In the NFL, anyone can win at any time. Parity, parity, parity. We hear this year in and year out and things become cliches largely because they are true. So the fact that the Chiefs have already matched their highest win total since 2006 and it's not quite Halloween might be surprising, but it's certainly not impossible given the back and forth nature of the NFL.
But it's also true that strength of schedule will rip apart one team's season and become a blessing to another. Coming into the season, the Chiefs ranked 22nd on their strength of schedule. Yet that certainly did not foresee the absolute plummet by the San Diego Chargers and San Francisco 49ers. Include the much-less-formidable version of the Arizona Cardinals compared to the '09 version and things get even easier. Looking for an apt comparison? Try Boise State.
Boise State is a good football team. Hell, they're even a great football team although some will always have their doubts given their level of competition. They're third in the most recent BCS standings, stand at 6-0, and rank in the Top 2 in both the USA Today and AP college polls -- receiving first place votes in each. To some, in other words, they are the best college football team in the country.
But for others, Boise State will not fully prove itself as a football powerhouse until their level of competition is sufficiently increased. Anyone who watches the SEC week in and week out (or even the Big 10) will attest to the fact that every single week provides another tough opponent. Even Boise State's early scheduled opponent of Virginia Tech started in the pre-season Top 10 only to fall back out of the Top 25 (before resurfacing at the bottom this week).
Suffice to say, the schedule presents the x-factor that some fans will care less about while others will cry foul over the Chiefs record -- refusing the believe the win-loss record or the on-field results. Are the Chiefs on par with other 4-2 teams? Are they in step with other division leaders? If the Chiefs were to play the Patriots or Steelers this Sunday, we'd have a much quicker answer to that question. And perhaps some could point to their recent road swing through Houston and Indy as proof that they're not there yet. Yet just like Boise State, there's no denying that the product on the field is at least very good -- even if there's not as much room to prove themselves compared to others.
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