Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley will tell you every game means the same. He doesn't get too excited for his team and he doesn't get too down on them and all games are created equal because you only get 16 of them.
I think you could get Haley to admit that division games are slightly more important. The Chiefs goal is obviously the playoffs and easiest and safest way to do that is simply win your division. Win the AFC West and the Chiefs will A.) be in the playoffs and B.) playing at Arrowhead.
The Chiefs are on the verge of pulling away in the AFC West...if they beat the Raiders. That's why this game is so huge. I'm not here to jinx anything but going up three games in the loss column at the halfway point is about as good as it gets when it comes to winning a division.
Chiefs defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel was asked this week if this is a "statement game" because of what could happen if they win.
"It is a division game," Crennel told reporters on Friday. "I don’t know about a statement game, but it is important because it is a division game and you want to win your division games because that gives you the best chance to move forward at the end of the season. That is what we are trying to do, trying to win it because it is a division game."
The Chiefs can make some serious strides in the division over the next two weeks with road trips to Oakland and Denver coming up. We'll find out over these next two games if the Chiefs run away with this division or allow it to go the distance.