On the other hand, drawing comparisons to the 2000 Steelers isn’t particularly admirable. That team opened their November by posting another three game losing streak, ultimately finishing 9-7 and missing the playoffs. Looking at the remainder of the Chiefs’ schedule, it’s not difficult to picture them doing something similar. The next two games seem winnable. The following five, however….

(To clarify, I don’t believe the Chiefs will lose five in a row. I believe they’re capable enough to win one of them, though I think it’s a toss up as to which one it will be. If they win two, I’ll be ecstatic. If they win three, I’ll strongly consider buying a lotto ticket.)

In truth, I really don’t know how to evaluate this win. The positives are obvious: a home game on a Monday night for a national audience, a division win, major contributions from all four wide receivers, and another exceptional performance by Derrick Johnson. The negatives are equally obvious: a cardiac showing from Matt Cassel, negligible contributions from Dexter McCluster and Thomas Jones, a reaffirmation that the Barry Richardson experiment was a failure, and glaring deficiencies in pass coverage, particularly against tight ends. It’s a mixed bag, to say the least.

Even the win itself invokes conflicting emotions. For all intents and purposes, the game was lost for Kansas City at the two minute warning. Overtime was predicated by a poor exchange between San Diego center Nick Hardwick and quarterback Philip Rivers. Poor exchanges do occasionally occur, but they’re almost exclusively the domain of younger players or injury replacements that haven’t yet developed chemistry. There’s no lack of chemistry with Rivers and Hardwick–they’ve been together since they were drafted in 2004. That fumble was a one in a million drop.

Still, I can’t completely write that aspect off as a negative either. It’s an indicator that San Diego is in full self destruct mode. I like San Diego in self destruct mode. I wish they’d get there more often.

The good news is that ugly wins count the same as the pretty ones, and the division is weak. I don’t think it’s at all implausible that nine wins could secure a playoff berth in the AFC West. With games against Miami, Oakland, and Denver twice still on the docket, the Chiefs could ostensibly reach nine wins even with only one victory during their hellish five game stretch starting at the end of this month.

I’ll close today’s musings with a completely unrelated anecdote. About two hours ago, as I was beginning this article, Oklahoma and Kansas were struck by two earthquakes. I made two trips to California this past summer and was disappointed not to experience one. I’m planning a return there shortly, so earlier this evening I was online researching earthquakes to try to grasp how one sounds (morbid, I know). I’m sure it’s nothing more than mild situational irony, but on the small chance that I’ve developed some sort of synergy with Google, here’s a brief list of things I will be Googling between now and bedtime:

1. World peace.

2. Katy Perry loses voice.

3. Chiefs win Super Bowl; Cubs win World Series.

4. Free liquor (premium brands only).

5. Dani Lugosi single, visiting Wichita.

If the synergy works under magic genie rules and the earthquake counted as my first wish, well…. sorry guys. My apartment is flat out of Gentleman Jack, Maker’s Mark, and heavily inked Australian models.