OK, I know this article is a day late, but it took me a while to recover from the game and the trip home, so cut me a little slack. Anyway, what a great win for the Chiefs. They’ve put together back-to-back wins against two quality teams and are right back in the thick of things in the AFC West. Here are some of my thoughts on the game:
The offensive line dominated again. It’s hard to argue with over 200 yards rushing, but I think they should have run it more, especially in the second half.
Brian Waters had better make the Pro Bowl this year. He’s having an awesome season.
Trent Green in the most underrated quarterback in the NFL. Statistically he’s in the top three over the last three seasons, yet nobody mentions his name when discussing the best quarterbacks in the league.
Take a look out some of his weekly stats from this season: QB Rating: 1) 53.4 2) 54.4 3) 111.3 4) 99.3 5) 107.5 6) 105.3 7) 145.8
For the season he has a 96.4 quarterback rating.
Completion %: 1) 50.0 2) 50.0 3) 70.0 4) 67.7 5) 69.7 6) 74.1 7) 79.4
For the season he has a 65.6 completion percentage.
The Chiefs receiving corps has really stepped it up recently. Against the Colts Tony Gonzalez caught eight passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns, Johnnie Morton caught five passes for 69 yards and a touchdown, Eddie Kennison caught five passes for 50 yards and Dante Hall caught three passes for 43 yards.
I don’t think we all realize how great a player Priest Holmes is. Running, receiving, blocking, he does it all. Against the Colts he rushed for 143 yards and caught three passes for 82 more yards.
The Chiefs converted 8 of 15 third downs. The Colts converted 3 of 10.
The kicking game scares me to death. Not only is Lawrence Tynes inconsistent on his field goals, but now he’s having trouble reaching the ten yard line on his kickoffs. And the kickoff coverage unit is terrible, they better get things straightened out before they cost the Chiefs a game.
Defensively, I know the Chiefs gave up almost 500 yards passing and 35 points, but I was pleased with their play overall.
The Chiefs defensive backs did a pretty good job considering the talent they were up against. I think the terrible pass interference calls in the first half caused them to lose some of their aggressiveness and it showed in the second half.
The Chiefs never sacked Peyton Manning, but they pressured and hurried him with an assortment of blitzes. Unable to set his feet, Manning missed on some throws that could have gone for big plays.
In the first half, Manning completed just 10 of 24 passes and the Colts failed to convert on five of eight third down plays.
The Chiefs defense had a hard time adjusting to the “max protection” the Colts used in the second half when Manning found his groove.
The Chiefs held Edgerrin James, who carved them up for 125 yards in last year’s playoff game, to 34 yards on 10 carries.
The Colts did not run the football one time in the second half. Kansas City’s first half defense and their big deficit made the Colts completely one-dimensional.
The next two games should be easy wins for the Chiefs, but that’s what scares me. As great as the last two wins have been, they mean absolutely nothing if the Chiefs go to Tampa and lay an egg. They must approach this game as a must win, just as they have the last two weeks.