KANSAS CITY Infant Rashad Fenton Jersey , Mo. — Justin Houston wouldn’t let the question come out before cutting it off. Fullback Anthony Sherman was even less accommodating than the bruising linebacker of the Kansas City Chiefs.His response came with a glare.You see, the Chiefs had just wrapped up their third consecutive AFC West title and the No. 1 seed for the playoffs with a lopsided rout of the Oakland Raiders, their longtime division rivals. But in an otherwise jubilant locker room, the inevitable question had to be asked: Will this team, with its high-powered offense and lackluster defense, finally reverse decades of postseason disappointments?“That’s behind us. That’s old news,” said Houston, one of the veterans and vocal leaders. “You don’t focus on the past. Don’t let the past poison your future. We are focused on the future now and we are getting ready for whoever we have to play. We are going to take advantage of this opportunity.”The Chiefs (12-4) get this week to rest and relax, the byproduct of earning that first-round bye. They will learn this weekend whether they will face the Colts, Ravens or Chargers in the divisional round on Jan. 12 Rashad Fenton Jersey nfl draft , the first of what they hope will be two games at Arrowhead Stadium before the Super Bowl.“The past doesn’t mean anything. Those other games? They don’t mean anything,” Sherman said. “This is a whole new team. We can’t worry about what those other teams did.”Oh, but Chiefs fans are certainly aware.This is the proud and storied franchise that played opposite the champion Green Bay Packers in the first Super Bowl, then won the Lombardi Trophy three years later against the Minnesota Vikings.But since Len Dawson and Co. were victorious in 1970 — the final year of the American Football League — the Chiefs have appeared in only one AFC title game, losing to the Buffalo Bills after the 1993 season. They’ve won only two playoff games at home in their entire history, even though Arrowhead Stadium boasts one of the biggest home-field advantages in the game. And under coach Andy Reid, they are winless at home and 1-5 overall in the postseason.There’s more, as if the Chiefs want to be reminded of it.Only the Jets have gone longer without playing in the Super Bowl; the Lions, Browns, Jaguars and Texans have never been there. And the Chiefs’ only playoff win in 25 years came against Houston Rashad Fenton Jersey Womens , which was led by quarterback Brian Hoyer.In fact, Indianapolis has won just as many playoff games at Arrowhead Stadium as the Chiefs.The letdowns have been excruciating, too. There was the year Lin Elliott missed three field goals in a 10-7 loss to the Colts. The year the Chiefs lost a shootout to the Colts in which nobody punted. The year Reid’s team blew a 38-10 second-half lead to — well, you can guess who.Two years ago, the Chiefs lost a home playoff game to the Steelers despite holding Pittsburgh without a touchdown. Last year, they lost a home playoff game to Tennessee after blowing a 21-3 halftime lead.“We’ve been in this situation before and we’ve learned from it,” Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce vowed, “and sure enough, we’ll make sure we give these fans and this crowd and city everything we’ve got.”There are reasons to believe that will be enough this time.The Chiefs have a record-setting offense that scored at least 26 points in every game, led by the best young quarterback to take the field in years. Patrick Mahomes eclipsed 5 Rashad Fenton Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys ,000 yards passing and threw for 50 touchdowns as a first-year starter, shattering just about every franchise mark in the process.Kelce and wide receiver Tyreek Hill give him outstanding options on offense, and Spencer Ware and Damien Williams have filled in admirably after the Chiefs severed ties with Kareem Hunt midway through the season.And while the Chiefs’ much-maligned defense has struggled to stop anyone, particularly in high-profile shootouts against the Rams and Patriots, they have played better of late. They rank near the top of the NFL in sacks, thanks primarily to career seasons from defensive tackle Chris Jones and linebacker Dee Ford.“We know what it’s going to take,” Mahomes said. “It’s going to take a full effort from everyone, every single day of this bye week and into next week, to the game and hopefully on. We know that you have to capitalize on every single play. You can’t let one play get you down for the next. The next play is the most important play. We are excited we get the chance to do that.”Indeed, the Chiefs are embracing their position as the No. 1 seed. They relish the fact that so many pundits are predicting Super Bowl success Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys Stitched , even after all of those postseason flops. They know that they have a chance to scrub away the stink of all those losses, even if they refuse to reflect upon them.“I don’t get caught up in all that bad luck. You create your own deal and you go play,” Reid said. “We don’t worry about all that stuff. Just go play. Get yourself ready, go through the process and get yourself ready to go. And then what happens on that field, man against man, you are playing the game.”100 Gallery:View from the sidelines: NFL cheerleaders 2018Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports | Raj Mehta The status of running back Kareem Hunt on the Browns’ roster may be more tenuous than believed.Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam met with reporters on Sunday, and it became clear that Hunt isn’t automatically going to stay on the roster when his eight-game suspension ends.“We know that Kareem has work to do, and he is in counseling working really hard,” Dee Haslam said regarding Hunt, who recently was questioned by police after an incident outside of a bar in Cleveland. “It is up to him. It truly is up to him. We have high expectations for our players.”Asked whether she had any qualms about adding Hunt to the roster Rashad Fenton Jersey nfl draft , given the videotaped assault of a woman that triggered his suspension, Dee Haslam was blunt: “I think you have to take the situation very, very, very seriously. We spent a lot of time and [G.M.] John [Dorsey] spent a lot of time with Kareem and felt like he has potential as a person, which is obviously as important as a player. He needs to continue to work really hard to be part of our organization.”That last sentence strongly implies that his place on the team is far from secure.“Kareem understands what he has to do to continue to be a part of the Cleveland Browns,” Jimmy Haslam added.Jimmy Haslam also noted that the team is still talking to the league about the possibility that Hunt will be permitted to remain with the team during his suspension. For now, a final decision has not been made.It sounds like a final decision on whether Hunt will even been a member of the Browns during the second half of the season hasn’t been made, either.
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