/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/1328243/GYI0062089562.jpg)
The Kansas City Chiefs have placed the hardest stretch of their 2010 schedule behind them. Prior to Week 1, I think most would have said the Chiefs could be playing four playoff teams in their first five games. They went through that stretch and came out sitting at 3-2 and in first place of the AFC West.
The rest of the way gets much easier on paper.
Here are the Chiefs next seven games: Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills, at Oakland Raiders, at Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals, at Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos.
Those seven games are critical in my mind. The way the Chiefs have played to this point they've shown they can win every single one of those. I'm not saying they will but we won't see any games like the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans game where you can feel OK about the team even in a loss.
Ultimately though the Chiefs are playing the other teams in their division. That's all they care about at the moment -- winning the AFC West. So it's good news to hear that the Chiefs have the easiest remaining schedule of any of the three other AFC West teams.
The Chiefs got through the tough part. The key moving forward is treating the Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders the same way they did Peyton Manning and the Colts.