Kansas City Chiefs Week 4 Report Card: Grading Every Starter's Performance

The Kansas City Chiefs picked up their first win of the '11 season with a 22-17 triumph over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

It was also their first win since Week 16 of the 2010 season.

After watching this game, there are many players that I felt had good days and some that struggled mightily in this game against Minnesota.

Here are my grades for all of the Chiefs' starters in their Week 4 win against the Vikings.

QB Matt Cassel

QB Matt Cassel had a very interesting day for the Chiefs.

In the first half, he was wildly inconsistent and even got into a brief sideline scuffle with head coach Todd Haley.

Fortunately for KC, Cassel settled down in the second half to lead the team to their first victory of the campaign.

Grade: B

RB Thomas Jones

Jones had a couple nice runs early in the game, but other than that, wasn't much of a factor in this one.

He finished the day with 37 yards on 11 carries, giving him an anemic 3.4 YPC average.

I will give him the benefit of the doubt though, because the Vikings' run defense is one of the better units in the league.

Grade: C

FB Le'Ron McClain

First-year Chief Le'Ron McClain had minimal impact for the team's offense again on Sunday.

He rushed the ball twice for negative yardage and caught just one pass for seven yards.

He became more known for getting in the way of QB Matt Cassel and head coach Todd Haley's yelling match on the sideline than what he did on the field in this one.

Grade: Incomplete

TE Leonard Pope

Tight end Leonard Pope didn't contribute much to the Kansas City offense against the Vikings.

He had just one catch for four yards and committed another penalty as well.

The former Arizona Cardinal needs to make more of an impact in the passing game for the Chiefs' offensive line to continue to do well in the future.

Grade: Incomplete

WR Dwayne Bowe

Bowe was one of the main reasons why the Chiefs won today.

His 52-yard TD in the fourth quarter ended up being the game-winning score for Kansas City.

He also picked up his second 100-yard receiving game of the season as well.

Grade: A

WR Steve Breaston

New Chiefs wideout Steve Breaston broke out in a big way for the Chiefs on Sunday.

He had four catches for 91 yards, including a 42-yard catch-and-run over the middle against the Vikings.

He and teammate Dwayne Bowe were huge factors in this win for KC.

Grade: A

LT Branden Albert

Albert did a serviceable job of containing Vikings All-Pro defensive end Jared Allen for much of the day.

However, he did commit a penalty and allowed Allen to sack Matt Cassel twice.

Going against Allen is no easy task, as he is one of the best DEs that the league has to offer.

Grade: C+

LG Ryan Lilja

Veteran guard Ryan Lilja didn't fare much better than his teammate Casey Wiegmann on this day.

He was also pushed backwards on many occasions, leading to many quickly collapsed pockets throughout the game.

Lilja needs to improve or the Chiefs' offensive line could be in trouble for the remainder of the year.

Grade: F

C Casey Wiegmann

Weigmann struggled again at his center position in this game.

He was constantly pushed back by the Vikings D-line and is starting to show his age out there.

KC needs to look into starting rookie Rodney Hudson at center in the near future.

Grade: D

RG Jon Asamoah

Asamoah had another productive day on the right side of the Chiefs' offensive line.

His name was barely called, and for an offensive lineman, that is what you want to hear.

Grade: A-

RT Barry Richardson

Barry Richardson had an up and down day for the Chiefs against Minnesota.

He wasn't abused as much as some of his offensive line counterparts, but he also didn't have a great game either.

KC's starting right tackle will still need to play better if he wants the team to not draft a RT next year.

Grade: C

DE Glenn Dorsey

Glenn Dorsey played alright, but he still got beat a few times on rushes by Vikings receiver Percy Harvin.

The former LSU star looked good on some plays, but very bad on others.

He still has alot to prove as a starting defensive end in this league.

Grade: C

DT Kelly Gregg

Veteran defensive tackle Kelly Gregg was signed over the offseason in order to help shore up some of the Chiefs' problems at that position.

After four games, Gregg has yet to make of an impact.

That didn't change on Sunday when he had just four tackles and a pass deflection against Minnesota's offense.

Grade: D

DE Tyson Jackson

T-Jack did manage to do some good things for the Chiefs' defensive line in the team's win over the Vikings.

Even though he only had one tackle in the game, he still did a solid job of sealing the edge on many running plays.

Jackson showed some signs of life on run defense, but still struggles to get much pressure on the opposing QB.

Grade: C

ILB Derrick Johnson

DJ was everywhere for the Chiefs' D on Sunday.

He finished with seven tackles, including two huge tackles for loss at key points in the game for his defense.

Other than Tamba Hali and Eric Berry, Johnson is easily the most important player on this defense.

Grade: A

ILB Jovan Belcher

Third-year inside linebacker Javon Belcher stepped up in run defense again for the Chiefs in this game.

Belcher had seven tackles in the game and did a decent job of helping slow down Adrian Peterson.

Like fellow linebacker Justin Houston, he still needs to work on his coverage skills more.

Grade: C+

OLB Tamba Hali

Pro Bowl linebacker Tamba Hali had another big day for the Chiefs' pass rush on Sunday.

He picked up two more sacks to give him four on the season, and also had seven tackles in the contest.

Hali continues to be a nightmare for opposing right tackles when he comes off the edge.

Grade: A

OLB Justin Houston

Rookie Justin Houston had his hands full with trying to chase down Vikings' All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson.

In the end, he finished with four tackles, including two for losses in the backfield.

He still has to work on his tackling and pass coverage more, but he appears to be slowly catching on to the speed of the NFL game.

Grade: B-

S Donald Washington

Washington had a solid, but unspectacular day starting at safety for the KC defense.

He picked up five tackles as a fill-in starter for Jon McGraw in the contest.

D-Wash didn't look completely lost out there, but he also didn't make a lot of plays either.

Grade: B-

S Kendrick Lewis

Kendrick Lewis, like many of his other defensive backfield teammates, played well against the Vikings on Sunday.

He wound up with four tackles on the afternoon and helped limit the Vikings' receivers to just eight catches on the day.

Hopefully Lewis can build off of this effort and continue to get better in his second year in the league.

Grade: B

CB Brandon Flowers

Flowers showed his lockdown corner ability on Sunday against the Vikings offense.

Other than getting run over by Minnesota wideout Percy Harvin on one play, he looked very good in the KC defensive backfield.

His performance is even better when you consider that he is coming off of a game where he injured his ankle against San Diego in Week 3.

Grade: A-

CB Brandon Carr

Carr was inconsistent again for the Chiefs in this game.

He had a great interception in the first half off a McNabb tipped pass, but also gave up a big TD near the end of the game.

However, the Chiefs' fourth-year CB did play better than he has in the three previous games this season.

Grade: B-

K Ryan Succop

For the Chiefs, Sunday's game against the Vikings could have easily been labeled "The Ryan Succop Show."

He connected on five field goals in as many attempts, including a career long 54-yard make in the second half.

This was easily the best day of his pro career.

Grade: A

P Dustin Colquitt

Colquitt had another great day punting for the Chiefs.

He averaged nearly 49 yards for each of his three punts on the afternoon.

He is easily one of the most underrated players at his position in the league.

Grade: A