The Chiefs Vs. The Rest Of The AFC West

by Joel Thorman on Dec 8, 2008 12:51 PM CST in 2008 Kansas City Chiefs Campaign

The Kansas City Chiefs haven't had much success the past 5 years but it's not due to the division. The Chiefs, in the past five years, are a combined 18-12 against divisional opponents during the regular season. The Oakland Raiders are a big part of that, having won 9 of 10 in the last five years.

Let's take a look at the San Diego Chargers:

Year	Game #1	Game #2
2007 (11-5)	30-16 W	24-10 L
2006 (14-2)	30-27 W	20-9 L
2005 (9-7)	28-20 L	20-7 W
2004 (12-4)	34-31 L	24-17 L
2003 (4-12)	27-14 W	28-24 W

We own an even 5-5 record against the Chargers from 2003-2007. Currently, we're 0-1against them for 2008. This is a key stat regarding the importance of playing a divisional rival tough. The Chargers have been an ascending team from 2004-2007 yet we were able to keep a .500 record against them while we struggled.

Now, let's look at the Oakland Raiders:

Year (Record)	Game #1	Game #2
2007 (2-14)	12-10 W	20-17 L
2006 (4-12)	17-13 W	20-9 W
2005 (4-12)	23-17 W	27-23 W
2004 (5-11)	34-27 W	31-30 W
2003 (4-12)	17-10 W	27-24 W

As you can see, the Chiefs dominated the Raiders from 2003-2007. We are sporting a .500 record against them this year, but prior to that we won 9 of 10 against our hated division rival. Judging by the Raiders' final record in each of those years, we are beating them precisely when we are supposed to.

Now, let's look at the Broncos:

Year(Record)	Game #1	Game #2
2007 (7-9)	27-11 L	41-7 L
2006 (9-7)	9-6 L	19-10 W
2005 (13-3)	30-10 L	31-27 W
2004 (10-6)	34-24 L	45-17 W
2003 (10-6)	24-23 W	45-27L

The Broncos nearly had a winning record in all 5 years but the Chiefs still managed to win a respectable 40% of their games against them.

So, let's wipe the excuse 'We haven't won because our division is so tough' excuse off the board. The Chiefs have essentially dominated the West winning 60% of their games from 2003-2007. The Chargers and Broncos have both been solid, playoff-caliber teams during this period and we won 9 of 20 games against them. The Raiders, on the other hand, were terrible and our .900 winning percentage against them demonstrates our ability to beat them when we should.

If we are going to become a perennial playoff team, then these are the kind of numbers we need to see from our divisional opponents. And, oh yeah, we have to beat those other 10 teams on our schedule more often, too.

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Comments

I didn't include 2008

But, assuming we lose to San Diego, we’ll post a 2-4 record against the West this year. That will put us at 20-15 against the West after this year.

by Joel Thorman on Dec 8, 2008 12:59 PM CST reply actions

Nice post

That is where it starts, winning the division is the best way to assure playoff appearances. Makes me feel better that we are so competitive against our division. The other AFC West teams must hate it when we show up!

by TheQ on Dec 8, 2008 1:41 PM CST reply actions

Going Into This Season

I looked it up and we were .500 against the Chargers post-Schottenheimer and a game over versus the Broncos (although I may have that backwards). We won about 60% of our games versus the Raiders in that time span. Our record against those teams is roughly on par with what the rest of the NFL did against those teams for win percentage.

Contrast that to the Schottenheimer years when Marty’s record against those three divisional opponents was significantly higher than league average against them (his record against the Raiders in particular was unbelieveably good). Basically, when we had a good coach we whipped up on the AFC West even when it was a good division…now we struggle to stay .500 against it when it’s one of the worst divisions in football. That’s not a sign that we’re on the right track at all.

The Chiefs should win 5 to 6 games this year and no less than 4 for this season to be considered progress in any way. If he can't win at least 9 games next season, Herm's a joke.

by UCrawford on Dec 8, 2008 1:51 PM CST reply actions

As bad as we have been the last few years,

to still be better than 60% against them, is that an indictment against us or the conference? At least we aren’t getting dominated by these teams as well, or we might be that much further away from coming back from obscurity. As bad as this season has been, if we had beat the Broncos yesterday I would have felt a whole lot better! I hate those guys!

by TheQ on Dec 8, 2008 1:59 PM CST up reply actions

It's An Indictment Against Both

Because our record outside the division is horrible. We aren’t winning at any better of a level than the rest of the NFL against the Broncos. But we’re getting waxed by people who aren’t in the AFC Worst.

Being the big fish in the small sewage-filled pond isn’t something to aspire to.

The Chiefs should win 5 to 6 games this year and no less than 4 for this season to be considered progress in any way. If he can't win at least 9 games next season, Herm's a joke.

by UCrawford on Dec 8, 2008 2:10 PM CST up reply actions

I hate to say it, but that made me laugh.

the AFC Worst, I never would have thunk it.

by TheQ on Dec 8, 2008 2:23 PM CST up reply actions

Wish I Could Claim It

But it’s been a longstanding nickname for this division over the last decade.

The Chiefs should win 5 to 6 games this year and no less than 4 for this season to be considered progress in any way. If he can't win at least 9 games next season, Herm's a joke.

by UCrawford on Dec 8, 2008 2:49 PM CST up reply actions