Kansas City by Andy Reid The chiefs are in a position they have rarely held during his tenure as head coach. The Chiefs are currently on the outside looking in and looking at the AFC playoff picture as the calendar turns to December. Reid spoke to the media on Monday and talked about the challenges over the course of a season and those his team faces heading into this final five-game stretch.
“Every season is different” Reid told reporters. “It’s a sport of challenges. It is what it is. It’s probably a microcosm of life as you look at it. There are always challenges. … There’s such a small margin between winning and losing that every week is a challenge, a major challenge. That’s the way you have to approach it, and you have to be ready for it.”
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Kansas City is 6-6 and currently sits in 10th place in the AFC and third in the AFC West. Any hopes of winning a 10th straight AFC West title are all but dashed as the Denver Broncos improved to 10-2 on Sunday. The Chiefs are four games away from the division crown and even two games behind the second-place Los Angeles Chargers, who improved to 8-4 in Week 13.
The Chiefs are in danger of missing the playoffs for just the second time since Reid became head coach in 2013, and that happened in his second year (2014) when the team finished 9-7. It was three years before Patrick Mahomes was even drafted. Since Reid arrived from Philadelphia in 2013, the Chiefs have never finished with a .500 average, let alone finished a season with a losing record.
After losing to Dallas on Thanksgiving, the Chiefs will almost certainly have to run the table over the final five weeks and get some help just to secure a wild card spot in the AFC. Their remaining schedule has the Chiefs facing Houston, the LA Chargers, Tennessee, Denver and Las Vegas to close out the season. Getting three wins down the stretch will be tough, and five seems almost impossible.
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“You’re one or two plays away and that’s what this game is,” Reid said. “You look at our season, we’re one or two plays away, and we take care of it – whether it’s a penalty at a crucial moment, a possible turnover somewhere, or a chance to create a turnover – we’re in a position where if we can figure out those two, three plays, you turn it around.”
Penalties have been an issue for a normally disciplined team, as the Chiefs have allowed the fifth-most penalty yards in the league this season. Defensively, they produced very few passes with just 22 of 12 plays, which is fifth worst in the NFL. They’ve only forced 11 turnovers this season, which is third-worst in the league.
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KC is running out of time, for the first time in a long time. There are still 12 teams left that have a somewhat legitimate chance to make the playoffs, and the Chiefs can’t afford any more setbacks as they continue to fight for their playoff lives.
During week 14, the The Chiefs will play prime time on Sunday Night Football in a huge AFC battle against the Houston Texans at 8:20 p.m. from GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
