Last week: 11-5

Season overall: 121-89

Steelers over Panthers

Cowboys over Cardinals

Patriots over Bills

Bears over Jets

Ravens over Browns

Jaguars over Redskins

Chiefs over Titans

Lions over Dolphins

Rams over 49ers

Chargers over Bengals

Broncos over Texans

Colts over Raiders

Giants over Packers

Seahawks over Buccaneers

Eagles over Vikings

Falcons over Saints

Last week: 11-5

Season overall: 110-84

Chargers over 49ers

Dolphins over Bills

Cardinals over Panthers

Ravens over Saints

Colts over Jaguars

Buccaneers over Lions

Eagles over Giants

Chiefs over Rams

Cowboys over Redskins

Browns over Bengals

Titans over Texans

Falcons over Seahawks

Steelers over Jets

Raiders over Broncos

Patriots over Packers

Bears over Vikings

Chiefs fans on the Facebook page felt Cassel was worthy of receiving the game ball. He was cleared to play 90 minutes before kickoff and was given the call to start. Chiefs fans were thrilled to hear he would play after seeing Brodie Croyle the week before. Cassel and Dwayne Bowe are both having career highs and have helped each other improve. He’s also made big plays with other players on offense as well.

Cassel was not perfect in this game. He made a couple of errors. But he recovered and got his team to move forward and eventually pick up a win over the Rams.

Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones both had career-high moments. Jones now has over 10,000 rushing yards in his career while Charles ran for 80 yards on one play, the longest rush in his career. Each tailbacks scored on the ground to help the Chiefs pick up a 27-13 victory over the Rams on the road.

Another play who reached a career high was Ryan Succop, who nailed a 53-yard field goal late in the third quarter inside the dome. The longest kick of his career.

Although the offense played well, they out-shined the outstanding play of the defense. Wallace Gilberry came away with three sacks while rookie Kendrick Lewis recorded two interceptions. While the Chiefs defense was being torn apart in the first half in multiple drives, they limited the Rams at the end of their drives to field goals.

Although the Rams were 6-7 entering this football game, this wasn’t as easy as many expected. The Rams, oddly enough, are currently first place in the NFC West and are trying to maintain their lead, which they still hold with a 6-8 record. Both division leaders were hungry coming into this game.

Steven Jackson gained 67 rushing yards off of 19 carries. Despite the low yardage on the ground, Jackson and Sam Bradford learned that they can gain yards on offense through the air. Jackson caught five passes for 37 yards as it helped the Rams build momentum on offense.

Chris Johnson has 1267 rushing yards this season, ranks fourth alone, as the Titans are ranked 13th in the league in running the ball. Although Johnson has 38 receptions for only 194 yards, there is a possibility he can gain a lot of yards through the air against the Chiefs next week.

The Chiefs did improve against the run this week, however, it’s important that Romeo Crennel comes up with a plan that limits Johnson when it comes to the Johnson in rushing and receiving. Like Charles, Johnson can gain a lot of yards in one play.

While the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders both picked up a win this week, Kansas City still holds a one-game lead in the division and have control of their own destiny as long as they continue to win.

Mike Shanahan had a great start with the Broncos from 2006 through 2008. However, they choked away week 17 games in which they were required to win in order to make the playoffs.

On January 11, 2009, the Broncos hired Josh McDaniels, an offensive coordinator from the New England Patriots. McDaniels was the head coach of the Denver Broncos for 694 days.

During those 694 days, Denver fans had very little to cheer for.

When McDaniels took over, he attempted to get Matt Cassel from New England, a player who he helped manage the Patriots to 11 victories. The Kansas City Chiefs had connections of their own got Cassel. When reports leaked that McDaniels wanted Cassel, Jay Cutler was not a happy camper and refused to return as a Bronco.

Denver traded away Cutler to Chicago.

The same offseason, Brandon Marshall was not getting along with McDaniels, but stayed on the team.

Denver kicked off the 2009 season with a 6-0 record, but only to finish 2-8 and miss the playoffs with an 8-8 record. McDaniels suspended Marshall and Tony Scheffler in the final game of the season, despite it was a must-win for Denver if they wanted to make the playoffs. According to reports, McDaniels did not let these players play due to bad behavior.

