The time has come for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Most thought it would be another year or two before their rebuilding process would yield a playoff berth, but the teams in the AFC West had other ideas.
The Chiefs (3-2), who have a 1½-game lead in the division, host the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-3) on Sunday.
Kansas City general manager Scott Pioli brought in offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel this season. All three won three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots, and have immediately provided a winning environment.
With San Diego, Denver and Oakland all sputtering at 2-4, the Chiefs have a legitimate chance to make the postseason for the first time since 2006. They also have a chance to match or exceed their win total combined from the past three seasons (10) this year.
The Chiefs, who defeated the Chargers 21-14 in Week 1, have five division games remaining, plus games with Jacksonville, Buffalo, Arizona, Seattle, St. Louis and Tennessee. The non-division opponents are a combined 16-17.
The Chiefs and Jaguars are coming off disappointing losses. Kansas City, though, didn’t lose any ground because the entire AFC West lost.
The Chiefs fell to the Texans at Houston 35-31 when Matt Schaub hit Andre Johnson for an 11-yard touchdown pass with 28 seconds left.
Jacksonville (3-3) was manhandled by Tennessee 30-3 on Monday night. Quarterback David Garrard left in the second quarter with a concussion and backup Trent Edwards injured his thumb. Neither practiced Wednesday or Thursday.
The Jaguars signed quarterbacks Todd Bouman and Patrick Ramsey this week. Bouman hasn’t thrown a regular season pass since 2005, when he played for New Orleans; Ramsey since 2008 with Denver.
The Chiefs’ resurgence has been spearheaded by the NFL’s No. 1 rushing game at 164.6 yards per game, led by Jamaal Charles (418 yards) and Thomas Jones (336 yards), who had his first 100-yard game with Kansas City last week. Charles is averaging 6.3 yards per carry, the NFL’s best among running backs with 25 or more carries.
The Jaguars are 19th against the run (111.2 yards per game).
Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel, who threw a career-high three touchdown passes last week, has completed 57.8 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and three interceptions.
Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe has three touchdowns while rookie tight end Tony Moeaki has a team-leading 18 catches and two touchdowns.
Linebacker Tamba Hali has a team-leading 4½ sacks for the Chiefs, who have won three straight at home.
The Jaguars, led by Maurice Jones-Drew’s 463 yards, are sixth in the NFL in rushing at 135 yards per game. The Chiefs’ defense is fifth against the run (90.8 yards).
Jacksonville tight end Marcedes Lewis has five touchdowns among his 20 catches. Wide receiver Mike Thomas has a team-high 29 catches while Mike Simms-Walker has 18 receptions and two touchdowns.
The Jaguars have a minus-7 turnover ratio. Only the San Francisco 49ers (minus-8) are worse.
The Chiefs won the last meeting 31-24 at Jacksonville in 2009.