The Kansas City Chiefs knew prior to the Thanksgiving game against the Dallas Cowboys that the sense of urgency was high at 6-5, but now, after a 31-28 loss that drops the Chiefs to 6-6, it's panic stations.
Needing to essentially win out from here on out, and hope other teams stumble badly to get into the playoffs, this isn't a position we are used to seeing the Chiefs in.
But that's the bed they made, now they've got to lie in it.
Looking ahead now, the Chiefs' mentality surely has to be that there's no margin for error now, right?
Head coach Andy Reid thinks so.
"We go into every week thinking that," Reid said. "In this business, you stress to get your game plan down, practice it, and then go out and do it, so there's no days off on that. It's competition, and you're giving it your all, and I wouldn't expect anything less from the guys now."
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Chiefs in huge playoff hole after Cowboys loss
At 6-6, and already behind the Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans, and Jacksonville Jaguars, if that trio wins in Week 13, then Kansas City will fall further behind in the hunt for what now looks like an unlikely playoff spot.
The Chiefs know they were their own worst enemy against Dallas, and that simply can't happen again if they have any intention of sneaking into the playoffs.
Reid won't expect anything less from what the Chiefs have already been doing this season, but the gravity of the situation is now reaching crisis levels for the AFC champs.
Their season is now officially on life support.
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