Before the 2010 draft, Denver traded Marshall to Miami and Scheffler to Detroit. Denver also acquired Brady Quinn from Cleveland and gave Peyton Hillis.

During the 2010 draft, it was expected that Denver would make an attempt to replace Marshall. They did, but they decided to take Demaryius Thomas 22nd overall over Dez Bryant. Denver also stockpiled their picks and traded up to the 25th spot to draft Tim Tebow.

During training camp, Denver suffered many injuries. Their most notable injury was Elvis Dumervil who suffered a torn pectoral muscle during practice. He was the 2009 leader in sacks and earned himself a six-year $61.5 million contract extension a month before his injury.

During this season, the Denver Broncos have had little success. Their most embarrassing loss came at home against a divisional opponent in the Oakland Raiders, who put up 59 points at Denver to blowout the Broncos. However, in the next home game, the Denver Broncos put up 49 points against the Kansas City Chiefs and picked up his first home victory against a team from the AFC West. It took McDaniels 25 games to accomplish that task.

In late November, the NFL fined the Broncos and McDaniels $50,000 videotaping a San Francisco 49ers team practice. Following the reports that leaked out, McDaniels claimed that he never saw the tape, throwing his employees under the bus.

After putting up 49 points against the Chiefs, McDaniels and his offense failed to put up a touchdown when visiting the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. Following the loss, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen announced that McDaniels has been relieved of his head coaching duties.

McDaniels tried to rebuild a team, but failed. He traded away the top three players from the Broncos 2006 draft class. Out of the seven players drafted that year, only offensive guard Chris Kuper, a fifth rounder, is still on the team.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Broncos will pay three coaches in 2011. Shanahan, McDaniels and the new head coach. In 2012, McDaniels and the new head coach will be played.

Todd Haley has learned how to deal with Larry Johnson, being accused of flipping off a fan, the OTA no-show of Brian Waters, Mike Vrabel and Jarrad Page and many more. Haley and Scott Pioli handled them the right way behind and in front of closed doors.

Who knows what the future holds for Denver? McDaniels tried to fix Shanahan’s mess, but only made it worse.Football fans in Denver need to understand that this will take some time. Hopefully the front office hires the best candidate for the head coaching position.

For now, the Denver Broncos will continue watching the playoffs at home.

If you take the statistics of one individual player, it means nothing to a team. If you look at multiple players and their individual success, then you have a good football team that can do many things.

The Chiefs still have room to grow, but this is a team that has proven many doubters wrong. Everyone knows that is true because the Chiefs are currently competing for a playoff spot in the month of December. The Chiefs were known as one of the hottest NFL teams when it came to home games in December until 2006. In the past four seasons, the Chiefs lost eight home games in December.

Now, the Chiefs walk into this month knowing they’ll have a stadium full of loud fans, despite the weather.

The Broncos humiliated the Chiefs less than a month ago and the entire Chiefs team want that game to turn into a distant memory. Since their previous meeting in Denver, the Broncos have lost two consecutive games while the Chiefs are on a two-game winning streak.

A couple of weeks ago, the Chiefs snapped their two-game losing streak against the Arizona Cardinals, a team that was ranked 32nd in the NFL in points given up heading into that game. Going into week 13, the Broncos are 32nd in the NFL in points given up. The Chiefs have taken advantage of their opponents and their woes.

Overall, Denver’s defense is one of the worst in the league. Therefore, Charlie Weis should have a good day on the offense. What we saw out of Cassel, Charles and Bowe will carry over to this week at home. According to Nick Wright from 610 Sports Radio, Dexter McCluster will start opposite of Bowe. The Chiefs fire power on offense will be showcased.

Kansas City’s defense is the main concern. They allowed Denver to seal the game in the second quarter with an early 35-0 lead.

While Brandon Flowers is expected to miss this game, the Chiefs hope to get back Jon McGraw. McGraw has two interceptions on the season and missed the matchup against Denver last month.

Kyle Orton currently leads the NFL in passing yards while Brandon Lloyd leads the NFL in receiving yards this season. The Chiefs defense will be tested once again. Tamba Hali, who bounced back last week with a fumble recovery, will need to put Orton under pressure and force bad passes.

