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Three keys to the Kansas City Chiefs 2016 season
Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles warms up during training camp in St. Joseph, Mo.
Associated Press
▶ MATT HOFFMANN
@MattHoffmannUDK
The Kansas City Chiefs have won Super Bowl 51.
That's the sentence Chiefs fans are hoping they will read the night of Feb. 5,2017,after the Super Bowl in Houston. But they have a long way to go before February.
Before the season, here's a look at a few key things that must go Kansas City's way if it wants to capture the Super Bowl 51 title.
Jamaal Charles
Perhaps the biggest question hanging over the Chiefs this year is, "how much running back Jamaal Charles will play, and how much will he produce?" Charles is coming off an ACL tear last October, his second ACL injury in his career. When Charles is healthy he is one of the best running backs in the league, rushing for over 1,000 yards each season from 2010-2014 (excluding his first ACL injury in 2011).
Coach Andy Reid has already told media on Tuesday that he "doesn't think" Charles will play week one against the Chargers. Charles will likely be back for week two against the Texans,but it's yet to be seen whether he can stay healthy throughout the season or if he can put
up another 1,000-yard rushing season. Both will be critical for Kansas City's chances of making a deep run in the playoffs.
The Division
The AFC West is completely up for grabs this season. The Denver Broncos don't have an established quarterback. The Chargers' biggest threat is an aging quarterback and a rookie defensive lineman who hasn't yet practiced in pads. The Raiders have hope in their young quarterback, but he hasn't shown concrete results and the team ownership may be more focused on moving to Las Vegas.
When you put it that way, the Chiefs, even with an injured running back, seem to be on solid footing. Kansas City should be licking their lips at the prospect of playing Denver, San Diego and Oakland two times each this season. The nonconference schedule also shapes up rather nicely for Kansas City, with games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home and the Atlanta Falcons on the road.
The Chiefs do face the defending NFC champion Carolina Panthers and the dangerous Indianapolis Colts. But looking at the
Chiefs' schedule, an 11win season isn't out of the question.
The Defense
Even with a relatively easy schedule and an optimistic run game, if the Chiefs can't stop opposing offenses, they aren't going to have the fire power outscore their opponents, especially in the playoffs. The Chiefs are still a dinkand-dunk west coast-style offense and are going to need the defense to limit scoring.
Last season, the Chiefs allowed the third-fewest points of any team in the league. If they can replicate that kind of production this season, they'll be sitting pretty come January.
Safety Eric Berry, the team's feel good story, is back with the team and outside linebacker Tamba Hali cleared the PUP list and is questionable for week one, leaving the Chiefs with few, if any, gaping holes in the defense.
Kansas City opens regular season play this Sunday with a home game against the San Diego Chargers. The game is scheduled for a 12 p.m.start and can been seen locally on CBS network.
Kansas soccer returns home Friday vs. Pittsburgh
▶ SKYLAR ROLSTAD
@SkyRolSports
After splitting a twogame road trip in Nebraska, Kansas soccer (3-2-1) heads into two games this weekend, at home against Pittsburgh and away at University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Though the match against UMKC is away, it's still in the area, about an hour away from Lawrence.
Defender Aurelie Gagnet protects the ball from Colorado forward Emilv Bruder
Pittsburgh (1-4-1) is another team Kansas should be able to beat. The only serious test the Jayhawks have faced so far this season has been Nebraska, which defeated Kansas last Friday, 1-o.
At the beginning of the season, Pittsburgh defeated now-No. 19 Ohio State in an exhibition and tied in a double-overtime game with Michigan, a team that has received votes in the Top 25. However, in the
last two games,which were against unranked teams in California,Pittsburgh has given up seven goals and scored zero.
We competed well. It's really disappointing that this one got away from us."
Mark Francis Kansas coach
Kansas will make the short trip to Kansas City on Sunday to take on UMKC. The match will be just the second home game this season for UMKC, which comes into the match 1-3-2.
Andrew Rosenthal/KANSAN
A weekend sweep is likely for the Jayhawks, as the team barely has to travel and faces teams it has proven to be able to play at a higher level than.
Kansas, having lost one
of its last five games, nearly grabbed a result against Nebraska last Friday. With only 26 seconds left in double overtime, Nebraska's Brenna Ochoa scored to give Nebraska the win.
Nebraska was the first team Kansas has played this season which had a higher RPI ranking than itself from last season. Nebraska was No.44 in the rankings with Kansas at No.69.
"This is a really tough one to swallow because I thought we played really well tonight," Kansas coach Mark Francis said in a press release. "We created chances to score and, in the second half, I thought we controlled the match well. We defended well. We competed well. It's really disappointing that this one got away from us."
Sunday over Valparaiso. The team stayed in Lincoln, Neb., for the second match, but not over the entire weekend. Kansas stayed in Omaha, Neb., during this road trip.
Kansas rebounded from the draining 120 minutes against Nebraska for a win
Facing a 2-3 Valparaiso team, Kansas took care of business Sunday afternoon. Freshman Katie McClure and Grace Hagan scored to notch the victory.
Kansas' game against
Pittsburgh is set to be played at Rock Chalk Park at 7 p.m. on Friday. The game against UMKC will be played at Durwood Soccer Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.
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