Hope

I was afraid of something over the last couple years. That once the Chiefs finally won a playoff game that I wouldn't be content. That I would be greedy. After years of saying "just win a damn game" that I'd be longing for more.

And yes, of course, I'd like the Chiefs to win this weekend. If they actually win this weekend, I'd actually start thinking about the Super Bowl and that's more than I can even handle right now. But you know what? I'm genuinely content. They won a damn game. They won a game and made it to the divisional round. And there's something special about that.

Because now we're in the final 8 teams. All 8 teams are playing. There aren't better teams sitting out. Everyone is on the line. And sure some teams are home teams and some are favored by the spread. But once you get on that field, anybody has a chance.

The other thing that's special? There are playoff teams eliminated. The Texans, Bengals, Vikings, and Washington all won their divisions, which means they had a good season. And they're already done. They never had a chance to hope.

This whole week is joy. It's 7 days where your team is a winner, still alive, while others are not. Your team has hope. You're on the front pages of NFL.com.

You're in the discussion. I get to talk to the Broncos, Patriots, Steelers and Packers fans at work. And that's something.

The 2003 Chiefs had a better regular season record (13-3) but were one and done in the divisional round. These Chiefs won a postseason game which means this is the best Chiefs season I've ever seen.

It's really hard to wrap my head around, that the best Chiefs season I've ever seen was one where they started 1-5.