The Chiefs being at home gives them a huge advantage, as opposed to home games in previous seasons. The Chiefs could not beat the Broncos in their own stadium and hope to reverse that result today.

The Chiefs got back Tony Moeaki last week and will get back McCluster today. The offense will be on fire against a weak defense. It’ll be important for the Chiefs to get off to a good start in the first quarter and eventually finish strong.

Thursday: 1-0

Season overall: 88-75

Saints over Bengals

Lions over Bears

Packers over 49ers

Chiefs over Broncos

Browns over Dolphins

Vikings over Bills

Giants over Redskins

Jaguars over Titans

Chargers over Raiders

Rams over Cardinals

Colts over Cowboys

Seahawks over Panthers

Falcons over Buccaneers

Steelers over Ravens

Jets over Patriots

Chiefs win 49-20

Last week: 7-6

Season overall: 87-75

Eagles over Texans

This is a battle between two teams who are currently leading their division, but not by very much. Both teams know they have their rivals sneaking up on them.

The Seahawks are in a weak division and currently hold a lead with a record at .500. Their total of highs and lows have been equal this season.

Kansas City’s overall offense is much better than Seattle’s. Matt Hasselbeck has less touchdowns and more interceptions than Matt Cassel this season. Seattle doesn’t have much to offer on the receiving and rushing ends either.

The defense has play makers in rookie safety Earl Thomas and Marcus Trufant. Thomas is the current leader for the Seahawks in interceptions with five. The Chiefs need to keep their eye on defensive end Chris Clemons, who leads the team in sacks with 7.5.

Although they have a couple of key players on defense, it has not transpired on the scoreboard and the Seahawks are not coming together as a football team.

The Chiefs defense has very little to fear. The offense, on the other hand, will have to do some work against a defense that has ups and downs.

Although the Seahawks have gotten some interceptions, they are ranked 30th in the NFL against the pass while Dwayne Bowe, who currently leads the NFL in receiving touchdowns, hopes to continue his dominant streak. If Bowe scores a touchdown today, it would be the seventh straight game in which he’d score a touchdown.

The Chiefs can also take a break from their passing game and run the ball with the dynamic duo of Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones. While Jones continues to get more carries, Charles finds a way to gain more yards. The Chiefs must switch gears and let Charles take the football and run against opposing defenses.

I don’t see many positive things for Seattle. I say the Chiefs road woes end today.

Kansas City wins 35-17

Thursday: 3-0

Season overall: 80-69

Packers over Falcons

Steelers over Bills

Browns over Panthers

Texans over Titans

Giants over Jaguars

Vikings over Redskins

Dolphins over Raiders

Chiefs over Seahawks

Buccaneers over Ravens

Eagles over Bears

Broncos over Rams

Colts over Chargers

Cardinals over 49ers

Outside of the draft, teams also go for players who enter the free agent market. Many think the Chiefs will target a specific wide receiver when the 2011 offseason approaches.

That’s right, Larry Fitzgerald to Kansas City. That’s been the dream headline Chiefs fans have been waiting for. Many wondered if Todd Haley would bring any of his key players from Arizona to Kansas City. The Chiefs attempted to trade for Anquan Boldin, but the Baltimore Ravens had more to offer, according to reports early in the 2010 offseason.

There is no doubt that Fitzgerald would change a team’s offense by make everyone around him better.

Chiefs fans have already taken notice in the improvement of Matt Cassel and Dwayne Bowe as both players are having their breakout seasons.

Touchdown improvement: Cassel threw for 16 touchdowns in all of last season. With six games remaining this season, Cassel has already thrown 18 touchdown passes.

Interception improvement: Cassel threw 16 interceptions in 2009-10. This year, Cassel has only thrown four interceptions and is on pace to be picked off only two more times.

Sack improvement: Cassel was sacked 42 times last season, after leading the league in sacks with 47 in 2008 during his time as a New England Patriot. This season, Cassel has been sacked 15 times. He is on pace for 24 sacks.

There is Cassel’s improvement, now on to Bowe.

