KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs' season contained more anxious moments than it probably should have after a 5-0 start. But they righted themselves late in the season to win the AFC West with a 10-6 record. The Chiefs will take a four-game win streak into Saturday's wild-card playoff game against the 9-7 Tennessee Titans at Arrowhead Stadium.
Reasons to be excited: The Chiefs have plenty of momentum, thanks to their four-game win streak. They corrected many of the problems that dragged them into the midseason slump in which they lost six of seven games. Quarterback Alex Smith and running back Kareem Hunt are playing well. The defense has held opponents to 16 points or fewer in five of the past seven games. The Chiefs forced 12 turnovers in the past four games while committing just three, with two of those coming by backup quarterbacks unlikely to play against the Titans. Smith said he believes the Chiefs are playing better than they did early in the season.
Reasons to be concerned: The streaky nature of this year's team is disturbing. Although the Chiefs have proven they can beat just about any opponent when they're rolling, they've also shown that they can lose to some of the league's worst teams. While the Chiefs did beat the Patriots and Eagles, those games were in the first two weeks of the season. Since then, the Chiefs haven't defeated an opponent that made the playoffs. They have won four straight games, but three of those were against teams that finished the season below .500. The Titans, who beat the Chiefs at Arrowhead late last season, aren't in that category.
What's next: Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota finished the season third in interceptions with 15, so the Chiefs have to believe they can force him into a mistake or two in his first career playoff game. Against the Titans, Smith has had two of the three worst statistical games of his five seasons with the Chiefs. One of those games happened last season, when an end zone interception that proved costly in a two-point defeat.
