Kansas City Chiefs: Week 12 Report Card

The win streak is finally over.  Maxing out at two games, the Kansas City Chiefs could not parlay the momentum of toppling the reigning Super Bowl Champion Steelers into a victory over the surging San Diego Chargers. 

No one believed Kansas City to be the more talented team in this matchup, but at times executed an offensive game-plan that was startlingly good. 

However, if a team is to pull an upset it is common to hear the need for “mistake-free” football.  The Chiefs (in the spirit of Thanksgiving) threw up a cornucopia of mistakes from which they could not recover.  

Here’s how the grades shake out:

Pass Offense: C-  

The Stat line—19/31, 178 yards, one touchdown, and one interception – not egregious, but the numbers only tell half the story. 

Chiefs’ quarterback Matt Cassel is finding more time to throw than earlier in the season, but this is largely attributed to pocket awareness. 

Cassel seldom has a place to set his feet and scan the field.  While he doesn’t always need to scramble or entirely leave the pocket, every down Cassel slides away from the pass rush in a makeshift shanty of a pocket. 

Wide receiver Chris Chambers continues to be a solid playmaker, but with Dwayne Bowe still out due to suspension the team struggles to find other legitimate receiving threats.  The lack of a strong tight end has become a gaping hole on the team’s roster.  No heir apparent to the great Tony Gonzalez has emerged.

Run Offense: B 

Running back Jamaal Charles continues to prove himself a great asset to this team.  Despite nearly a hundred yards on only 14 carries, for an average well above six yards-per-carry, Charles is haunted by a looming concern: ball security. 

To ask Charles to minimize his use of spin techniques is to marginalize his effectiveness, but while such fancy footwork can lead to hard-fought extra yards, those yards come at increased risk of fumbling.  It is becoming clear that KC has a feature running back on their roster. 

Charles can be compared to Tiki Barber, the now-retired running back for the New York Giants.  Barber was not the largest runner, was known as an exceptional receiver, and early in his career was questioned for his tendency to fumble. 

If the Chiefs get anywhere near similar results from Charles over the course of his career there is reason to be excited.

Pass Defense: D 

Slogan of the 2009 Chiefs: “We give up big plays.” 

Still stinging after being hit in the face for a 54 yard pass to Charger receiver Malcolm Floyd, the Chief’s defense played a deep, soft zone.  So, the defense was suspect to body-shot after body-shot as Charger tight end Antonio Gates delivered repeated blows to the gut of the Chief’s defense. 

The ability of the Kansas City linebackers to play coverage in the 3-4 is something many saw as a problem area as they field many converted defensive ends.  There is a learning curve and this week Kansas City fell on the low end of the spectrum. 

Where Kansas City is most clearly lacking is in their pass rush.  Charger’s quarterback, Philip Rivers was never sacked and was nearly never even pressured on his way to 317 yards and two touchdowns on 28 pass attempts.  Talk about time to look down field.

Run Defense: B

On a day where the commentators emphasized Charger running back, LaDainian Tomlinson’s climb up the list of all-time leaders in NFL rushing yardage, it was easy to overlook his mere 39 yards on 13 carries.  In fact, as a team, the Chargers were held to 2.8 yards-per-carry.

In summary:

Run offense and defense = good

Pass offense and defense = need improvement

Kansas City continues to show signs of being a talented team, but four turnovers that resulted in 28 San Diego points is too much for even the best teams to overcome.

Play of the game: The redemption song of Chris Chambers came on a seven yard touchdown pass from Cassel.  On third and four from the Charger's eight yard line, Chambers came underneath on a two-yard drag and caught the ball in space as he cleared from the middle of the field.  Chambers took for the sideline and spun back toward the middle of the field, falling backward, with ball extended to break the plane of the end zone against his former teammates.