FanPost

Reason for Hope: A reminder of 2006

I, like many other Chiefs fans, I have been depressed for the last 24+ hours. Five weeks ago, we were kicking around the possibility of a number one seed, and now, here we are, hanging on for dear life, forced to rely on others to put us in the playoffs. I know a playoff birth seems impossible right now, but it's not. Hell eight years ago we faced even longer odds, odds which were overcome.

In 2006, I was 13 years old. It was my fourth year following the Chiefs, and though it was not one of our great years, Week 17 of 2006 will always serve as a reminder that God does not always hate our Chiefs, sometimes he'll help us out. Coming into Week 17, the Chiefs were the 10th seed in the AFC at 8-7, listed as 2.5 point favorites against the 8-7 Jacksonville Jaguars in KC. Much like this year, our playoff fate was not in our hands, we needed some Vegas favorites (Tennessee, Cincinnati, and Denver) to lose their games. 8-7 Tennessee was hosting 11-4 New England and was listed as a 3.5 point favorite. The 8-7 Cincinnati Bengals were hosting the 7-8 Pittsburgh Steelers and were listed as 6 point favorites. In Denver, the 8-7 Broncos were hosting the 6-9 San Francisco 49ers, and were listed as 11 point favorites.

The first thing that needed to happen was a KC victory. Behind 33 carries for 138 yards from Larry Johnson (remember this was the year Johnson set the record for carries with 416 attempts), the Chiefs defeated the Jags 35-30. In Tennessee, the underdog Patriots won 40-23. In Cincinnati, the Steelers won 23-17 behind a 67 yard TD from Santonio Holmes in OT. The three noon games had gone in the Chiefs favor, but now it all came down to the afternoon showdown between the Broncos and 49ers.

At halftime in Denver, things were looking bleak for the Chiefs playoffs hopes. The Broncos were up 13-3 behind a Champ Bailey pick-six of the second year QB, Alex Smith. But in the second half, Smith and the 49ers came alive, forcing overtime. The overtime would be back and forth, but with 2:00 left, Joe Nedney would hit a 36 yard field goal, giving the 49ers the win, and the Chiefs the sixth seed.

Unfortunately for the Chiefs, Peyton Manning was waiting in the Wild Card Round, and the Chiefs would lose 23-8 in a game I'll always remember for a 23 yard missed field goal from Lawrence Tynes.

Which brings us to today. The Chiefs are 2.5 point favorites playing against the 9-6 San Diego Chargers in KC. In Houston, the Jags are 10.5 point underdogs against a Texans team with JJ Watt, but Case Keenum will be playing QB for them. In Baltimore, the Browns are 8 point underdogs against a Ravens team that managed just 211 yards last week. Sure the odds are long, but they've been longer. This time though, it's not Peyton Manning looming in the playoffs, it's Andy Dalton. And goddamn it, I'm gonna keep believing in my team, until it's all over.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Arrowhead Pride's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Arrowhead Pride writers or editors.