Some suggest that Kansas City should trade him. Their argument is rational, I suppose. The Chiefs could probably coax a third round pick out of another team in a trade, they would save a lot of money without him, and West and Ware are more than ready to run the backfield. West stepped in last year and ran for a team-leading 634 yards and found the end zone four times. Ware started playing a little later and ultimately ran for 403 yards and scored six touchdowns.

That’s all fine and dandy, but we all need to remember one thing. We are talking about the Jamaal Charles, the franchise’s all time leading rusher, and the guy who single-handedly carried the KC offense for at least five seasons and the guy who was having yet another fantastic season in 2015 before he hit some bad luck and tore his ACL. Charles is still really good. Like, right now. When he is healthy again (if you doubt he can come back at 100 percent check his Instagram page), he is going to be a top-five back, just like he has been since probably 2009. It is kind of ridiculous to consider trading your best player. I wonder if the Patriots ever think, “Gee, Tom Brady is, like, 40, and he hobbles around some time, maybe we should trade him for a younger and cheaper QB.” NO. The Patriots never think that. Sure, Brady is about as old as the printing press and he hobbles around every once in a while, but he still contributes a great deal to his team. The Patriots want to win Super Bowls, and they keep Brady so that they can do that.

That’s something that we should all think about. This is the best roster KC has had in years. The Chiefs are entering their Super Bowl window of opportunity. The time to bring the Lombardi Trophy back to KC is right now. They need to use every bit of talent they have, and that includes Charles. Could the Chiefs be a good team without him? Absolutely. Could they win playoff games? Probably. Could they win a Super Bowl? Hmmm. That’s tough.

The Chiefs need to hold on to Charles because he is the piece that pushes them over the top. He is the player that gives Kansas City an edge. He is an explosive player and can make a big play on any given carry. Those impactful plays are important when it comes to playoff time (see just about any Super Bowl). The Chiefs need Charles if they want to win a Super Bowl before the team gets old and the window of opportunity closes up.

I don’t want to discredit West or Ware. They are both great players and they filled in nicely for the NFL’s best back last season. I think at least one of them will do a great job anchoring the Kansas City backfield a couple of years from now. But for now, the backfield should belong to its rightful owner, and that is Jamaal Charles.

Feature photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated. 

Peyton Manning had two astounding accomplishments in this game. The first was set when he successfully replaced Brett Favre with the most career passing yards in National Football League (NFL) history. This is a huge career accomplishment, and Peyton Manning definitely deserves it after the great career this quarterback has had. Manning adds this to his impressive number of quarterback achievement, including most career passing touchdowns. Favre sent his congratulations in his own particular style in this video.

The second accomplishment happened after four interceptions occurred in the game. Manning was benched on his record setting night and replaced by third-year quarterback Brock Osweiler. By the time Manning was warming the bench for the night, his final statistics were as follows: 5/20 pass completions/ attempts, 35 yards, zero TD’s and four interceptions through two and a half quarters of football.

Peyton had a final quarterback rating (QBR) of 0.1. A quarterback rating factors in all of the statistics previously mentioned, and the perfect score is approximately 158.3. This was the worst QBR of any quarterback in the last 10 years and the worst of Manning’s career, beating out his 19.4 in 2007, which was interestingly also against the Chiefs, at home.

If one didn’t believe in the decline of Peyton Manning over the past year, surely it’s clear after this disasterous game. This game wasn’t just a fluke either; through the first nine games of this season before being benched, Manning threw for 800 fewer yards, 20 fewer touchdowns and 10 more interceptions than the previous year while also connecting on 7.8 percent fewer passes he attempted. To add more perspective, the last time Manning won the MVP award in 2013, in his first nine games for the Broncos, he threw 24 more touchdowns, 1,100 more yards and 11 fewer interceptions while connecting on 12 percent more of his attempted passes than this season. So his decline has definitely been perceptible to avid sports fans, but after this game, the downfall was obvious even to casual observers.

Yes, Peyton Manning played extremely poorly in this game against KC, but this writer takes no credit away from the Chiefs or their defense that sent a message to the American Football Conference (AFC). Three games into the current five game win-streak with the Chiefs’ backup beating one of the top teams in the conference while away, and after beating the Buffalo Bills this past Sunday, Nov. 29, the Chiefs are in a spot to control their own destiny with a 6-5 record and the top spot of the AFC Wildcard playoff race even without their star running back, Jamaal Charles. Also, considering the Chiefs don’t play any team with a winning record for the remainder of this season, Kansas City fans have plenty to be hopeful for in the tail end of the season.

Whether you like to see the Chiefs win or you like to see the Broncos or Peyton Manning lose, this week nine divisional rivals matchup was most definitely a historic one and appeared to be not only a turning point in the Kansas City Chiefs’ season but also a very obvious turning point in an all-time great NFL QB’s career. But don’t worry Broncos fans; Brock Osweiler’s future looks bright so far.

Photo courtesy of Chip Litherland.