The Kansas City Chiefs were a surprise team that enjoyed a breakout year in 2013. Can this organization shrug off the memory of a huge blown lead in the AFC wild card round against the Indianapolis Colts and move forward this season? That’s the question everyone’s asking in Kansas City, a team that might not win the AFC West, but would probably take a second-place finish at this point.
Strengths
The Chiefs have a number of strengths, at least a few on both sides of the ball, which is why they have a very good chance to get back to the playoffs. On offense, the Chiefs have Jamaal Charles, an excellent running back who has ironed out differences with the front office and is set to make a lot of money this season. Having Charles signed and happy should enable him to produce at a high level this season and remain the kind of player who will win a few games for the Chiefs this season. Charles is such an effective yet patient runner between the tackles. His toughness is not questioned. Yet, while being durable, Charles is also noticeably swift in open space. He can catch passes out of the backfield and is therefore perfect for a game-manager quarterback such as Alex Smith, a player who likes to be able to throw lots of short passes during a game. Charles enables the Chiefs to do a lot of good things on offense.
On defense, the Chiefs have Eric Berry in the secondary at the safety position. Berry is an exceptional player who anchors the Chiefs’ back line. Kansas City then has strong outside linebackers and defensive ends, players who are fast and can cover a lot of territory on the field while also offering a dangerous pass rush that can make opposing quarterbacks very uneasy in the pocket. It was only when the outside-edge pass rushers on this team got injured in 2013 that the Chiefs’ defense struggled. With good health, Kansas City has every chance to field a tough defense once again.
Weaknesses
The Chiefs were exposed in two very noticeable ways last season, and they were both on the perimeter. The Chiefs did not have more than one really good receiver. Kansas City did not find a strong second or third receiver, someone who could take half of the field to himself and beat a cornerback in man coverage and hold onto the ball. The Chiefs’ receivers further down the depth chart could not catch long passes. This has to be fixed in the coming season. Kansas City needs more big-play capability from its offense. That’s not an arguable point. The Chiefs missed key chances to score against the Denver Broncos in last season’s two head-to-head games. Had the Chiefs merely been able to split those two games, they might have been able to win the AFC West and get home-field advantage in the playoffs.
The other weakness was at the position on the field that guards wide receivers: cornerbacks. When Denver played at Kansas City on Dec. 1 of last year, Peyton Manning was able to exploit and attack the Chiefs’ weaker cornerbacks and safeties in passing situations. Kansas City has half of a secondary, but not a whole one. Getting a better cornerback and safety in place will solve a lot of the Chiefs’ issues.
Schedule
The schedule is not an easy one, but it’s not overwhelmingly difficult, either. The Chiefs’ interconference games are against the NFC West. That’s the really hard part. They would do well to merely split those four games. In non-division AFC games, though, the Chiefs drew the AFC East, Pittsburgh, and Tennessee. New England is a home game. A game at Miami might be tough, but if the Chiefs go 4-2 against the AFC East, the Steelers, and the Titans, they should be able to create a winning season.
Outlook
The Chiefs’ non-NFC, non-Denver opponents are all very manageable. The Chiefs could have had to play the Colts, Bengals, and Ravens, but they avoided all three teams. They could have had to play Seattle on the road but got the Seahawks at home. This team looks like a 10-win team.
Pick: Over 8.5
