Apologies if you took the Chiefs with your NFL picks last weekend. They were thoroughly outclassed by the Atlanta Falcons 40-24 at home, but maybe they can rebound in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills.
After all, the Bills were dominated in their Week 1 matchup as well.
Kansas City simply had no answer for the Falcons’ offense throughout the day. The Chiefs couldn’t stop Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and Roddy White whatsoever.
Turnovers were also an issue. The Falcons had zero, while the Chiefs had an interception and two lost fumbles. Losing the turnover battle is always going to put you in a tough spot, especially against an offense as productive as Atlanta’s.
At least the Chiefs were able to move the ball pretty well themselves on offense.
Matt Cassel had 258 yards and both a passing and rushing score but threw two picks, while the KC ground game accounted for 152 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries. Jamaal Charles, in his official return to the real deal following knee surgery, led the way with 87 yards and a 5.4 average YPC.
Another pleasant surprise was Dexter McCluster, who emerged as a legitimate threat by catching six passes for 82 yards. Cassel was frequently checking down and often found the speedy McCluster.
Obviously the main issue from Week 1 was the terrible defensive performance. Still, there’s little chance the Chiefs will be giving up 40 points again versus Buffalo.
The Bills will be without starting running back Fred Jackson, though C.J. Spiller torched the Jets when he took over the primary duties. Ryan Fitzpatrick looked shaky however, meaning Kansas City will have a great chance at getting a road win and evening up their record at 1-1.
With a tough Week 3 visit to New Orleans, lord knows the Chiefs need a win.
Something is missing on the Chiefs roster, I cant put my finger on it I will be able to tell after this game coming up with the Bills.
Comment by dave — September 12, 2012 @ 10:20 am
Dave , I think what was missing was Tamba and his presence. Watch we will be a totally different team. Gooooo CHIEFS11
Comment by BigKCSaint — September 12, 2012 @ 11:37 pm
We need a pass rush and I love tamba hali, but if flowers isnt out there some no name receiver is gonna have their way opposite side of routt.
And where is breaston, and baldwin? We have so much potential….Most importantly though….where is the O-line….That was a big part of our offensive woes.
Comment by corey — September 13, 2012 @ 10:28 am
Well, and so it goes…
There was so much excitement about our off-season moves and our draft. Perhaps people were mistaken about that, or perhaps with new people in the coaching staff, we’ll improve as the season goes on. Perhaps the coaching staff isn’t handling the personnel well, and the situation won’t improve at all. Listening to part of the game on radio, I’m not in a good position to tell.
As I commented during our draft, I was surprised we didn’t make the OL a priority.
Manning as a Bronco seems as sharp as ever, no doubt they will win the division. I hope I wasn’t overly-optimistic in predicting us to go 7-9 to 8-8 this year.
On the other hand, the Jets made horrible off-season moves (Tebow), had a below-average draft and were a mess in the pre-season, and walloped the Bills…there’s still a lot of time for them to stink up the stadium though. Even watching the game, it’s hard to tell so early in the season how much the Jets’ victory was them being that good or the Bills being that bad. Our next game may be telling for the entire year— if we can’t win against the Bills, it will probably be a very long season.
Comment by Charles — September 15, 2012 @ 7:25 pm