ALL SMILES AFTER CHIEFS' 31-13 WIN
After a three underwhelming performances in a row, the Chiefs got up on an opponent & then finished them off for a change. Pounding the Arizona Cardinals 31-13 shouldn't be overvalued unless it marks a turnaround by Kansas City. If they play well now thru the end of the regular season, we might be able to point to this game & say "it started with the Cardinal game." If they go to Seattle & lay an egg next Sunday, what happened at Arrowhead this afternoon won't amount to a hill of beans.
I really don't have much in the way of criticism for the way Kansas City dispatched the hapless Cardinals. The NFC West is by far the worst division in football. All four teams lost today, only the Rams putting up much of a fight. The Cards out gained the Chiefs but did little with that yardage. This is why the Chiefs' win is difficult to gauge as it pertains to future opponents. But it was their second win over an NFC West opponent & two remain on the schedule, Seattle next week & St. Louis later in December.
Matt Cassel looked like the game manager many of us envisioned when Scott Pioli traded for him. Cassel didn't take a sack, didn't have a turnover & two-thirds of his completions went to the only players wearing a Chiefs uniform who could really do something with the ball in the open field, Dewayne Bowe & Jamaal Charles. Without McCluster & Moeaki, Bowe & Charles were pretty much all Cassel had to work with. He did an excellent job hitting both in space, giving them a chance to make a play. Bowe scored two touchdowns, setting one of the up with a nice catch & run to the one yardline. The second TD came on a 9-yard pass he turned into a 38-yard touchdown. Charles caught a short pass & ran it down to the one, Thomas Jones took it in from there. Jamaal also had a 39-yard run to the six, also followed by a Jones touchdown run. Jones(71-yards) & Charles(88-yards) were effective running the ball which set up the play action passing game.
I am going to compliment Bowe, since his untimely drop in Indianapolis, except for 3rd down pass in Oakland, he has been a monster. He leads the league with 11 touchdown receptions. When was the last time a Chiefs' receiver, other than Tony G, led the league in anything? I watch nearly every NFL game every week & Bowe is playing some excellent football.
The offensive line played reasonably well, no sacks & 159-yards running. They got 2 holding calls, Lilja & Waters both flagged. I was just glad to see them playing after being injured last week in Denver. Brandon Albert sustained some sort of lower leg injury in the 4th quarter, but I don't know the severity of it tonight. Let's hope McCluster & Moeaki return this week at full speed.
The defense played O.K. but no sacks until the Arizona was throwing nearly every snap late in the game. Arizona is 30th in the league at protecting their passer, I didn't see much of a rush today. Like the in the San Francisco game, the Chiefs didn't give up a touchdown until the very last play of the game. Let's not read too much into this, it is the NFC West after all & the Niners got shutout at home today, neither team has too much to fear on offense. Derek Anderson & Alex Smith are similar quarterbacks, they stink as NFL starters.
Brandon Flowers was injured late in the game too, no word on what happened to him either.
I thought Charlie Weis called an excellent game today but they have to find a way to convert in short yardage & in goal line situations, the Chiefs have struggled with these two all season.
Sitting atop the AFC West with a 6-4 record, where does this leave the Chiefs' playoff hopes? Well, better than it was before kickoff, but realistically, San Diego could be the 800-pound gorilla in the room & what they do will affect everything as far as winning the division. Hopefully, Todd Haley can keep his team focused on their next opponent & nothing else, as long as Kansas City wins, what San Diego does means little. The Chiefs are 5-0 at home, sounds like a Schottenheimer team, if they can get their revenge on Denver & Oakland, that would be 7-0. With the quarterback debacle in Tennessee, I like their chances against the Titans a helluva lot more after what transpired today. Can they win 1 or 2 out of the remaining road schedule with Seattle, San Diego or St. Louis? If kansas City can win 4 of the remaining six games, San Diego would have to go 6-1. I know they've done it in the past & if you look at what they have remaining, the Chargers could very well win six more games. Today was a must win game for the Chiefs, they passed the test, winning handily. Now, next Sunday in Seattle is almost a must win. They're going to need one or two road wins & a 5-5 Seahawk team can be had. Until then, it's all smiles around here.
