Sunday Debate: Kansas City Chiefs Least Likely to Return to NFL Playoffs in 2016

Brendan Pignataro and Mark Morales-Smith will be debating a different topic each Sunday. This week will feature a debate on which playoff team is most likely to miss it this year: The Kansas City Chiefs or the Washington Redskins?

Recent history in the NFL shows that about five new teams make the playoffs every year that didn’t make it in the previous season. This type of parity is one of the many reasons why the NFL postseason is exciting year after year. Although there will likely be more, my colleague Mark and I will debate which team is most likely to miss it next season.

Related Story: Sunday Debate: Redskins are Playoff Team Least Likely to Return

I believe the Kansas City Chiefs are that team. Mark has decided to go out on the tiniest limb possible, and say the 9-7 Washington Redskins is that team. He’s also previously agrued that David Johnson will be a breakout star and Antonio Brown is the best wide receiver in the NFL (Yawn!).

Let’s begin by stating why I don’t believe the Chiefs are likely to make it back to the playoffs. Last season the Chiefs were not challenged at all in the second of the season. Their schedule was comically easy when they beat the Chargers, Bills, Raiders, Chargers, Ravens, Browns, and Raiders to end the regular season. Not one of those teams were above over .500 (and only the Bills ended at 8-8).

It’s easy to forget the Chiefs had a five game losing streak last year since it happened early in the season. When they faced a tough stretch of game (Broncos, Packers, Bengals, Bears, Vikings) they showed their real mediocrity in five straight losses. The schedule will get tougher in division this season.

The Oakland Raiders are much improved. In fact, I think their roster is now as a whole on par with the talent of the Chiefs. Also, despite the lack of a star quarterback with the Broncos (Mark Sanchez may actually outperform Peyton Manning’s 2015 performance) and some losses on defense, the defending champions are still are good enough to be an a playoff team. The Chargers won’t be a push over again as they improved their rush defense with Joey Bosa, and pass offense with the underrated acquisition of Travis Benjamin.

Kansas City’s off-season was very underwhelming. For me the most concerning aspect was letting undervalued cornerback Sean Smith go. The Chiefs had enough cap flexibility to make it a priority to sign him back. Smith and rookie Marcus Peters were one of the best cornerback tandems in the league last year. Smith’s departure will put a lot more pressure on Peters this season. The Chiefs traded out of the first round, and elected to wait until the third round to address cornerback when there were good ones still on the board.

It’s never good going into a season when two of your most talented players are coming off ACL injuries. Jamaal Charles expects to be ready by training camp, but Justin Houston’s outlook is much murkier. There were reports that his season may be in jeopardy, but even if he does play it’s hard to imagine he will be his usual dominant self. With the lack of off-season acquisitions, the Chiefs need these stars 100% healthy.

The Chiefs decided to wait until the fourth round pick to find a wide receiver to compete for the starting job opposite of Jeremy Maclin. It wasn’t a shrewd move to wait that long, then select a receiver in Florida’s Demarcus Robinson that has off the field issues, drop concerns and doesn’t always give full effort. The loss of offensive coordinator Doug Pederson to the Eagles also doesn’t help with the concerns on offense.

Now let’s discuss Mark’s choice of the Washington Redskins. Not only do I think they will make the playoffs again, I think they had an excellent offseason. First off, they were able to sign one of the best cornerbacks in the game in Josh Norman. I didn’t like how big the contract was, but in the short term this signing is a gigantic boost to their secondary.

The Redskins also had a brilliant draft weekend. I believe they got two very underrated players in linebacker/safety S’ua Cravens and cornerback Kendall Fuller. Cravens gives the Redskins explosiveness and versatility on defense, and if healthy Fuller can be an extremely efficient cover corner in the NFL.

They used their first round pick on wide receiver Josh Doctoson, who was for my money the best wide receiver in the draft. The wide receiver group of Doctson, DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon and Jamison Crowder is as complete and deep as any in the league. Then factor in a top three receiving tight end in the league, Jordan Reed, and you have an impressive group for Kirk Cousins to throw too.

It’s still unclear if Cousins is a franchise quarterback, but you can’t take away his 2015 production. Cousins was better than Chiefs veteran Alex Smith last year and will continue to improve.

We know that the Chiefs don’t throw as much as the Redskins, so it would be unfair to compare Cousins’ vastly higher yards and touchdowns to Smith’s. However, we can compare completion percentage in which Cousins had an impressive 69.8 percent and Smith just 65.3 percent. More experience and growth for Cousins will only improve their chances of making the playoffs.

The Redskins should repeat in the NFC East. The Eagles are in rebuilding mode. The Cowboys have suspensions to deal with, an injury prone and aging quarterback, and draft decisions that could haunt them this year (passing on defense in first round).  The Giants spent a lot of money in the off-season and improved their defense, but still have a bad offensive line and a one dimensional offense.

For all these reasons, the Kansas City Chiefs will not make it back to the playoffs, and the Washington Redskins again will. Better luck next week, Mark…

More nfl spin zone: Sunday Debate: Dallas Cowboys are the Losers of the 2016 NFL Draft

Please check out Mark’s opposing article and join in on the debate below.