NFL Playoff Scenarios: 10 Ways the Kansas City Chiefs Can Win the AFC West
With the action in Week 15 of the 2010 NFL season winding down, it is now time to look ahead at the potential playoff picture.
For the Kansas City Chiefs, they are currently sitting atop the AFC West with a game lead and two games left to go this year. With the Chargers literally breathing down the Chiefs' neck, KC will have little margin for error over the next two weeks.
Also, the Oakland Raiders are just two games back, so don't sleep on the Raiders just yet.
On paper, it appears that the Chiefs should have this division locked up with two home games against opponents with losing records, but this is why games and ultimately division titles are not settled on paper.
10. Jamaal Charles Can Continue His Dominance
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Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles has been on fire of late, as he has rushed for over 100 yards in three out of his last four games and is now third in the league in rushing.
He has made opposing rush defense look foolish this season by averaging an impressive 6.4 yards per carry and seems to only be getting better with each game.
If Kansas City's next two opponents, the Titans and Raiders, have problems slowing down Charles, the Chiefs will be even harder to beat down the stretch and will make it easier for them to wrap up their first division championship since 2003.
9. If Matt Cassel Can Maintain His Efficient Play
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Chiefs QB Matt Cassel has been one of the most efficient QBs in the NFL this season, as he has a touchdown to interception ratio of 24/5.
He has emerged as a potential franchise QB this season and has really progressed well throughout the year.
KC will need him to play well in the final two weeks of the '10 regular season in order to help lead this team to its first playoff birth since the '06 season.
8. The Defense Can Shut Down Chris Johnson and Run DMC
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With a duo of formidable running backs heading into town in the next couple weeks, the Chiefs defense will have their hands full in finding ways to slow them down.
Tennessee Titans RB Chris Johnson won the '09 regular season rushing title and Run DMC aka Darren McFadden has racked up over 1,100 rushing yards this season with six games over 100 or more rushing yards.
Stopping these two could be the key to winning both of these games as each of their team's respective offenses are partially centered around these two playmakers.
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7. The Young Secondary Matures Even More
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The Chiefs have by far one of the youngest secondaries in the NFL today.
Starting safeties Eric Berry and Kendrick Lewis are both rookies and cornerbacks Brandon Flowers and Brandon Carr are each in their third year in the league.
This however doesn't mean that they are all very talented players overall; it just means that they have and will make some mistakes because of their youth.
KC can ill-afford to have its young secondary lose focus near the end of this season, and need them to grow up a lot each week as the games continue to become bigger.
6. The Arrowhead Advantage
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With KC playing its last two games at home this season, I figured it was only fitting to throw in this reason as well.
The home turf has been very kind to the Chiefs in the past, and this season has been no different. The Chiefs are currently undefeated at home for the year and they look to add onto this with two more wins in Weeks 16 and 17.
Arrowhead Stadium is widely regarded as one of the noisiest and toughest places to play in all of professional sports and for this reason alone, the Chiefs always have a solid chance to win at home in any game they play there.
5. Dwayne Bowe Plays Like a Number One NFL Receiver
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Chiefs wideout Dwayne Bowe has been up and down once again this season, but when he has been up, it's been easily the best play that the fourth-year receiver has turned in during his young career.
However, he has just three catches for 56 yards in his last three games combined.
This will have to change in the Chiefs next two games in order to not only give QB Matt Cassel a reliable target but also to help his team claim the AFC West crown this season.
4. Haley's Gambles Don't End Up Hurting the Team
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Chiefs coach Todd Haley has been known to many as a gambling type and he has proven this on many occasions with his team this season.
Fortunately for the Chiefs, not too many of Haley's gambles have affected the team in a negative way.
Kansas City might not have much room for mistakes in these final two weeks of regular season play and the last thing that it needs is a coach who gambles their season away in the end.
3. Chiefs Win One of Two, and Raiders/Chargers Each Lose One of Two
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With a one-game lead and only two weeks left in the season, there really isn't much that the Chiefs have to do in order to win the division at this point in time.
By winning just one of the two remaining games on the schedule and having both San Diego and Oakland lose one of their final two games, the Chiefs will have essentially wrapped up the division title.
Yes it's that simple, and the Chiefs could make it much sweeter if the clinching win was against the Raiders in Week 17 later this season.
2. Raiders and Chargers Lose Last Two Games
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The San Diego Chargers will be on the road both games to close out their season against the lowly Bengals and the struggling Denver Broncos. Oakland will have the Colts at home with a trip to Kansas City to close out their year.
While it might not be a likely scenario, both teams could lose their both of their remaining games this season as the Chargers have struggled at times on the road this season and the Raiders have been inconsistent for much of the year.
This situation would mean that the Chiefs could obviously lose both of their last couple games and still win the division. You can say that this scenario will never happen, but stranger things have occurred in the past, just ask Kansas City about their '06 playoff birth if you don't believe me.
1. Chiefs Win out the Remaining Two Games
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This is by far the simplest way for the Chiefs to win the title outright, and it could be very likely to happen as well.
The Chiefs are currently perfect at home with a 6-0 record in '10 and will be playing against a 6-8 Titans team and a 7-7 Raiders team who are definitely beatable in Kansas City with the homefield advantage.
Winning the last two games would also save KC of the headaches that might occur from not being able to control its own destiny.
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