Receptions improvement: While being suspended four games and missing one to injury, Bowe gathered 47 catches on the season. He has already caught 45 passes with six games to go.

Receiving yards improvement: Because Bowe missed five games in 2009, he only compiled 589 receiving yards, allowing Chris Chambers to lead the Chiefs in receiving yards with 608 yards. Bowe has already passed his mark from last year and now has 715 receiving yards and is expected to get 1,000 receiving yards for the second time in his career.

Receiving touchdowns improvement: Bowe caught only four touchdowns in 2009, all before his suspension. He was a non-factor coming back from his four-game suspension. This year, Bowe has not only made a big impact for fantasy football owners, but he’s been responsible for a majority of the receiving duties for the Chiefs this season. He leads the team and the league in receiving touchdowns with 11.

While Bowe is putting on a clinic, the Chiefs have yet to find their second key receiver.

Bowe: 45 catches-715 yards-11 touchdowns

Moeaki: 31 catches-378 yards-2 touchdowns

Charles: 30 catches-356 yards-1 touchdown

McCluster: 15 catches-147 yards-1 touchdown

Chambers: 13 catches-122 yards-1 touchdown

Coincidentally, Bowe, Tony Moeaki, Jamaal Charles, Dexter McCluster and Chambers are all in the same order for receptions, yards and touchdowns. There is a big gap between Bowe and Moeaki. Moeaki and McCluster, who are in the top five for the Chiefs in receiving, are both hurt (although they are both expected to return Sunday.)

Look at Randy Moss and Wes Welker in New England. When Moss began playing for the Patriots, he was able to attract multiple defenders, yet he still found ways to catch the ball. At the same time, Tom Brady would find Welker wide open since Moss created a path for defenders to follow him.

If Cassel has Fitzgerald to his offense, (a big assumption everyone else stays) then you have an offense that can do many things in the passing game.

Look left, and you’ll find Fitzgerald. If he’s double teamed, check the right side for Bowe. If both are covered, zip the ball to Moeaki, Chambers, McCluster or one of the running backs. This was part of the reason I suggested that the Chiefs should make an attempt to get Moss after his release from Minnesota.

It worked for New England in 2007 as they shattered multiple records on offense.

I know this is early, and since the Chiefs are playoff contenders, this may be considered irrelevant. However, this did become a trending topic in Kansas City and fans are still wondering if Fitzgerald would ever consider Kansas City. According to the Kansas City Star, he would not mind having a reunion with Haley, a man who influenced him and made him a complete player.

It would open up the playbook and Charlie Weis would have another elite player to work with. Everyone is talking about the “family tree” and the “Patriot way.” This would be huge and the Chiefs might install a New England-like team for the next couple of years.

Again, it’s early, but something interesting to think about down the road.

That is exactly what we’ve seen with Todd Haley and Dwayne Bowe. Haley has coached some of the best receivers in the NFL. He’s worked with Marty Booker, Terry Glenn, Terrell Owens, Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. Now, he can add Bowe to the list of elite players he has coached.

Bowe had a bad habit of dropping easy passes in crucial moments of the game. He’d drop catches that would help the offense either move the chains or score a touchdown. Since becoming a coach in Kansas City, it didn’t take Haley long to realize how bad Bowe’s hands were after viewing film and watching him drop passes in OTAs. Haley made it clear right away that he would not tolerate that kind of behavior from Bowe. However, Haley didn’t let go of him as he saw something in Bowe that not many others saw.

There were several reports that Bowe worked with a couple of current and former NFL players to work on his hands during the offseason, most notable player was Fitzgerald. When training camp came along, every player, including Bowe, was having a “good camp.”

In week five at Indianapolis, the Chiefs defense held Peyton Manning to zero touchdowns and forced him to throw one interception. After the defense came away with the interception, Matt Cassel found Bowe wide open in the endzone. Bowe had both of his hands on the ball as his defender had no chance of breaking up the pass. The very few Chiefs fans in attendance all raised their arms in celebration, assuming he secured the football. But it was a dropped touchdown pass that would have given the Chiefs the lead.

After the loss to the Colts, Bowe received heavy criticism for dropping that pass. He responded with two touchdowns of his own the following week at Houston. It didn’t there. He knew he had more to prove.

