While a team’s true success is normally measured by the postseason, another definition of success might be how you measure up against teams in your own division.
Since Andy Reid took the helm as head coach in 2013, he has steadily brought the Kansas City Chiefs back towards domination. It may not be as quick or as pretty as the fans were wanting, but it is happening.
The NFL looks at wins, postseason, and ultimately Super Bowls as a measure of success for a team, and they’re not wrong. Repeat winners in the postseason and Super Bowls show a willingness to win, a grit, a determination to survive because they want to be the best.
For die-hard fans, it’s rivalries. Those rivalries play a vital role in creating the character or hubris they feel their team has which will carry them through the regular season into the postseason, and then extend into future seasons.
Winning is pretty good, too.
After this latest season, you might be scratching your head wondering why some people appear to be all in for the Los Angeles Chargers to be the new rival for the Chiefs. The idea may have originated because of the games they played against each other this past season, mixed in with the decline in the performance of the Oakland Raiders and the Denver Broncos.
Some people might question if they are manufacturing a rivalry into existence. Trying to will the rivalry into fruition, or at least it feels that way.
There’s no doubt this past season the Chiefs and the Chargers put on a show in both games played. However, despite the fact that they’ve been in the same conference since 1960, it’s never felt the same as Chiefs vs. Raiders or Chiefs vs. Broncos. When you really think about it, the Chargers seem like the team in the AFC West that no one really cares about, until a major game is on the line or they’re having a great season.
So how does this affect Reid as a coach or the legacy he’s sure to have with the Chiefs?
Maybe not at all. At least maybe not to the extent players and fans feel about rivalries. It would be foolish to believe he doesn’t care. Who doesn’t care about winning, especially in your own division?
Let’s look at how the Chiefs have done against the other AFC West teams in the regular season since Reid became the head coach.
Against the Broncos, they are 7-5. The first two seasons weren’t all that great with losses in all match-ups. However, the seven wins have come all in a row starting with the second game of the 2015-16 season.
They’ve done pretty well against the Raiders with a 10-2 record. The only losses occurred in the 2014-15 and 2017-18 seasons.
Against the Chargers, the Chiefs have gone 9-3, which have two of the losses in the 2013-14 season and the one loss in the 2018-19 season.
So what does that mean for the Chiefs? Maybe nothing. Maybe everything. It’s always open for interpretation.
In six seasons, the Chiefs are 26-10 against the AFC West overall. That’s a winning percentage of about 72.23 percent. Those are pretty impressive numbers overall. Don’t forget that for the 2018-19 season, the Chiefs were 5-1 in the AFC West. Their only loss came against the Los Angeles Chargers … by one point.
Despite any deficiencies the Chiefs might have, you can’t say they’re not consistent. Or at least becoming more consistent.
There have been no postseason games against any AFC West team since Reid has been at the helm. At least not yet. Had the football gods smiled upon the AFC West, it very well could have been the Chiefs vs. Chargers in the AFC Conference game instead of the Chiefs vs. Patriots.
Who knows how the postseason would have ended then.
