Mandatory Credit: Charlie Riedel – AP Photo

Make no mistake, the Chiefs are what they are. Under normal circumstances, a 10-game winning streak to end the regular season would get you more than a #5 seed in the post season.

In the Chiefs case, a #5 seed is a gift.  They get to play Houston instead of Cincinnati. You don’t have to be a homer to argue the Chiefs are just as good as the Denver Broncos who have a #1 seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Broncos had 5 turnovers Sunday and still beat San Diego to earn the top spot. The Chiefs split the season series with Denver but I can say without hesitation the Chiefs are clearly a better team. They proved it in head-to-head competition.

The entire AFC field is up for grabs in this tournament. There is no clear cut favorite. Injuries have changed the face of every team left standing.

Peyton Manning came to the rescue for Denver after missing half dozen games. He’s still only one hit away from being hauled off on a stretcher.

New England is a mess. They’ve gone through five left tackles. It’s a minor miracle that Tom Brady is still barking out the signals.

Andy Dalton’s injury diminishes any legitimate shot the Bengals have to make a run.

Houston made the playoffs only because every division must be represented. The Texans do have the game’s best defensive player in J.J. Watt, but that offense is covered with warts exposed by 4 different quarterbacks.

I’m so tired of hearing about the Steelers being a dangerous team. Please! The only dangerous thing about Big Ben’s teams is the mess they’ll leave after imploding. The Steelers run game is non-existent.

While the Chiefs have strung together the longest winning streak in franchise history, it is somewhat tainted because of who they played. There is no question they had a soft schedule. After November 8, in the final two months of the season, the Chiefs played only one team with a winning record in their last 9 games. Let’s rewind for a second and check out the first 4 games on the Chiefs schedule. These games were all against teams that headed to the playoffs.

The national media has been in no hurry to give the Chiefs the credit they deserve. The nicest thing I’ve read came from USA Today. “Chiefs. From 1-5 to 11-5. This is a team you don’t want to face in the playoffs.” I’ve said all along that I’m skeptical of the Chiefs chances in the playoffs. On paper it’s wide open. It’s a good thing they’re in the AFC.

Seattle is better than any AFC playoff team. The Seahawks are a monster as a #6 seed. Carolina goes 15-1 and the first team the Panthers face in the postseason could be Seattle.

No complaints from the Chiefs after their topsy-turvy season. Hopefully Alex Smith, the NFL’s best protector of the ball, has the pick-six stuff out of his system. It’s ironic that the new season begins in Houston on Saturday, the same city where the Chiefs won a playoff game in January 1994.

Good news – it’s where this vicious 8 game playoff losing skid will end.

Final score – Chiefs 23  Houston 20.