What I REID Into It

December 26, 2020

Come home for the holidays is said a lot this time of year as many families wonder who will be joining them to enjoy Christmas together. The Kansas City Chiefs who have spent the past 4 out of 5 weekends on the road plan to do just that…Come home for the holidays.

The Chiefs, at 13-1, come home to Arrowhead Stadium to finish up the 2020 regular season with two home games. First up is an NFC opponent in the Atlanta Falcons. This game serves as the final one for the Chiefs working their way through the NFC South Division.

The Falcons at first glance does not appear to be dangerous as they come to KC with a 4-10 record and being led by an Interim Head Coach in Raheem Morris. Since Morris took over earlier this season the Falcons have shown signs of progress. The Falcons beat up the Las Vegas Raiders 43-6 just a week after the Chiefs beat the Raiders just 35-31. Since that big upset the Falcons have come close to doing the same against the New Orleans Saints losing 21-16 and last week falling to Tampa Bay 31-27.

Despite the improved play by the Falcons a road trip to KC to play the defending Super Bowl Champions doesn’t bode well according to most NFL followers. The Chiefs opened the week as double digit favorites in this week 16 match up. Franchise QB Matt Ryan is healthy and will start Sunday’s game for the Falcons though his favorite target in WR Julio Jones may miss out on the fun due to injury.

On the other side of the field the Chiefs have won nine games in a row and already have finished with a perfect road record at 8-0. The last Chiefs team to do that was in 1966 when they went 7-0 playing a 14 game schedule. The Chiefs have their own injury woes as RB Clyde Edwards-Heliare is out due to a high ankle sprain. The defense may be without starting LB Anthony Hitchens who was placed on the COVID-19 list on Tuesday this week. The ones who will take the field will try to help the Chiefs earn the #1 seed in the upcoming AFC playoffs.

Even though the Chiefs record is impressive the team has been hearing from some pundits and fans about how close their games are. Should the Falcons keep things close against the Chiefs fans should be aware that just last week Atlanta held leads of 17-0 and 24-7 and still lost to Tampa Bay 31-27. The Chiefs offense thrived through the air earlier this season against Tampa Bay and a repeat can be expected vs Atlanta. Due to this and other reasons the Chiefs will enjoy their return home with a tenth straight win on the season. That’s What I REID Into It for this week.