By Fred Liggett
FredL@lstribune.net
Welcome Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs Kingdom, and the Kansas City Chiefs to the AFC playoffs. Three AFC playoff games will have been decided by the time the Chiefs take the field to host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Of the six AFC teams in the playoffs the Chiefs are the last ones to take the field. That’s just one of the benefits the Chiefs get for earning a first round bye.
Chiefs fans call themselves members of the Chiefs Kingdom and Arrowhead Stadium gives the team what is known as the “Arrowhead Advantage.” The Chiefs finished 6-2 at home this regular season. The Chiefs will try to take advantage of this when they meet the Steelers in a AFC divisional round game. Thanks to a bye week the Chiefs gave the players five days off last week before preparing for what they hope will be a lengthy playoff run. Players like All-Pro LB Justin Houston and RB Spencer Ware are both set to return to the team’s lineup. Besides a healthier lineup, Chiefs will benefit from more time to game plan for their upcoming opponent. Coach Andy Reid is 19-2 coming off from a bye week in the regular season and 3-0 in the post season. These numbers all bode well for another home win at Arrowhead for the Chiefs.
“Tip of the cap to them,” is what Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said when asked about his team’s chances to beat Miami in the AFC wild card round after losing to them 30-15 in the regular season. Chiefs Coach Reid will look to do the same as the Steelers decked the Chiefs on a Sunday night 43-14. Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell played in his first game of the season that day and ran Through the Chiefs for 144 yards. Now it’s the Chiefs turn to use home field and a second opportunity to earn a win against a team they lost too earlier in the year.
The Chiefs last post-season win at Arrowhead was a head turning 27-24 OT win over Pittsburgh in 1993. Thanks to a Steelers team with a key pair of banged up players and an assistant coach suspended, the time is ripe for a well-rested Chiefs team to score another home playoff win. I sense another 27-24 Chiefs win will happen on Sunday this time it will end when the fourth quarter ends. That’s What I REID Into It for this week.
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