito and Derrick Johnson, the Chiefs absolutely must see their other big-name defensive players step up if they want to be anything close to relevant this season. Multiple sacks, especially early in the game, can keep Peyton uncomfortable and lessen the chance of huge plays against that unproven secondary. KC’s chances to pull this off will begin and end at the line of scrimmage.

 

It’s an important sports day in KC, what with the Royals continuing their playoff race and the rival Detroit Tigers playing a day-game as well. Today could be remembered as a shining moment for both clubs, or the beginning of the end of their respective seasons.   

A Return to Winning Ways?

This week, the Chiefs relished in having a very good problem on their hands. For the first time this season, KC must now learn to react to a loss. In a long-awaited return to Arrowhead, the Chiefs will have San Diego and the often-unbearable Philip Rivers to overcome this week. How will they react to their first defeat, and how often will Philip Rivers make you, for any of numerous reasons, want to slap him through your TV screen?

The Chiefs return to Arrowhead for the first time since November 3^rd for the teams' 107^th matchup. The 4-6 Chargers have won the last two meetings and 8 of the last 10. In their first year with former Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy at the helm, the Chargers are potent but unpredictable. They started the year 2-3, fought their way back to a winning record, then promptly plummeted to their current position below .500 with a three-game losing streak. They've won against the Colts and played well against Denver, yet they lost to Oakland and Tennessee.

Kansas City is looking to return to their winning ways and avoid the start of a potentially mojo-killing losing streak. This is a huge game we'll be watching. With another face-off against Denver looming seven days in the distance, the Chiefs have a talented and bitterly angry squad to deal with. Will KC be able to overcome Rivers and Sandy Eggo at home today? Finish up with my five predictions to find out.

1- Ryan Mathews will absolutely not have the kind of day he had against Miami last week, when he took 18 carries for 127 yards. Look for the Chiefs to cut that yardage nearly in half today, limiting him to 70 yards or less on the ground.

2- An angry Jamaal Charles, on the other hand, should abuse the 16^th ranked running defense in the league. Doug Pederson gets wise and connects with him on at least two successful screen passes as well, giving #25 at least 110 total yards today.

3- Once again, KC probably needs to win the turnover ratio to win the game. Expect Shaun Smith, Marcus Cooper or both of them to snag a timely pick.

4- Rivers will get big yardage through the air, at least 300 yards, without turning it into a win.

5- At least three times, Rivers whines and makes facial expressions that anyone beyond elementary school should be embarrassed to make, as the Chiefs go on to win 20-17. I really do love to hate that guy.