CHIEFS FINISH 15-2, FAR EXCEEDING PRESEASON EXPECTATIONS

KANSAS CITY — What began as a promising season prediction turned into one of Coach Duran’s strongest regular seasons.

Before the season, the Chiefs were projected to finish 14-3. After racing to a 7-0 start, that prediction was upgraded to 16-1. Kansas City didn’t quite reach that mark, but the final result was still impressive: 15-2, with the Chiefs closing the regular season on a five-game winning streak.

The Perfect Start Finally Ends

After starting 7-0, Kansas City kept rolling in Weeks 9 and 10.

The Chiefs finally broke through against CanesBucs, one of Duran’s toughest historical opponents, with a 52-34 win over the Jets. They followed it with a dominant 45-7 victory over Big Reg and the Falcons, pushing the record to a perfect 9-0.

The undefeated run finally ended in Week 11.

MrWitness36 and the Cardinals handed Kansas City its first loss, 37-30, ending the dream of an undefeated season.

The Chiefs responded immediately by crushing BuffaloBill and the Bills 41-14, improving to 10-1.

Then came the season's second—and final—loss.

In Week 13, MMXCalibur and the Rams escaped with a 29-27 victory. At 10-2, Kansas City suddenly had to prove it could regroup for the stretch run.

It did.

Chiefs Dominate Down the Stretch

Kansas City never lost again.

The Chiefs beat Jfon and the Bengals 42-24 before handling Mindenplaya and the Patriots 45-18.

Week 16 produced perhaps the biggest surprise compared to the preseason prediction. Latinyank77478 and the 49ers had originally been picked to hand Kansas City a loss.

Instead, the Chiefs delivered one of their biggest statements of the season:

Chiefs 59, 49ers 14.

Kansas City followed with a 28-14 win over the Chargers before closing the regular season by completely shutting down Big Country and the Raiders, 41-0.

That gave the Chiefs five consecutive victories to finish the year.

Prediction vs. Reality

The original prediction had Kansas City losing to the Seahawks, Broncos and 49ers.

The Chiefs went 4-0 in those games, including sweeping Denver.

Instead, the only losses came against two teams originally predicted as victories:

Week 11 — Cardinals, 37-30
Week 13 — Rams, 29-27

That's how unpredictable an MOF season can be.

The preseason prediction of 14-3 ultimately missed by only one game, while Kansas City exceeded that projection and finished 15-2.

From 7-0 to 15-2

The final stretch told the story:

Week 9: Jets — W 52-34
Week 10: Falcons — W 45-7
Week 11: Cardinals — L 30-37
Week 12: Bills — W 41-14
Week 13: Rams — L 27-29
Week 14: Bengals — W 42-24
Week 15: Patriots — W 45-18
Week 16: 49ers — W 59-14
Week 17: Chargers — W 28-14
Week 18: Raiders — W 41-0

FINAL RECORD: 15-2

The Chiefs didn't go undefeated. They didn't reach the updated 16-1 projection either.

But after a 15-win regular season, a 5-0 finish, and a 41-0 shutout to close Week 18, Coach Duran and Kansas City accomplished the most important part of the preseason prediction:

They established themselves as one of the teams to beat when the playoffs begin.