Talking sports and the first 5 games

[Mile High Mania]

There's not a great deal of real 'sports talk' happening in various threads, just a bunch of nut kicking and trashing Knowmo, all justified. First off, there's no doubt in my mind that the Chiefs are winning the division and the other three teams are fighting for the right to finish 2-3 games behind them at best for the 2-4 slots in the division.

Just wanted to get that out of the way first. I started this to get a general consensus of whether or not there will be any pressure put on KC from within the division after the first month.

Chiefs
Ravens / Bengals / @ Falcons / @ Chargers / Saints
3 of 5 at home, but it's a tough 3 games with those offenses they face. Chargers and Saints should be easy wins. I think KC starts off 4-1 and while a 5-0 start would not be shocking, I just don't think they escape those first 3 games undefeated.

Raiders
@ Chargers / @ Ravens / Panthers / Browns / @ Broncos
3 of 5 on the road, and I see 3-2 after this start. If they lose to the Chargers in week 1, then they have more issues than anyone imagined. I think the Ravens are the only definite loss, but they're not going 4-1.

Broncos
@ Seahawks / Steelers / @ Buccaneers / @ Jets / Raiders
3 of 5 on the road and given their history and likely starting Nix in week 1, you cannot honestly say any of these is a gimme win, but I am confident they can win their 2 home games. I think they lose at Tampa and the Jets, but will surprise a few in week 1. I think they are 3-2 after this stretch, but 2-3 is not unreasonable to suggest.

Chargers
Raiders / @ Panthers / @ Steelers / Chiefs / BYE / @ Broncos
I think this team is the weakest of the bunch to start off the season considering what they lost. They should have an easy win vs CAR, but it's a road game. This team is the biggest unknown to me, but I think they go 2-3, possibly 1-4 during this stretch.

So, I'll stick with KC not going undefeated and take the worst case with the others for the purposes of this one...

Chiefs 4-1
Raiders 3-2
Broncos 2-3
Chargers 1-4

And, there was no rhyme/reason for just looking at the first 5 games other than to just look at the early part of the schedules in digestible chunks.

Early on, I think there will be some hope that it's competitive, but it won't last. So, what do your records look like after 5 games?


(and no, this is not the start of a series or going back to the 2011 version of the 'state of the AFCW'. It's a one-time thing)

[TomBarndtsTwin]

I agree with the OP's predictions, except i would flip flop 3 & 4.

Chiefs 4-1
Raiders 3-2
Chargers 2-3
Donkos 1-4

Honestly, I'm not sure how ANY Donk fan could be "confident" they are winning both home games (against Raiders and Steelers). Donks hardly ever beat Raiders and that Defense, particularly the D-Line, is gonna be nasty this year. Bo or Jarrett or whoever gonna be in for a long day against them. And the Steelers are just a better overall team. I'll give them one of those, but I could honestly see them beating TB and losing both of the home games, so I feel 'confident' about a 1-4 prediction for the Donkos start.

[TEX]

Originally Posted by Mile High Mania

My hunch is that most of those putting KC at 4-1 are leaning towards the 1 loss being to the Bengals, yeah?

Not sure. IMO, they lose to the Ravens and beat the Bengals.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Mile High Mania

My hunch is that most of those putting KC at 4-1 are leaning towards the 1 loss being to the Bengals, yeah?

Anyone predicting a loss this season is untrustworthy and should not be believed.

[tredadda]

Originally Posted by Mile High Mania

My hunch is that most of those putting KC at 4-1 are leaning towards the 1 loss being to the Bengals, yeah?

If they are 4-1 I think that loss will most likely come from the Ravens. I don’t see or believe that the Bengals have improved enough to beat KC.

[Mile High Mania]

I just don't see KC losing the home opener...

[KurtCobain]

I swear I tried to look at this without bias. It's just a gut feeling.


Post-Week 5 Standings :


Chiefs 5-0
Chargers 2-2
Broncos 2-3
Raiders 2-3

[Hayneplane]

After the first 2 games with future seeding position and bragging rights on the line they will be hyper focused and motivated and the banana skin game could be Falcons for a weird loss like the Colts game a couple of years ago.

[mr. tegu]

The biggest fluke loss the Chiefs have had in a long time that I can recall was last years Lions game. They always come out prepared and sharp and they are not losing the home opener to the Ravens. Especially because they know this could be a big game in the standings at the end of the season.

If they lose 1 game I’d say it’s much more likely a slight let down game at the Falcons after going 2-0 against two big AFC contenders at home.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by Hayneplane

After the first 2 games with future seeding position and bragging rights on the line they will be hyper focused and motivated and the banana skin game could be Falcons for a weird loss like the Colts game a couple of years ago.

Beat me to it!

[Megatron96]

Chiefs 3-2
Raiders 2-3
Broncos 2-3
Chargers 3-2


Chiefs could go 4-1 or better, but we have a rookie at LT and there may be some growing pains there. We're a little thin at RB, and once again we're starting a couple new WRs. We also lost both Gay and Sneed on defense, and it might take some time for Spags to get the defense sorted. Not crazy that they might be a little clunky right out of the gate, 3-2.

Raiders don't have a real QB, a rook HC, don't recall anything of note about their OC Luke Getsy, and questions in their secondary. Could easily see them stumble out of the blocks.

DEN start with three away games, with a rookie QB, and three of those teams feature very good pass rushes. They could easily go 1-4 or worse, but we'll say they eke out a couple Ws.

LAC only plays one team that has a legit starting QB (KC, obviously), so could go 4-1, but I think the lack of offensive weapons and the introduction of yet another new system, and the fact that this has been one of the worst defenses the last couple seasons, will bite them a couple times.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by ChiefGator

Just interested... why do you think the Ravens will only be good, not great like last year?

Did I miss something in the offseason?

They had to rebuild their OL, and I think that'll mess with Derrick Henry, who I think is going to lose juice by the end of the season. And as usual, they have one receiver.

I also think there's holes in the secondary there, which is true of 100% of the teams in the NFL. There is no ironclad secondary in the NFL, but that means they better put QBs on their butts because there's some opportunity waiting to be had against them.

I think they're going to be very good. Maybe 12 wins, but I think 10 or 11 is more likely unless Lamar goes nuclear all year.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Yeah, the Chiefs always seem to be up to speed after training camp but don't turn on that full passion until they get a loss put on them.

I hope they come fired up on Opening day after blowing last years opener when they didnt bring their best game,

No matter how many games we lose, we will win the AFC west and get into the playoffs. Then betting on the Chiefs to lose in the playoffs is a bad bet.

I actually think the Chiefs played very well against the Lions. They were missing Chris Jones but put nonstop pressure on Goff with a very good OL protecting him, and they probably win that game by a couple touchdowns if Toney doesn't single handedly give it away.