No. 1 – Kansas City Chiefs
To paraphrase the immortal Crash Davis, you don’t mess with a streak. The Bull Durham protagonist may have been talking about baseball and women’s underwear, but the logic certainly applies to the Kansas City Chiefs, who enter the playoffs as the NFL’s hottest team.
The winners of 10 straight, Kansas City has not suffered a loss since before Halloween – Oct. 18 to be exact. Some have been of the blowout variety (33-3 over the Chargers) and some have been nail-biters (10-3 over those same Chargers), but one thing has been consistent: Kansas City has won and their opponents haven’t scored much.
Like their stealthy win streak, the Chiefs have crept up into the top-three in the league in scoring defense, top four in sacks and top five in takeaways. They have a ferocious front seven that has been problematic for teams with weak offensive lines, which could spell trouble for both Denver and New England if Kansas City can beat Houston in the Wild Card round.
Also propelling their success is a running game that hasn’t missed a beat with the loss of Jamaal Charles. KC ranks fifth in the league on the ground and has 19 rushing touchdowns, tied for most in the league.
Perhaps most importantly, the Chiefs aren’t giving the ball away. They are second to New England in giveaways with 15, but have an impressive plus-14 differential thanks to 28 takeaways.
To beat the Chiefs, you have to stop their front-seven, stop the run and take the ball away from them. For three straight months, no one has been able to do that. They may be the No. 5 seed, but they look like a team that could grind its way to a Super Bowl berth in the wide-open and question-filled AFC.
