So it’s really just the Steelers [or Bills] right?

[RunKC]

I mean goddamn this conference seems wrapped up doesn’t it? Not trying to jinx us but it really seems like injuries are our biggest opponent at this point.

The Ravens are ****ing frauds. They’re a warm up for us. We literally made these guys look like the JV squad the last 2 meetings.

And sure the Bills and Titans may make us work for the win, but in all honesty we have to play pretty goddamn shitty to lose to those guys.

In order to have any shot at beating us you need 3 things:

1. Elite pass rush
2. Top 10 QB capable of making critical plays
3. Overall talented roster

Steelers are the only team in the AFC that has those 3 things, and even them it’s not like they’re some serious threat like the Patriots a couple years back, but they seem like the best of the rest.

I think at this point it would be disappointing for this team to not get to the SB 3 straight times.

We’re just that good, and we keep drafting well and get better and better.

[ptlyon]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

You don't care about going 15-1 and having to play 4 playoff games in a row instead of 3?

**** no. This team can beat anybody. You know it, shit even I know it, and so does anybody that even casually watches football knows it.

It is what it is. You take what you are given. The chiefs in the playoffs last year took a 24 point deficit and ended up smashing them. Look at all our post season games last year. It's one game at a time from here on out, and I like our chances.

[ptlyon]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

OK, whatever. I'm done fighting about it. What happens happens.

I just think it's ****ing CRIMINAL that the Chiefs have by far the best team in the league, with not just the best QB in the league but statistically one of best QB seasons EVER, and they're going to be forced to play a ****ing wild card game because of the ****ing schedule and not because the team ahead of them is actually a better football team.

I hate the new playoff format. Absolutely. ****ing. Hate it.

Then we shouldn't have lost to the Raiders then, should have we.

[mililo4cpa]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Cleveland, Washington, and Cincinatti may WANT to knock them off but as my dad used to say, "want in one hand. shit in the other..."

"Want to" doesn't win games, talent does. And despite all the talent that Cleveland has, they have Baker Mayfield at QB. The other two teams are bottom feeders.

Every week a less talented team beats a more talented team...you know that. The history of the NFL is chock-full of these stories....there are so many intangibles that go into the game that it's crazy....it's also why there has been exactly 1 undefeated team in the Super Bowl era, and that happened nearly 50 years ago.

Of course talent is the foundation, but any NFL player, coach and team are working their tails off to win every snap, every quarter, every game. Yes, the most talented teams are going rise to the top in most events, but let's not act like it's totally inconceivable that any of the remaining teams on the Steelers schedule aren't going to be personally motivated to pull that much harder to be the one's to knock off an undefeated team.....

I'm not saying that the Steelers couldn't do it....I am saying that they have had a ton of fortune along the way, and that generally runs out. And that's before saying that they aren't any more talented then the Bills, Tits, Colts, Ravens, Browns, Raiders, and certainly not the Chiefs. If I thought they were some stacked team just steamrolling the cream of the crop, then no argument from me, but they are neither stacked nor steamrolling everyone else.

I personally think their make up is a 10 - 11 possibly 12 win team in total (nothing to be ashamed of by any means), masquerading as a 14 -15 -16 win team....eventually the masquerade will end for them....

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by staylor26

Not fighting just trying to get you to understand that your logic is flawed and inconsistent. I just think you have a defeatist attitude in regards to the Chiefs getting the bye when there’s no reason to assume it’s over. They literally just have to lose 1 AFC game and we have a legitimate shot.

Like I said before, the Chiefs have a more realistic shot at the #1 seed now than they did at this time last year.

There are plenty of reasons to still have hope that they end up with the bye.

That's a big part of it, I'll admit.

The Steelers already should have lost 3 or 4 games and they just...didn't. They escaped several big upsets and they beat teams that were actually superior to them as well.

That, combined with the stupid changes to the playoff format, has me feeling pretty salty. The Steelers shouldn't get rewarded for benefitting from a soft schedule.

[mililo4cpa]

By the way....I'd like to add that this has been a great discussion thread....lots of interesting takes in here.

I'm also glad that everyone has the Steelers target on their back....It's almost like the defending SB Champs, with one loss, are flying under the radar lol.....

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by ptlyon

**** no. This team can beat anybody. You know it, shit even I know it, and so does anybody that even casually watches football knows it.

It is what it is. You take what you are given. The chiefs in the playoffs last year took a 24 point deficit and ended up smashing them. Look at all our post season games last year. It's one game at a time from here on out, and I like our chances.

Dude, it isn't about winning or losing. The Chiefs can and would beat just about anybody in the league 9 times out of 10.

Every game they play increases the risk if injuries and issues, especially in a COVID year.

