Sean Smith's Suspension Could Foil Kansas City Chiefs' Playoff Hopes

Sean Smith's Suspension Could Foil Kansas City Chiefs' Playoff Hopes
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas City Chiefs got some tough news on Friday morning when it was announced that Sean Smith, the team’s top cornerback, will be suspended for the first three games of the season for violating the NFL‘s substance abuse policy. Smith plead guilty to a DUI last month while he was already in the league’s drug program, leading to the suspension. Smith’s absence could have a damaging effect on the Chiefs’ playoff chances even though he’s only missing three out of 16 games.

During the first three weeks of the 2015 NFL season, the Chiefs play at the Houston Texans, home to the Denver Broncos and at the Green Bay Packers. That is a brutal schedule against three of the best teams in the NFL, and with Smith out, the Chiefs will likely have to turn to rookie Marcus Peters to take his spot. Peters missed part of his senior season because he was dismissed from the Washington Huskies football team for disrespecting the coaching staff. He hasn’t played in a game since the beginning of November 2014, so it will be a tall task for him to be thrown into the fire due to Smith’s suspension.

If the Chiefs begin the season 0-3, it will be extremely tough to recover from that hole. The team would most likely have to go 10-3 over the last 13 games in order to have a realistic shot at a playoff spot. With road games at Cincinnati, at Baltimore, at Denver and at San Diego still on the schedule, it would be very difficult to accomplish that feat, even with Smith back in the lineup.

Not only did Smith put everyone on the road with him that night in serious danger, but he also let his teammates, coaches and the entire Chiefs organization down and could potentially be the reason why the team misses the playoffs. Smith made an extremely selfish decision, and as a result, everyone around him will suffer.

Jason Fletcher is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonFletcher25, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google+.

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