Everybody was wondering if the defense would make the corrections needed to actually stop opposing offenses. I think after yesterday the answer to that is a resounding kind-of. They were still very bendy, way way waaay too bendy.
All the same issues remained: Pass rush refusing to be anything above tepid. Chris Jones refusing to be a force on the edge when they run. Linebackers refusing to fill gaps. Tacklers refusing to wrap at the point of contact. Our D-backs refusing to be any better than the Eagles phenomenal new receiver DeVonta Smith -- I mean, no wonder the dude last year won the Heisman leading Alabama to another college football title.
Well, you can't blame our D-backs too much for that. Smith is just an extraordinary talent.
But our front seven. Still. Ugh. To their credit they finally did stiffen up in the red zone. At least a few times they held the Eagles to field goals. Those are wins for us.
There was also that nice play by Ben Niemann stripping the ball from their guy right before the goal line causing a fumble we recovered... excccept... It wasn't so obvious he actually fumbled, Niemann didn't hollar like a madman about his obvious play so we could stop things, and Andy Reid did not throw the red flag. Next play, touchdown Philly.
Again, just get the call right. It is encouraging to see New York now starting to buzz in to stop things when they see something that refs missed. At least they are moving toward that magical point. It is good to hope -- you know -- for those times when the insanely stupid bad call is about to wreck us yet again.
Our offense put this one away in the 4th, they just got the job done today. Very nice.
Hill himself matched their Heisman Trophy winner for receiver excellence. Hill was on track today, making catch after catch and piling up lots of needed yardage.
Our running backs were stellar, with both CEH and Darrel Williams -- and we should add, yes, Mecole Hardman with his jet sweep runs -- doing the damage on the ground. And because of that it was encouraging to see our O-line continue to gel, particularly with its run blocking.
And of course there was the news of the week: We've got Josh Gordon on board. I'd heard he's been terrific in camp getting ready and showing what he's got.
Wow. If we can score 70 points a game, we may not even have to care how our defense plays.
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Image is from Steve Sanders at the official Chiefs site, thank you.
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