I really don't have much in the way of criticism for the way Kansas City dispatched the hapless Cardinals. The NFC West is by far the worst division in football. All four teams lost today, only the Rams putting up much of a fight. The Cards out gained the Chiefs but did little with that yardage. This is why the Chiefs' win is difficult to gauge as it pertains to future opponents. But it was their second win over an NFC West opponent & two remain on the schedule, Seattle next week & St. Louis later in December.
Matt Cassel looked like the game manager many of us envisioned when Scott Pioli traded for him. Cassel didn't take a sack, didn't have a turnover & two-thirds of his completions went to the only players wearing a Chiefs uniform who could really do something with the ball in the open field, Dewayne Bowe & Jamaal Charles. Without McCluster & Moeaki, Bowe & Charles were pretty much all Cassel had to work with. He did an excellent job hitting both in space, giving them a chance to make a play. Bowe scored two touchdowns, setting one of the up with a nice catch & run to the one yardline. The second TD came on a 9-yard pass he turned into a 38-yard touchdown. Charles caught a short pass & ran it down to the one, Thomas Jones took it in from there. Jamaal also had a 39-yard run to the six, also followed by a Jones touchdown run. Jones(71-yards) & Charles(88-yards) were effective running the ball which set up the play action passing game.
I am going to compliment Bowe, since his untimely drop in Indianapolis, except for 3rd down pass in Oakland, he has been a monster. He leads the league with 11 touchdown receptions. When was the last time a Chiefs' receiver, other than Tony G, led the league in anything? I watch nearly every NFL game every week & Bowe is playing some excellent football.
The offensive line played reasonably well, no sacks & 159-yards running. They got 2 holding calls, Lilja & Waters both flagged. I was just glad to see them playing after being injured last week in Denver. Brandon Albert sustained some sort of lower leg injury in the 4th quarter, but I don't know the severity of it tonight. Let's hope McCluster & Moeaki return this week at full speed.
The defense played O.K. but no sacks until the Arizona was throwing nearly every snap late in the game. Arizona is 30th in the league at protecting their passer, I didn't see much of a rush today. Like the in the San Francisco game, the Chiefs didn't give up a touchdown until the very last play of the game. Let's not read too much into this, it is the NFC West after all & the Niners got shutout at home today, neither team has too much to fear on offense. Derek Anderson & Alex Smith are similar quarterbacks, they stink as NFL starters.
Brandon Flowers was injured late in the game too, no word on what happened to him either.
I thought Charlie Weis called an excellent game today but they have to find a way to convert in short yardage & in goal line situations, the Chiefs have struggled with these two all season.
Sitting atop the AFC West with a 6-4 record, where does this leave the Chiefs' playoff hopes? Well, better than it was before kickoff, but realistically, San Diego could be the 800-pound gorilla in the room & what they do will affect everything as far as winning the division. Hopefully, Todd Haley can keep his team focused on their next opponent & nothing else, as long as Kansas City wins, what San Diego does means little. The Chiefs are 5-0 at home, sounds like a Schottenheimer team, if they can get their revenge on Denver & Oakland, that would be 7-0. With the quarterback debacle in Tennessee, I like their chances against the Titans a helluva lot more after what transpired today. Can they win 1 or 2 out of the remaining road schedule with Seattle, San Diego or St. Louis? If kansas City can win 4 of the remaining six games, San Diego would have to go 6-1. I know they've done it in the past & if you look at what they have remaining, the Chargers could very well win six more games. Today was a must win game for the Chiefs, they passed the test, winning handily. Now, next Sunday in Seattle is almost a must win. They're going to need one or two road wins & a 5-5 Seahawk team can be had. Until then, it's all smiles around here.
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