The Kansas City Chiefs are Reborn. Not in the theological sense (although I'm sure some of them were praying for salvation after game one and two of this season), but in the sense of getting what kids used to call a do-over. That's what you do when the game your playing isn't any fun anymore because things aren't going your way. You call do-over. The Chiefs have just been the recipients of a do-over, football season style.
How did this do-over manifest itself? Well, if you're a fan, you've been sitting there over the last four weeks just like me and watching the Chiefs dig themselves out of a hole deep enough to forget about. Seriously, this hole was so deep that if it had been any deeper you could have gotten some real authentic Chinese food in about 5 minutes. In actuality, this Chiefs team has manufactured it's own do-over. They have hung together, kept their heads when all about them were losing theirs, and overcome. It's been amazing (and fun) to watch. The season is now about halfway through and I thought maybe it was time to pause, take a short review and then set the stage for what could be an even bigger turnaround season than the one that this team just completed last year. I know it's a crazy idea, but then so was losing our first three games by 79 points and then winning the next four games in a row. Hey, if it hadn't really happened, NOBODY would have believed it.
So let's not dwell on the past. It was pretty ugly until the beginning of week four. Losing three straight out of the blocks really sucked and nobody in Chiefs nation was having much fun. In fact, some fans were so mad/distraught/discombobulated that they began to believe that the proper course forward was to intentionally lose games to try and acquire a rookie QB who has yet to prove anything in the NFL. It was as if those folks just couldn't see any possible way for these Chiefs to resurrect their season, so the thinking was to just trash the season in hopes of being that much better a few years down the line.
No offense, but I'm am very glad that Haley and the Chiefs decided not to join in the movement. Three games does not a season make, and the determination and (Chiefs) will that has been demonstrated since those stinky beginnings is truly something that we fans can and should be proud of. Todd Haley and the Chiefs continue to reach new heights in terms of accomplishing what is often said can't be done. This is our Chiefs people! We should be proud of the ability of this team to take adversity like we have seen this year in stride and still go forward and conquer!!
Week four saw the Chiefs hold Adrian Peterson to 80 yards rushing and the infamous Donovan McNabb to barely 200 yards passing. Win number one was finally achieved and Leslie Frazier took the heat rather than Todd Haley and than the Gods!! It was about time somebody else sat in the hot seat.
This was the game remember, that Todd and Matt had 'words' on the sideline. Something certainly 'happened' after that because Cassel finally woke from his off season slumber to complete a 58 yard 4th quarter pass to DBowe that put the game out of reach for the Vikings. Hali had two sacks and some few of us began to stir with the idea that there was indeed still life in these Chiefs.
Next came Indy and the Manningless Colts. The Chiefs overcame a point differential of 17 points in this game to tie the most ever overcome by any Chiefs team to win a game. In addition, they finally broke through and won a game in Indy, which they had been waiting 27 years for. A huge monkey jumped off the Chiefs back on that Sunday and the Chiefs have just ridden the wave since.
The Chiefs then found themselves playing in the black hole for the first time ever without the presence of Al Davis. What is going on here anyway? Starting with game four, every game seems to have been tailored for a struggling Chiefs team. No Al Davis? And then to top it off, the Raiders have no QB. Never Fear though, they went out and made possibly the stupidist trade this season by picking up Carson Palmer who had been sitting on the couch eating bon-bons since last January. He looked the part when he hit the field too. Suffice it to say that a 28-0 shut out in the black hole was another first for this Chiefs team this season. It was also another record tying game in the category of interceptions. In case you forgot the Chiefs had SIX. Are we starting to see a pattern here? Just how many things is this team going to tie or beat that previous Chiefs teams have done. Is it a coincidence or is there more at work here?
Then we come to San Diego on MNF. The Chiefs beat them last season in this same game, it just didn't happen to fall on Halloween. Once again, the Chiefs repeated some recent success in getting a win on Halloween. Check this out if you didn't see it last week. All I really want to know is who slapped that ball out of Phyllis's hand? Joe Delaney? Derrick Thomas? Lamar Hunt? SOMEBODY was cruising the Arrowhead carpet on Monday night but they weren't leaving footprints. C'mon man, it was Halloween afterall!!
So here we are. Four wins, three losses and in first place in the Division. I'm starting to like the feeling of saying that. It started last year and has carried over nicely to this season (finally after 7 weeks). So what now? Will the Chiefs run out of steam?
NO!! Next on the agenda is squishing the phish. Miami is right there waiting to give the Chiefs another W. No offense to the Dolphins, but the way the Chiefs have been playing there is no reason to believe that this team can't get another win from a struggling team in Arrowhead. Then we get to see the Tebow Show. I gotta tell ya that the show I saw last week against the Lions was a lopsided affair (in favor of the lions). Tebow just hasn't figured it all out yet. That's ok, the Chiefs will enjoy 'helping' him get acquainted with how not to play in the NFL. I look forward to the meeting with a certain number in mind. That number is six. If the Chiefs go to 6-3 and have three divisional wins, it just might be time to start looking into playoff tickets for January.
Then comes the dreaded 'five game stretch' that everyone has been terrified of since the schedule was announced in the offseason. With all the firsts that the Chiefs had had this year and all the injuries that other teams have had to endure (our actives have been pretty healthy so far--thanks Todd, you are the man) there is no reason to dread those five games. Between those five and the final two, if the Chiefs can win four and add them to the six they will already have in the bank, this team will once again have 10 wins. From the looks of the rest of the division, that's more than enough to win the Division for the second straight year and make the playoffs again. I will predict now, that since this Chiefs team has been achieving so many firsts that we will go on to 11 wins this year. Don't forget, you heard it here first.
Playoffs? From a team that lost it's first three games of the season? Since 1990, only three teams have done just that. The Bills, Lions and Chargers. The Chiefs beating the Chargers on Halloween was coincidence? I see more. That win will allow the Chiefs to make the playoffs and do what that Chargers team did--win a playoff game. Will that be the end? Those Chargers lost in the Divisional game, but a team like the Chiefs that are pushing the bar and achieving all kinds of firsts this season would go beyond and win that Divisional game. Is that where we are headed?
Of course no one knows the answer to that question, but you just have to wonder. Breaking the Indy Curse. Tying the biggest point comeback of any Chiefs team ever to win a game. First team to lose first three games and then win next four. Maybe we'll be the first team ever to have a coach with a beard that touches his belt. Maybe. I don't know Chiefs fans. This season is shaping up into something extraordinary. You couldn't pay me enough to quit watching now.