Chiefs have a unique advantage in preparing for whoever they play in divisional round of playoffs
The Kansas City Chiefs have had plenty of time on their hands as of late. After locking up the No. 1 seed in the AFC on Christmas Day, the Chiefs have rested several key starters ever since. However, they are no strangers to this. More often than not over the past several years, Kansas City […]
The Kansas City Chiefs have had plenty of time on their hands as of late.
After locking up the No. 1 seed in the AFC on Christmas Day, the Chiefs have rested several key starters ever since. However, they are no strangers to this. More often than not over the past several years, Kansas City has opted for rest and preparation as it enters the postseason.
Players are getting healthy while staying sharp in meetings and practice. As the Chiefs await to find out who they will play in the divisional round next week, they are preparing all possibilities. While speaking to the media on Friday, coach Andy Reid noted that they have the unique advantage of having already played every AFC playoff team during the regular season.
"We've actually played all the teams that are in the playoffs, which is crazy," Reid said. "You've got to go back, though. You can't be content with that. So, the four teams that we have a chance to potentially play in a couple weeks here, we've tried to hammer those out. And we're going to continue to do that until we find out what the results are, probably Sunday night, somewhere in that area, or at least late afternoon I'd imagine. So, we'll figure it out and see where it goes. But, we're going to try to be ready for all of them while we have this time. And we've tried to use it smart as a coaching staff, at the same time, we want to make sure our players are fresh but still stay sharp. So ,they'll work today in pads, and they'll go tomorrow. Then Sunday, whether it's a Saturday game or Sunday game, they'll have Sunday off."
The Chiefs will face either the Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans, Pittsburgh Steelers, or Denver Broncos in the divisional round. Not only has K.C. already played those teams this year, it beat all of them. That provides the opportunity for the Chiefs to be extremely well prepared, especially if their opponent ends up being the Chargers or Broncos, who they've played twice this season.
However, there is a potential negative flip side to all of this. It is very challenging to beat the same team twice in the same season, or – in regards to Denver and Los Angeles – three times. The Chiefs will have to come up with some new wrinkles, which fortunately Reid has plenty of. They also have some personnel that they can do more with after being without them for most of the season, such as wide receiver Hollywood Brown and cornerback Jaylen Watson.
