Kansas City Chiefs Avoid Blackout, But Will Fans Even Be Watching?

This Sunday’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills will be on television in Kansas City. Up against an extended deadline by the NFL to sell their final 3,000 tickets, an as yet undisclosed business stepped up and purchased the tickets, insuring that the Chiefs would be on television locally this Sunday.

Chiefs fans, aren’t you relieved to hear that?

Probably not, in fact you could probably care less.

The Chiefs, who haven’t been blacked out on local television since a cold and drizzly 39-degree December 16 in 1990, narrowly avoided their first non-sellout in 19 years. In that game, Houston Oilers quarterback Warren Moon threw for 527 yards in a 27-20 defeat of the Chiefs. It was the second-best passing performance in a single game in NFL history.

Of course, that 1990 Chiefs team was no where near as bad as the 2009 Chiefs. At the point in which the Chiefs played the Oilers in 1990, they were on a four-game winning streak, and would eventually secure an AFC wild-card berth in the playoffs with an 11-5 record.

The 2009 Chiefs may not be playing Warren Moon on Sunday, but as poor as the team’s pass defense has been all season, it’s conceivable that the Bills’ Ryan Fitzpatrick could have a big day nonetheless.

The Chiefs defense currently ranks 30th in the NFL in scoring defense, allowing 27.5 points per game. And Sunday, Kansas City will face an offense that scored 54 points against them in November 2008, and has been clicking more since the firing of Coach Dick Jauron.

So this Sunday, when the 3-9 Chiefs host the 4-8 Bills, will Chiefs fans tune in to watch a team play that has been error-prone and allowed 44.5 pts per game in consecutive losses?

My guess, with only two full shopping weekends left before Christmas, is that many won’t. But to those who decide to sit at home and tune in, one bit of advice: have plenty of adult beverages handy, because this one could be ugly…again.