Kansas City Chiefs Report Card Week 8: Grading Each Unit

The Kansas City Chiefs have gone from worst to first in the span of eight weeks. The Chiefs are first place in the AFC West while they ride a four-game winning streak.

The Chiefs have found ways to win in the last four games as they have rebounded from their 0-3 start.

Last month, there was speculation that the Chiefs would be in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes and Todd Haley could be on his way out. Now the Chiefs are first place in the AFC West and ready to take control.

Offense

Throughout the season, Matt Cassel has managed to connect with receivers Dwayne Bowe and Steve Breasten. Cassel now has a new key target in Jonathan Baldwin, who played his second game on Monday Night Football against the Chargers.

Baldwin made some mistakes, but he came through the most early in the game by running a good route and coming away with a big catch in the end zone.

Cassel now has reliable receivers everywhere on the field and can use that to help the Chiefs move forward.

Jackie Battle has helped fill in for Jamaal Charles in the past three games. Battle has rushed for 265 yards on the ground in the past three games to help them win.

The Chiefs offense as a whole must learn to take care of the football. Turning it over four times on Monday night almost cost them the game.

Overall grade: B-

Defense

The Chiefs defense has come alive in the past two games with 10 total takeaways.

After coming away with six interceptions in Oakland, the Chiefs come home and give a struggling Philip Rivers a hard time by picking him off twice and giving him issues in the pocket.

On Monday night, the defense came through the most when the Chargers were on a drive getting ready to score. Kansas City's defense gathered takeaways in critical moments.

The biggest takeaway of the game, of course, was Rivers' inexcusable fumble at the end of the fourth quarter.

Overall grade: A-

Special Teams

The Chiefs' return game isn't at its best, but everything is made up for with the kicking and punting game.

When the Chiefs offense went three-and-outs on multiple drives near their own end zone, Dustin Colquitt came away with some big punts to force the Chargers to begin their drive on their own side of the field.

Ryan Succop started the season slow, but has regained himself in the past month. Succop came through on Monday night going 3-for-3 including a game-winning field goal in overtime to seal the miracle win.

Overall grade: B+

Coaching

There is no question that Todd Haley has climbed his way out of the hot seat within the past month as the Chiefs come away with another win.

You have to question the way the calls are being sent from Bill Muir, who is serving as an offensive coordinator, but also as a play caller for the first time in his career. The Chiefs have burnt a few timeouts this season due to lack of being able to call the plays on time. Cassel is unable to hear the coaches through his helmet when the play clock goes to 15 seconds.

Muir must learn to to make quicker decisions so the play can get to Cassel.

Romeo Crennel deserves a lot of credit after his defense has managed to rip apart opposing offenses with many takeaways gathered on the season. The Chiefs currently rank fourth in the AFC with 15 takeaways and hope to earn more next Sunday against the winless Miami Dolphins.

Overall grade: B

Fans

The fans brought out the Monday Night Football terrible towels and were on fire from start to finish.

The fans helped out by causing a few false starts, most notably for Marcus McNeil, who had a hard time preventing penalties on Monday night.

With Halloween, Monday Night Football, the lead for the AFC West and the Chargers in town, the fans were electric.

Arrowhead Stadium remains as one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL.

Overall grade: A+