We all sorta expected it at some point. The Donkeys and Bolts have substantially improved so it looks like the cakewalks of years prior won't be so easy. They would give us the division by like game 8. Not this year even though we are highly likely to close it out again. End of year division games may mean much more this year.
I think it's better for the Chiefs as they have to focus for every game and the proof will be in the results. No easy games.
Then you have the Raiders, who are the Browns or Jets of the West. They have one or two big victories a year like beating the Ravens this year and us last year.
As we finish up 2024 with a Super Bowl march and look at 2025 and beyond, our drafts, the ability to execute in free agency and having a season with fewer injuries will be much more important.
Beating them will be tougher BUT much more rewarding.
Here's to a better overall, more respected AFC West.........:-) [Reply]
I loved the Harbaugh and Peyton hires. Honestly, I wouldn't have been mad if Reid retired and KC hired one of them. Both are fantastic coaches and significant upgrades to their previous coaches....and after sucking ass for so long, they are loaded with talent.
Originally Posted by emaw1979:
I loved the Harbaugh and Peyton hires. Honestly, I wouldn't have been mad if Reid retired and KC hired one of them. Both are fantastic coaches and significant upgrades to their previous coaches....and after sucking ass for so long, they are loaded with talent.
Then there are the Raiders...
Sean Peyton is a low life piece of shit coach that paid players (bounty gait) to end careers of football players. I would be pissed if he ever coached the Chiefs. He fits the Broncos with their history of cut blocking.
I think the biggest difference this year is that the AFCW has outstanding coaches.
Reid, Payton, and Harbaugh all have their warts but they're all highly decorated coaches with success all the way up to the Super Bowl level.
I really think we need to appreciate the job Sean Payton is doing with a limited Bo Nix, he's really squeezed everything out of him that he can. Harbaugh is doing the same in LA.
The Chiefs, as always, have the highest upside of the bunch, but they can't simply roll over these teams like they have in the past.
All of this excepts the Raiders, which are just horrendous across the board. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mile High Mania:
Schedules are so similar aside from 2 games, right? Not a lot of difference there.
3 games. We have to play the top seeds from the other 2 AFC divisions and an additional game against a team in the NFC which finished with a similar standing in 2023-24, which was the 49ers.
In that additional NFC game the Chargers played the Cardinals and the Broncos played the Seahawks. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Best22:
You got the Jets and Colts, we got the Bills and Texans. Chargers will face the Dolphins and Jaguars
Yeah it makes a difference
Could you imagine the whining of the NFL if the Chiefs faced the Jets rather than the Bills, and the Colts rather than the Texans? Our only loss on the year right now is to the Bills, and one of their only 2 losses is to the Texans. Yeah, you're right. It makes a difference. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Best22:
You got the Jets and Colts, we got the Bills and Texans. Chargers will face the Dolphins and Jaguars
Yeah it makes a difference
On paper before the season, it looks fairly significant… no so much though as it plays out. Yeah, the Bills are the biggest difference, but that’s expected. It’s not as if Denver and Chargers have been feasting on winless teams and KC has run through this gauntlet of mega teams. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mile High Mania:
On paper before the season, it looks fairly significant… no so much though as it plays out. Yeah, the Bills are the biggest difference, but that’s expected. It’s not as if Denver and Chargers have been feasting on winless teams and KC has run through this gauntlet of mega teams.
So, if it doesn't make a difference, then why do it? How about next year we give the Broncos the "most difficult" schedule and the Chiefs the "easiest" schedule? You say it's only "on paper," but if you take a look at the current standings, you'll notice that those 2 AFC games that the Chiefs have scheduled differently than the Broncos were both against teams either in first place in their division or nearly so, but both well above .500. OTOH, the Broncos had those 2 games against a last place team, and another that while in 2nd place in their division is still under .500.
The NFL is an extremely difficult league in which to win. Having 12% of your games against competition that is clearly much better than average, versus 12% of your schedule against competition that is either clearly much worse than average or around average is a decided advantage.
The competition for the #1 seed and the final playoff spots will be fierce. A single game decided by the bounce of a football can put teams either in or out of the playoffs. Playing a more difficult schedule makes a big difference. [Reply]
Originally Posted by emaw1979:
I loved the Harbaugh and Peyton hires. Honestly, I wouldn't have been mad if Reid retired and KC hired one of them. Both are fantastic coaches and significant upgrades to their previous coaches....and after sucking ass for so long, they are loaded with talent.
