Chiefs Keeping An Eye On 49ers Vs. Chargers Thursday Night Football

If you asked Todd Haley or a bunch of Kansas City Chiefs players, they'd probably tell you they're not paying attention to the rest of the AFC West because they can only control what they can control. And right now they control their own playoff destiny.

That said, if any of them have peeked at the AFC West standings then they know that the Thursday Night Football game between the San Francisco 49ers and San Diego Chargers is pretty significant.

The Chiefs are 8-5 with remaining games at St. Louis and then home against the Titans and Raiders. The Chargers are 7-6 with games remaining against San Francisco and then on the road against Cincinnati and Denver.

A Chargers loss and the Chiefs potentially get a serious advantage as they face the St. Louis Rams this weekend. A Chargers loss plus a Chiefs win would put the Chargers two games behind the Chiefs with two to go meaning KC would need to beat either the Tennessee Titans or Oakland Raiders the final two weeks to wrap it up. Of course if the Chargers lose, and the Chiefs lose, then KC holds just a one-game lead with two remaining.

A Chargers victory would also be significant depending on what the Chiefs do. A Chargers victory with a Chiefs victory means the Chiefs hold a one-game lead heading into the final two games of the season. A Chargers victory with a Chiefs loss means....oh, crap. Yeah, that's the worst case scenario.

I'm pretty excited for this game because it means a whole new set of playoff scenarios and question marks as we enter the final few weeks of the year.