Wide Open NFL

So here's something. On the NFL opening night, the Chiefs beat the Patriots. The Chiefs also started 5-0. That's good!

And yet, since opening night, the Chiefs have gone 4-2. The Patriots have gone 5-1.

The Steelers barely squeaked by the Browns and lost to the Bears and Jaguars. And yet they're 5-2 also.

The Chiefs loss to the Steelers was not surprising. The loss to the Raiders really wasn't that surprising either because the Raiders are supposed to be good and divisional games on the road, especially on a short week, should never be considered a gimme. (These days, no game is a gimme, so nothing should surprise us.)

But when you look at those three teams tied at 5-2, it doesn't matter what's surprising, it only matters what's in the win column. The bye is huge. And while playing at Arrowhead doesn't even get close to guaranteeing a win, having to go to Heinz or Gillette in January is an absolute disaster. The Chiefs do hold the tiebreaker over the Patriots and that's still what you'd rather have, but the Steelers hold it over the Chiefs. Pittsburgh and New England will play each other on December 17 at the Steelers.

You look at the Steelers schedule and not a lot of tough opponents. Packers minus Rodgers. Colts, Titans, Bengals, Ravens, Browns. Their toughest game in the next 6 is going on the road to Detroit.

So here I am. I really really need the Lions to beat the Steelers. Of course, most of all, I need the Chiefs to win their next game...

Let's see, what's that going to be...

Oh nothing really, just a Monday Night Football game at Arrowhead against the 2nd best team in the division, the team I hate the most. A primetime nationally televised home game the night before Halloween. Where if the Chiefs lose, they lose all the momentum in the division. But if they win, they'd have a huge divisional lead. Oh man. That's the thing about winning big games. The more you win, the bigger the games get. Opening night was a big win and it just makes this game even bigger.

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Oh and the Packers, Panthers and Falcons all look like shit. The Vikes are #2 in the NFC and they don't have a QB. The Seahawks have struggled. So the best teams are the Eagles with Wentz and the Rams with Goff...This really does feel like the NFL is as wide open as it's ever been.

For a team with Alex Smith or Matthew Stafford, you only get so many chances where the Bradys and Rodgers of the worlds aren't dominating. Gotta make them count.