Bashaud Breeland suspension for breaking substance abuse policy revealed

The Kansas City Chiefs will be without Bashaud Breeland for four games.

Bashaud Breeland has been suspended for violating the NFL‘s substance abuse policy.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, “Chiefs’ starting right cornerback Bashaud Breeland is facing a four-game suspension for violating the NFL policy of substances of abuse…Breeland expected to miss games against Texans, Chargers, Ravens and Patriots.” The Kansas City Chiefs will be favored to win all but the Baltimore Ravens game, but Breeland’s absence only hurts the team.

Are the Kansas City Chiefs poised for a 2-2 start without Bashaud Breeland?

The Chiefs should face Baltimore in the AFC Championship game this year. If something other than than matchup happens, something went horribly wrong in this 16-team conference. Maybe the Ravens continue to embarrass themselves in their first playoff game of the season with Lamar Jackson at quarterback? Perhaps the Chiefs won’t be as good as they were a season ago?

Even though repeating as Super Bowl champions is so incredibly difficult, Kansas City certainly has the quarterback, head coach, general manager and owner to pull it off. However, the Chiefs aren’t going 14-2 like the Ravens did last year. Look for Kansas City to win the AFC West again with something around a 12-4 record, as the three other teams in the division are pretty good.

Assuming a loss at M&T Bank Stadium to Baltimore, are the Chiefs slated to still go 3-1 in their first four games of the season. Unless you’re a shameless homer still partying in the street after winning Super Bowl 54, you would take a 3-1 start with the only loss being on the road to Baltimore in a heartbeat. There is no shame in losing to a team like Baltimore on the road.

Kansas City Chiefs’ first four games of the 2020 NFL season

• Week 1: vs. Houston Texans (Sept. 10, 7:20 p.m. CT)
• Week 2: at Los Angeles Chargers (Sept. 20, 1:25 p.m. PT)
• Week 3: at Baltimore Ravens (Sept. 28, 8:15 p.m. ET)
• Week 4: vs. New England Patriots (Oct. 4, 3:25 p.m. CT)

Simply put, if the Chiefs lose at home to the Houston Texans on Sept. 10 when they raise a Super Bowl 54 championship banner at Arrowhead Stadium, you can kiss any shot of repeating goodbye. If you want to bet your next mortgage payment, your 401k or your oldest child’s college tuition fund on the Chiefs’ moneyline, you are more than welcome to do so. Kansas City wins this one.

As for the road date with the Chargers, that one could be a little dicey. This is the first time Kansas City will play in SoFi Stadium and the Chargers won’t be as deplorably bad as they were a season ago. Perhaps head coach Anthony Lynn devises an offensive attack to exploit Kansas City not having Breeland in the defensive backfield? The Chiefs should still win anyway, but it’s not certain.

Though the Chiefs could beat Baltimore on the road, this was going to be especially challenging for them, even at full strength. Don’t count on a win here, Chiefs Kingdom. The 2020 Chiefs will not be the 1972 Miami Dolphins and this road loss to the Ravens will be convincing evidence of that. As for the home game vs. the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick is still their head coach.

Let’s not rule out Cam Newton having his “he’s back!” game vs. the Chiefs at Arrowhead in Week 4. Kansas City has lost a lot of dumb games in a big spot at Arrowhead before. If the Chiefs do go 2-2 when Breeland is out of the starting lineup, this is the other game they will drop. Belichick is the coach who will be able to figure out how to exploit Kansas City not having Breeland out there.

Even with Breeland out for four games, Kansas City should go 3-1 during his extended absence.