That 4th game is a BIG deal when it comes to the road to the Super Bowl. Winning 4 games in a row that time of year, after a full 16-game season is really ****ing hard for any team because issues start to pile up after that many games.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

That's a big part of it, I'll admit.

The Steelers already should have lost 3 or 4 games and they just...didn't. They escaped several big upsets and they beat teams that were actually superior to them as well.

That, combined with the stupid changes to the playoff format, has me feeling pretty salty. The Steelers shouldn't get rewarded for benefitting from a soft schedule.

We can agree on being salty that’s for sure. If we somehow finish 15-1 and don’t get a bye then we absolutely got ****ed on the timing of the change to the playoff format.

[ptlyon]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Dude, it isn't about winning or losing. The Chiefs can and would beat just about anybody in the league 9 times out of 10.

Every game they play increases the risk if injuries and issues, especially in a COVID year.

That 4th game is a BIG deal when it comes to the road to the Super Bowl. Winning 4 games in a row that time of year, after a full 16-game season is really ****ing hard for any team because issues start to pile up after that many games.

Then that's the way the cookie bounces, isn't it. Every other team has to play by those rules too. An NFC team could get the short end of the stick too. It's just how the game is played now.

[mililo4cpa]

Originally Posted by staylor26

This is just silly. He’s in the top 20 for pass rush productivity. He’s not Watt, but he’s a top 4 player on that defense that has already lost one of those top 4.

To assume Dupree isn’t a huge loss to fit your narrative is some serious confirmation bias dude.

He's definitely been more productive this year than anytime in the past....but the real "loss" is that he paired well with Watt...

Dupree didn't need to be a 12-14 sack guy....he just needed to take some of that pressure off Watt....

[mililo4cpa]

Originally Posted by staylor26

Not fighting just trying to get you to understand that your logic is flawed and inconsistent. I just think you have a defeatist attitude in regards to the Chiefs getting the bye when there’s no reason to assume it’s over. They literally just have to lose 1 AFC game and we have a legitimate shot.

Like I said before, the Chiefs have a more realistic shot at the #1 seed now than they did at this time last year.

There are plenty of reasons to still have hope that they end up with the bye.

I'm not one to think that playing 3 playoff games is going to even phase the Chiefs, nor going on the road for the AFCCG if they have to....

Of course there is additional injury risk, but no sense worrying about that until it happens, and if it happens.

Fully manned, there's nobody in the AFC that scares me, even if they don't get the bye....

[New World Order]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Based on what?

Safe conservative style on offense. Solid to good defense.

[mililo4cpa]

Originally Posted by staylor26

We can agree on being salty that’s for sure. If we somehow finish 15-1 and don’t get a bye then we absolutely got ****ed on the timing of the change to the playoff format.

I posted in the "Playoff Machine" thread that I had scenarios where an 11 win and two 10 win teams miss the playoffs in the AFC.....I'd be way more pissed about that than I would be going 15-1 / 14-2 and not being #1....

a 14 / 15 win team, especially one with the make up and experience of this Chiefs team, isn't going to care when, where, or who they play

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by mililo4cpa

I'm not one to think that playing 3 playoff games is going to even phase the Chiefs, nor going on the road for the AFCCG if they have to....

Of course there is additional injury risk, but no sense worrying about that until it happens, and if it happens.

Fully manned, there's nobody in the AFC that scares me, even if they don't get the bye....

With Watkins injury history and his playoff history, that extra game looms pretty large just for him.

And then you factor in all the defensive and offensive line injuries this year and yeah, I'd much prefer 3 games to 4.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by mililo4cpa

I posted in the "Playoff Machine" thread that I had scenarios where an 11 win and two 10 win teams miss the playoffs in the AFC.....I'd be way more pissed about that than I would be going 15-1 / 14-2 and not being #1....

a 14 / 15 win team, especially one with the make up and experience of this Chiefs team, isn't going to care when, where, or who they play

That's just the thing. The expanded playoff format actually benefits one of those teams.

In year's past, FOUR of those teams would miss the playoffs, not just 3. So in a way, it's better for them in year's past.

The only team that gets screwed is the #2 seed. And no, it's not about winning, it's about avoiding injuries.

[mililo4cpa]

Originally Posted by New World Order

Safe conservative style on offense. Solid to good defense.

I don't think WFT will win....but I sure do think they will hang around for a little bit and make it interesting for exactly this reason....Alex will check check check check down (then check some more), and keep putting the Steelers in long field situations.

On that note: I'm wondering if somewhere along the way, we see a similar game like we had with the Panthers.....a team that just throws the whole book at them....fake punts, 4th down conversions, trick plays galore, onside kicks...etc. The Bengals would be a prime candidate for that, but maybe a WFT would as well, although every team remaining besides the Bengals has too much risk / reward to play that style....