Oakland Raiders: Predicting How The AFC West Plays Out This Season

2. Kansas City Chiefs

By virtue of their ten game winning streak to end the regular season and their first round thumping of a Houston Texans team really not ready for prime time, pundits left and right are lining up, ready to crown the Chiefs the winners of the AFC West this season.

There is no doubt that Kansas City’s streak last year was impressive. They had a very good run. But a little context is probably helpful when assessing just how impressed we should be with it. Though they had some quality wins in the mix, they also fattened up on teams like the Lions, the Chargers (twice), the Ravens, and the Browns.

Of course, the argument for the Chiefs claiming the AFC West crown over Oakland is that Kansas City beat the Raiders – twice. Fair enough.

But that was last year and things have changed a bit since then. The Chiefs, looking to add a little more pop to their offense, brought in former Raider Rod Streater to team with Jeremy Maclin and Albert Wilson. Jamaal Charles will also be back following a season ending injury last year – though, the running game seemed far more effective behind Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware.

But even though Kansas City has a couple new weapons, Alex Smith is still their quarterback. Though he can be an effective game manager, he’s not the most dynamic quarterback out there. Under his leadership, the Chiefs only managed to have the 27^th best offense in the league. They scored the ninth most points, but they didn’t move the ball particularly effectively or efficiently.

Having a few new flashy weapons isn’t going to make Smith anything more than what he is – an effective game manager, not somebody who can take over and dominate a game and will his team to victory.

The Chiefs also had plenty of instability on their offensive line, which led to some of the team’s offensive struggles. As a unit, the offensive line gave up a total of 46 sacks on the year. And with a couple of new faces after the release of Ben Grubbs, and the free agent departure of Jeff Allen, it could be more of the same.

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Where the Chiefs made their bones last season though, was on defense. That’s what helped propel them to their amazing win streak and postseason berth. The Chiefs had the league’s seventh best defense – and allowed the third fewest points in the league.

It’s that dominating defense – the type that helped lead the Broncos to a Super Bowl win – that was the primary catalyst for Kansas City’s success last season.

But on that side of the ball, the Chiefs are having some issues. Perhaps one of the biggest being the fact that Kansas City lost its best corner in Sean Smith – to the rival Raiders. Marcus Peters had a fantastic season for the Chiefs in 2015, notching eight interceptions and becoming one of the team’s most reliable defenders.

However, the presence of Smith – who more often than not, shadowed the other team’s number one receiver – on the other side and opposing team’s reluctance to test him allowed for Peters to see more balls thrown his way. While it’s true that Peters made plays on the balls thrown at him and was terrific in coverage, having somebody like Smith who locked down the other side of the field certainly didn’t hurt.

With Smith now gone, it will be interesting to see just how well Peters fares. Is he ready to step up and be the team’s number one corner? Kansas City sure better hope so.

The Chiefs’ pass rush also has a bit of a mess on their hands. Though all reports coming from the team seem to indicate that star pass rusher Justin Houston is going to play this season, he’s likely going to miss some time. How much time he’ll miss is still currently anybody’s guess.

But the Chiefs are hoping to have him back sooner rather than later as his presence on the field is going to be sorely missed. Especially, given the fact that they do not have somebody who can replace his leadership or production.

Of course, most eyes will turn to Tamba Hali and Derrick Johnson to help fill the void, but Hali is 32 years old and his production has steadily declined over the past couple of seasons. And Johnson, at 33 years old, has never had a season with more than 4.5 sacks.

Kansas City’s defense is going to take a big hit without Houston in the lineup. The Chiefs are simply hoping they can hang on until he returns.

The Chiefs will still be a good team next season, but they aren’t going to be able to sneak up on anybody and a tougher schedule all but guarantees that they will not have another ten game winning streak in them.

Record: 9-7 (2^nd in the AFC West)

Next: Poised To Make the Leap