THURSDAY Night Football saw two rival AFC West teams squaring off for a spot at the top of the division on the line. The Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders have both proved they can be potential AFC champs throughout the year, but after a little Tyreek Hill magic the Chiefs emerged victorious and improved to 10-3 on the year. And the rest of the league should be worried.

ALL year the Denver Broncos and the Raiders have been talked up as potential Superbowl contenders, while many have steered clear from mentioning the Chiefs as legitimate title threats. This has largely been in part to the their inconsistencies and certain injury issues, however the win over the Raiders was the message to the league they needed to send. They are the real deal. This was win number three in a row for Kansas City ,and they have now knocked off the Broncos and Atlanta Falcons in their own buildings, as well as claiming this scalp over their other bitter AFC West rivals.

THEY have playmakers on both sides of the ball that can shift the momentum in the blink of an eye. A defense that is home to guys like Eric Berry, Justin Houston, Derrick Johnson, Dee Ford, Jaye Howard, Marcus Peters is a scary challenge opposing offensive co-ordinators try to overcome each week. In the past few weeks they have flexed their muscle showing off their depth and their potential. Speaking of potential, rookie wideout and special teamer Tyreek Hill was the perfect injection this offense needed after stalling for the first half of the season. On Thursday, Hill became the first Chief in history with a rushing, receiving, kick-off and punt return TD all in the same year. It’s also worth mentioning that Hill accomplished this feat in just the past two games. Combine his spark with the always reliable Pro-Bowl tight end Travis Kelce, Jeremy Maclin’s return from injury and a dual threat running attack with Chaddwick West and Spencer Ware and all of a sudden Alex Smith has options on offense for the first time in a long time.

WHILE I’m not ready to get my ‘Kansas City Chiefs: Superbowl LI Champs’ tattoo yet, I am slowly becoming a firm believer in this group. Andy Reid has been coaching his butt off this year and has the Chiefs positioned in an enviable spot. It will be interesting to see how they close out the season with games against the Titans and Broncos, before wrapping things up at San Diego, with all three of those games potential losses if they resort back to their early season form. I’m predicting they drop one of those three and finish 11-5 probably with a top two seed in the AFC. Be afraid football fans. Be very afraid.

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