Jan. 26, 2019
The 2018 season for the Kansas City Chiefs was a pretty successful one and its fans are hoping to see a lot of the same in 2019. For a number of reasons Chiefs fans will get their wish.
The 2019 season will see the Chiefs as a defending division champion play a first place schedule. The schedule will lend itself to a number of match ups the NFL television partners will enjoy airing in prime time. The Chiefs saw action on Thursday night, Sunday nights and a Monday night this past season. Having QB Patrick Mahomes back behind center will also give TV networks reason to schedule Chiefs games on their group of stations. Mahomes entertained and delighted NFL Fans all season long in 2018 as he threw for 50 touchdowns and over 5,000 yards.
The team is already aware of one game that will be much the same to the year just completed. The Chiefs are slated to play a team from Los Angeles in Mexico City in 2019. However this time it’s the LA Chargers and not the Rams that will host the Chiefs that week. Having this road game be an AFC West Division game raises the interest and importance of the meeting.
While the official NFL schedule comes out in April fans will not know the makeup of the 2019 Chiefs roster until training camp starts in St. Joseph in late July. Chiefs coaches and front office staff will look at choices to be made in the NFL draft first, but then free agency looms with important decisions to be made. Chiefs must decide on finding a running back to provide depth at the position or a premier back to start in place of the departed Kareem Hunt.
The defense side of the ball presents the most impactful decisions for the 2019 Chiefs team. What to do with LB Dee Ford, does the front office give him a franchise tag or attempt to give him a lengthy contract? Can the Chiefs do that while still paying fellow LB’s Justin Houston and Anthony Hitchens big money? Then in the secondary do the Chiefs keep All Pro S Eric Berry at around $10 million plus knowing he may not play a full season? With the team’s decision to fire defensive coordinator Bob Sutton it’s possible the new defensive coordinator will run a different scheme which will further change the team’s needs at the defensive positions.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid’s final press conference of the season indicates just how positive the team is compared to his final comments at his last 2017 presser. After the Chiefs lost to Tennessee in the playoffs Coach Reid made it clear the team was going to be different in 2018 referencing veterans Alex Smith, Tamba Hali, Derrick Johnson would soon be gone. After the team’s loss in OT in the AFC championship game Coach Reid alerted everyone he hopes the loss “hurts” his players and makes them want to get better for next year. This indicates not many changes expected during the off season with the Chiefs current roster structure.
One thing is clear as fans look forward to what’s ahead in 2019. This youthful team is exciting to watch and it’s a joy to see them grow, get better together and succeed on the football field. There will also be a lot of national attention again on the Chiefs as they work towards another AFC West Division title. That’s What I REID Into It for this off-season.
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