* both my NCAA rooting interests (KU and Syracuse) will tip off their seasons against teams from last year's Elite Eight, and both ranked inside the Top Fifteen to open the season (Duke and Virginia, respectively).
* I'll get together with my oldest group of friends to celebrate us somehow all surviving another trip around the sun. (Although my liver may give out any day, if we're being honest here).
* both my dad and my second dad will undergo surgery. (Damn, getting old sucks.) Although the fact that my bowling teammate will be my dad's nurse for (at least) a night has me strangely geeked up. I know the, uuh, mischief she played out on me over a decade between work and bowling. This could be entertaining.
* and oh yeah, I'll be going to Nashville for the Chiefs / Titans game with two good friends that are Titans fans (Nicole and Andrew) and a third friend that apparently has nothing better to do (Brock).
So ... when your schedule is crammed, you might as well get at it.
Here is how the AFC stands after Week Nine:
Like with last week, the standings are divided into three tiers: your division leaders, your credible wild card contenders, and your (for now) also rans. (No, I do not believe those people are going to get back into it -- four of their next five after this week's bye are on the road, all against teams currently in the playoffs. Good luck with that guys. But if the Browns can spring the upset this week, they're not dead yet. Let's just say they've beaten the right teams on their schedule so far ... and the others await.)
Last week didn't go as hoped for within the division -- every AFC West team won -- but it went spectacularly well outside of the division, as the Steelers knocked the Colts into Wild Card territory, and the Patriots finally lost -- convincingly -- in Crab Cake City.
Here then is your Chiefs Fan Week Ten Rooting Interest Guide.
* Byes: Patriots, Texans, Jaguars, those people. Two of these teams are making the playoffs, most likely as division champions. How sweet it is to know, that neither of those two teams is the one that plays an alleged mile high above sea level.
(Note: there's a damned reasonable chance the game against those people on December 15th will be to clinch the division for the fourth straight season. If you think I'm obnoxious and unbearable at any random game against those people? Throw playoff ramifications into the mix, and brace yourself for impact, is all I can say.)
* Biggest Game: "Super" Chargers at raiders (Thursday, 7:20pm, FOX). For all intents and purposes, if the Chiefs take care of business in Nashville, this is an elimination game in the AFC West, because the loser would be three back in the win column (jimmy buffett voice) come Monday.
The "Super" Chargers need this game much more than the raiders do, to be honest -- they still have two games left against the Chiefs, plus they still have to host the Vikings. If they win two of those, but lose Thursday night? Their ceiling is 10-6, and no offense, but 10-6 isn't catching the Chiefs barring a complete unforeseen collapse. And even then, 10-6 is probably the Chiefs floor if they win Sunday.
The raiders have a much easier schedule left, and honestly, if they don't finish 10-6, there should be some serious internal decision-making about the coaching staff and the roster. They still have the "Super" Chargers twice, the Bengals and Titans and Jaguars at home, plus the Jets and those people on the road. (And the December 1st showdown at Arrowhead that is so getting flexed to 3:25pm from its' current noon slot.)
This has the makings of one great Thursday nighter -- two desperate teams trying to overcome horrific starts, to scrape into the clusterf*ck for the AFC's last team in. I love it.
Root For: raiders. One of these two teams scares me. The other doesn't. Also, one of these teams still has two cracks at us, sitting two games behind us. I'd rather see them knocked three back, so they can't catch us directly without the Chiefs slipping up.
Second Biggets Game: Bills at Browns (Sunday, noon CT, CBS). It would probably behoove Freddie Kitchens to win this game. It would definitely behoove the Browns offense to get the damned ball into OBJ's hands.
Also, the "look how much being a Brown has aged Baker Mayfield" meme is hysterical:
Root For: Browns. A loss here probably puts Buffalo's ceiling at 11-5 (figuring losses at Dallas and at New England), and they still have to host Baltimore and visit Pittsburgh. The Bills are anything but a lock for the top wild card. Or either wild card. Especially with a loss Sunday.
Again folks: always root for chaos. Especially if your team(s) is free and clear from it.
Third Biggest Game: Dolphins at Colts (Sunday, noon CT, CBS). With the likely probability Brian Hoyer is starting this game, this suddenly becomes an intriguing "maybe, possibly upset brewing?" possibility. (In case you doubt me as to how awful Brian Hoyer is, this is the last time we saw him, Chiefs fans.)
I'm not expecting a miracle here, but a kid can dream, dammit. Also, this is a sneaky big game for Indy -- they've already lost to the "Super" Chargers and Steelers, still have the Jags twice, and have more conference losses than the Bills and raiders. They really can't afford to drop this one.
Root for: Dolphins. Duh. Always root for chaos, especially if your team(s) is free and clear from it. We want a gigantic clusterf*ck at 9-7 the likes of which the AFC has never seen before. (Or at least since 2017, when strength of victory was a factor in the Bills getting in as the sixth seed over your "Super" Chargers and Ravens.)
Other Game Rooting Interests:
* Ravens at Bengals: Bengals. From the "wish in one hand and sh*t in the other" file.
* Rams at Steelers: Rams. A loss doesn't really hurt the Steelers, but man would a win help them.
* Giants vs Jets: Giants. Only seven games left of the Browning Nagle Junior error?
Next Week? Week Eleven -- the NFL's version of "Moving Day at a Major". Pats / Eagles, Chiefs / "Super" Chargers, Texans / Ravens, Colts / Jaguars, Steelers / Browns. Lots of "Kitchen Sink and Then Some" potential in next week's schedule, up to and including a potential "Throwdown for Tua" showdown at Fake RFK between the Jets and 'Skins ...
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