Kansas City Chiefs Are Poised To Run Away with the AFC West Crown This Season

Many people have doubted the Kansas City Chiefs this season, and many people still doubt the Kansas City Chiefs, but I have never been one of them. This team is for real. 

This is a different Chiefs team than in seasons past. This is not the Chiefs team that won just 10 games in the past three seasons. This Kansas City Chiefs team will win at least 10 games this season and run away with the AFC West title.

Last season the Chiefs had the second-worst run defense in the league. This season they boast the league's sixth-best rushing defense. In a league that has been dominated by passing offenses in the past, the ability to stop the run has actually been more important this season.

The combined record of the league's top 10 rushing defenses is currently 44-21, while the top 10 passing defenses have a surprising record of 27-39.

The Chiefs also boast the league's best rushing attack at 176.5 yards per game, and Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones are the only running backs in the league to both have over 400 yards on the season playing for one team.

Just like the ability to stop the run on defense, the ability to run the ball on offense has been a recipe for success this season. The top 10 rushing teams in the league have a combined record of 40-26, while the top 10 passing offenses have a combined record of 29-37.

Five teams are in the top 10 in both rushing offense and rushing defense, the Chiefs, Jets, Giants, Falcons and Titans, and the combined record of those teams is 24-9.

If you haven't figured it out yet, football games are won in the trenches, and Kansas City has been dominating there all season long.

Denver has the worst rushing offense in football and the third-worst rushing defense, so if you didn't jump off the Broncos bandwagon after the 45-point thrashing last week, you might want to do so now.

The Raiders are the third-ranked rushing team in the NFL at 158.4 yards per carry, but they have failed to stop the run as they are currently ranked 28h while allowing 138.9 yards per game.

San Diego has been stout against the run this season, allowing just 857 yards per game, fourth best in the league, but they have featured an average running attack this season. The Chargers are averaging 105.3 yards per game this season on the ground, good for 17th best in the league.

That leaves the Chiefs as the only team in the division who has truly dominated in the running game on both sides of the ball and there is no reason to think they won't continue to do so this season.

The Chiefs offensive line has been much improved this season with the additions of center Casey Wiegmann and right guard Ryan Lilja. Four-time Pro Bowl left guard Brian Waters is playing at a very high level once again this season and former first-round pick Branden Albert is finally playing like the left tackle that the Chiefs took with the 15th overall selection in 2008. Right tackle Barry Richardson has stepped in for the injured Ryan O'Callaghan and done a nice job while Dwayne Bowe has developed into one of the league's premier blocking receivers.

This is a veteran offensive line in the middle with two improving, young players at the tackle positions that should only get better as the season continues.

Despite having a poor offensive line last season, Charles still managed to lead the league in yards per carry and now that the Chiefs are better in the trenches he has even more opportunities to gain yards.

Charles is the most explosive running back in football and Thomas Jones has shown great vision running the ball this season as he has yet to slow down even at the age of 32. There is no reason to think the Chiefs rushing attack will slow down anytime soon and the same can be said for the team's run defense.

Defensive end Glenn Dorsey started his career in much the same way that Albert started his, as an underachieving first-round selection from the 2008 draft. Just like Albert, Dorsey has seen a big improvement in his play this season and he has been a key part of the Chiefs trench domination.

Defensive end Shaun Smith has turned out to be a bigger offseason signing than people expected, and regardless of his tactics he is the team's sixth leading tackler.

Defensive tackle Ron Edwards has been one of the team's unsung heroes this season, with just 11 tackles he has put pressure on the quarterback recording two sacks and clogged running lanes all year.

The Chiefs have seen improved play from their linebackers in the run game, as new starting middle linebackers Derrick Johnson and Jovan Belcher are the team's two leading tacklers this season. Johnson did not play much last season while he was in coach Todd Haley's doghouse and Belcher was signed as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Maine prior to last season.

Rookie strong safety Eric Berry has struggled at times in coverage this season, but he has been great in coming up in run support and his 31 tackles this season are the third best on the team. Corner back Brandon Flowers also deserves some credit—he has been the definition of a shut down corner this season, but he is also one of the best tackling corners in the league.

The Chiefs will continue to have their detractors because they are a young and mostly unproven team with a "soft" schedule, but they are the real deal and their ability to dominate the running game means they are the clear favorite to win the AFC West this season.