By Nick Athan
Warpaint Illustrated
December 26, 2010
For those that were smart enough to see this one coming, I would suggest they take permanent residence in Las Vegas if they had accurately predicted that the Kansas City Chiefs would be hoisting the 2010 AFC West title belt.
When the Kansas City Chiefs started the 2010 season with three straight wins, many doubted that their winning ways would continue. And certainly nobody thought they could actually win a division title.
After all, in their last three seasons the team managed just ten wins. On Sunday, they notched their tenth victory of the year by defeating the Tennessee Titans 34-14. And that victory, coupeled with the Chargers' embarrassing 34-20 loss at Cincinnati three hours later, the Chiefs completed their division knockout punch.
What happened on Sunday to create the Chiefs perfect storm wasn't the most probable of scenarios. But when you consider that prior to their AFC battle with Tennessee, the Chiefs were a perfect 6-0 at home.
On the flip side the Chargers were just 1-3 against teams on the road with losing records. So it really wasn't all that far fetched that the Chiefs had the upper hand on Sunday.
From the opening bell against the Titans, the Chiefs brought their 'A' game. They found the end zone twice in their first two possessions behind a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Matt Cassel to running back Jamaal Charles.
Then midway through the second quarter, Cassel hit the Titans with an upper cut that all but put the game away when he hit receiver Dwayne Bowe on a picture-perfect crossing pattern that resulted in a 75-yard touchdown and a 24-0 lead.
However, if that wasn't enough to convince fans that the Chiefs were on their way to their first division title since 2003, safety Eric Berry delivered the final jab of the afternoon.
After the Titans closed the gap to 24-7, the first-round pick from the University of Tennessee intercepted a pass from quarterback Kerry Collins for a 54-yard scamper that put the game out of reach, 31-7.
It was then that the Chargers began their warm-ups in Cincinnati and realized if they didn't defeat the Bengals, they'd not only miss out on their fifth straight division title but miss out on a post season birth altogether.
The salt in San Diego's wound lies in the fact that the Chiefs put a beat down on the Titans, while the Chargers succumbed to the pressure and failed to repeat as champions.
Now they'll spend the entire offseason in envy of the Chiefs. That's because Kansas City proved without a doubt that they could sustain their winning ways and hold off a Chargers team that many felt would be in contention for a Super Bowl title.
All season long many felt -- based on their recent past -- that the Chiefs would fail in their drive to the playoffs. But that wasn't the case and now they enter the final game of the season winning four of their last five games.
Ahead the Chiefs will have the luxury of preparing for their final tune-up for the playoffs with a home game against division rival Oakland. However, it's not a meaningless game. Should the Chiefs win next weekend, they'll wrap up the AFC's third overall seed.
If they lose to the Raiders and the Indianapolis Colts win at home against the Titans, Kansas City will enter the post season tournament as the AFC's fourth seed. And that would mean the Chiefs would have to climb into the ring and go toe-to-toe against the red hot New England Patriots.
But before the 2010 AFC West Champions can punch that or any other playoff card, they'll need to win their first playoff game at Arrowhead since January of 1994.
