They were left for dead. Pronounced "finished" by NFL experts everywhere. After starting the season off a dreadful 1-5, the Kansas City Chiefs were thought to be in the running for the No. 1 overall draft pick yet again.

Not so fast.

Since their Week 7 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Andy Reid's team is a perfect 6-0. The Chiefs six game winning streak is the second longest active streak in the league behind only the Carolina Panthers. Instead of being in the hunt for a last place finish, the Chiefs actually have a chance at beating out the Denver Broncos in the AFC West. It's unlikely the Chiefs will ultimately catch the Broncos for the division lead, but they very much control their own destiny for a wild card spot.

The Chiefs are presently the No. 5 seed in the AFC with a 7-5 record, just ahead of the New York Jets who are also 7-5. The Chiefs hold the tiebreaker over the Jets because they are 6-2 in the conference as the Jets are just 5-4. The Steelers are also 7-5, but as mentioned earlier, the Chiefs beat them head-to-head.

So what turned everything around in Kansas City? Why are the Chiefs playing so good all of a sudden?

Alex Smith has certainly stepped up his play from what we saw in September. Smith hasn't thrown a single interception since the Week 3 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Smith is becoming more of a reliable deep ball quarterback. Jeremy Maclin has proven to be a fantastic free agent addition and much more versatile than Dwayne Bowe. It's amazing that the Chiefs offense has been so on point considering the fact that Jamaal Charles is out for the season. The Chiefs offense has turned the ball over in just one of their last six games.

Travis Kelce has emerged into one of the best tight ends in the league today. Kelce isn't just making a difference with huge catches, but he is making pivotal blocks at the line of scrimmage for Smith and Charcandrick West. Naturally, Justin Houston and Tamba Hali lead an elite defensive line that ranks near the top in every major category.

Then again, Chiefs fans have seen this movie before. In 2013 the Chiefs began the season 9-0 but fell down to Earth losing five of their last seven games. That team would lose to the Indianapolis Colts in the playoffs. Sadly, for Chiefs fans, they haven't seen their team win a single playoff game since 1993, when they defeated the Houston Oilers. Remember them? Only the Cincinnati Bengals have a longer playoff win drought. Chiefs fans know not to get ahead of themselves, but one can't help but be anxiously overexcited about this winning streak as we head into the final playoff push.

 Follow Damon Salvadore on Twitter @DamonSalvadore1