Frustrated. Angry. Embarrassed. Deflated.
Those would be the words that would describe Kansas City Chiefs fans after the loss to the Oakland Raiders. The good thing is that the Chiefs loss doesn't necessarily mean a whole lot (unless you think Baltimore is that much better than New York) in the grand scheme of things. The Chiefs are in the playoffs. They're going to host a home playoff game next week. Everything is still gravy in the big picture.
Yes, the Chiefs were blown out today and there's no way to describe it other than that it sucks. But what does it mean moving forward?
If history is any indication, it may not be such a bad thing. This is now the third blowout loss for the Chiefs this year. It's the third game in which they weren't really competitive late in the game. After the first blowout against the Denver Broncos, the Chiefs responded with a convincing 31-13 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. After the second blowout loss to the San Diego Chargers, the Chiefs responded with a 27-13 victory over the St. Louis Rams.
After the third blowout loss....? If we're trying to sugar coat this loss, then there's your stat.
Brian Waters said this game will only affect them if they let it. In some strange way, I'm glad this wake-up call happened now. It's another way for Todd Haley to let them know that they're not a good team. And the more they're told they're not very good, the better I feel about how they'll prepare and look to next week.
That's the key here. How will this team respond? Chiefs coach Todd Haley has played up at times this year the underdog factor. Folks don't expect the Chiefs to win. Whether it's the Jets or Ravens next week, the Chiefs will be home 'dogs.
So how will this team respond?