Chiefs Face The Impossible

Michael Jordan, my favorite professional athlete of all time, once said, “I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying.”

Of course, that’s easy to say when you’re the greatest player of all time in your particular sport.

When you’re the Kansas City Chiefs, a 4-5 team in the NFL’s worst division, and you’re facing this year’s version of the Indianapolis Colts, it’s a much tougher pill to swallow.

The Chiefs can’t possibly beat the Colts. Going into the RCA Dome on Sunday, Herm Edwards’ team must know exactly how the Light Brigade felt in 1854, except I don’t think the Russians were pumping artificial crowd noise into the Crimean Peninsula.

Into the valley of death rode the NFL’s 30th ranked offense.

Sunday, the Chiefs return to the scene of last year’s playoff embarrassment, where the Colts drubbed the Chiefs 23-8, a game in which the Chiefs were so overmatched they didn’t get a first down until the third quarter. Of course, the Chiefs were the first stepping stone the Colts frolicked across on their way to the Super Bowl.

“It was somewhat embarrassing,” Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez remembered. “We were unable to move the ball at all.”

The Colts should be especially irritated this time. They’ve lost two games in a row, one to their sworn enemy, the New England Patriots. Both were close affairs. The Colts have been hit hard by the injury bug this season - Dwight Freeney has been placed on injured reserve, joining fellow starters Rob Morris and Anthony McFarland. Offensively, they could be without wide receivers Marvin Harrison and Anthony Gonzalez.

But forget all of that. As long as the Colts have Peyton Manning and he’s playing well, they’ll always be a force. Throw in running back Joseph Addai and receiver Reggie Wayne, and the Colts have more than enough firepower to blow the Chiefs out of the RCA Dome.

Even with the injuries, no one’s giving the Chiefs any chance against the Super Bowl champions. They’re starting a new quarterback, Brodie Croyle, and running back Larry Johnson is out with an injured foot. The Chiefs are entering this game short handed and slightly inexperienced.

But don’t tell that to Gonzalez.

“We’ve got to go out there and play great,” he said. “It’s no secret. No one’s giving us a chance. I’m not going to sit here and say everyone’s behind us, it’s one of those things where really, we have nothing to lose. We’ll go out there and play balls out, and we’ll see what happens at the end of the game.”

Gonzalez is right. The last time the Chiefs weren’t given a chance this season was against the San Diego Chargers, a team in a similar situation at the time. The Chargers, one of the NFL’s best teams, had lost two games, and were playing the Chiefs at home. Kansas City won that game handily, 30-16, and as bad as the Chiefs played in Indianapolis last season, surely they’re due to win this game.

They can’t play that poorly twice.

Can they?