Divisional Opponents Shouldn't Be Taken Lightly

While it wasn't easy, the Kansas City Chiefs secured a 22-16 victory over the Denver Broncos, clinching a spot in the playoffs for the sixth-straight season. The game fell short of expectations as the Chiefs were favored to win by 14 points according to Las Vegas oddsmakers, but is it fair to expect Kansas City to blowout their divisional foes?

While it wasn't easy, the Kansas City Chiefs secured a 22-16 victory over the Denver Broncos, clinching a spot in the playoffs for the sixth-straight season.

The game fell short of expectations as the Chiefs were favored to win by 14 points according to Las Vegas oddsmakers, but is it fair to expect Kansas City to blowout their divisional foes?

On today's episode of Roughing the Kicker, Arrowhead Report's Jordan Foote joins me to decompress about the game and break down what all happened.

The first time these two teams met, it was a lopsided affair in Denver. All three phases of the Chiefs got involved and helped Kansas City to a big win. On Sunday, it looked like none of the phases wanted to show up as the Chiefs "underwhelmed" their pregame predictions.

Blowouts shouldn't be expected against divisional teams. Those are unfair expectations. Expecting a multi-score victory seems ridiculous in this year's NFL, let alone to a divisional opponent.

While expecting a win is one thing, expecting a blowout against a team who is being constructed to beat you is different.

For the Chiefs, the Chargers, Raiders and Broncos need to build their team to beat the Chiefs. The road to the AFC West title runs through Kansas City. Coaches are going to find the team's weakness and then find players to exploit it.

An example is Denver and Las Vegas' use of a tight end. Both of these teams have good tight ends and the Chiefs struggle to cover that position with the personnel they have. With the parody that exists in the league now, it's hard to assume a blowout or even a win.

Although the Chiefs only have one divisional game left on the schedule, let's do ourselves a favor and set the expectations low. The Chargers always play Kansas City close. Even against LA, it's hard to assume a blowout.  

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