In the past six weeks, Bowe has caught a pass for a touchdown at least once. There are four games (Houston, Jacksonville, Denver and Cardinals) in which Bowe caught two touchdowns. Throughout this six-week stretch, Bowe has compiled 10 total touchdowns, bringing his season total to 11.

Bowe’s career was in a questionable path. Now, he’s more focused and his drops are limited.

This isn’t the first time he has gone through a speed bump in his life. Back in high school, Bowe was not playing football. He decided to take care of his family until he felt they were strong enough to take care of themselves. It’s rare to see a young teenager help carry a family. He has overcome adversity before in his life. He knew what it was like before he began playing football.

Bowe kicked off his football career when he was a junior in high school and played well enough in his final two years in high school to impress scouts from Louisiana State University.

Bowe is now carrying another family, the Chiefs. While he leads the team and league in receiving touchdowns with 11, Tony Moeaki has the second most touchdowns on the team with only two. Bowe’s breakout performance this season has made up for the thin receiving core.

He has already shattered several franchise records and is currently a league leader. He broke silence after the game this Sunday and spoke to the media.

“We can definitely win it all,” he said. “We’re gonna win it all. I can’t guarantee that but I can tell you we’re going to win it all.”

Those were his closing statements to the media following the game. He was asked by a reporter if he felt different, but he said he still feels the same. However, there is no doubt that on the field, he is playing football at a higher level and is feeling confident.

For now, all of this success means nothing to Bowe.

“When we win it all,” he said. “I’ll look back and say I did that, but now I’m just going to keep my head down and keep going.”

Bowe, who is now a successful alumni of the Haley doghouse, is looking forward to bigger and better things. He has high hopes for not only himself, but for the team.

Sunday games: 10-5

Season overall: 77-69

Thanksgiving Day Games

Patriots over Lions

Saints over Cowboys

Jets over Bengals

Recently, the Chiefs ran into a brick wall by losing back-to-back games to the Raiders and Broncos. They were punished last week in Denver and gave away the division to Oakland.

With the Chiefs and Raiders both with a 5-4 record, the Raiders are division leaders due to the head-to-head record. Can the Chiefs get back on top after today?

The Raiders face the Pittsburgh Steelers at the same time as the Chiefs host the Arizona Cardinals. For many Chiefs fans, those two matches bring a sigh of relief.

The Chiefs have faced opposing defenses that were ranked last, or close to last against the pass, against the run or in total defense. Kansas City now faces a defense that is dead last in the most significant team stat. The Cardinals are 32nd in the NFL in points allowed this season.

NFL games are not promised, but some of the outcomes are predictable. This game isn’t. The Chiefs were expected to win the last two games, but could not keep up with their opponents. Can they change that or will their luck continue to dwell?

The Cardinals aren’t a defense that opposing offenses have to be afraid of. Charlie Weis needs to stretch out the playbook, especially since the Chiefs are at home. Just like the home game against the 49ers, I expect the Chiefs to run a lot of wildcat and eventually come away with a big touchdown score off of the wildcat formation.

The Chiefs defense recently has taken steps back and hope to recover today against a Cardinals offense that has no identity. Without Todd Haley, Kurt Warner and Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald is putting together a one-man show in Arizona. As great as he may be, he is on pace to get fewer receptions due to the lack of talent around him. However, Fitzgerald will take advantage of the thin core of defensive backs to find his success. It’s up to Derek Anderson to get him the football. If the Cardinals do that, this will be a close game.

Being at home against a team struggling overall as they ride a four-game losing streak, I’m picking Kansas City to win today with one guarantee. Javier Arenas will take a punt back for a touchdown.

Chiefs win 17-28

Thursday: 0-1

Season overall: 67-64

Ravens over Panthers

Bengals over Bills

Lions over Cowboys

Jaguars over Browns

Chiefs over Cardinals

Packers over Vikings

Jets over Texans

Steelers over Raiders

Titans over Redskins

Saints over Seahawks

49ers over Buccaneers

Falcons over Rams

Colts over Patriots

Eagles over Giants

Chargers over Broncos