Buccaneers at Chiefs - Week 9 - Record: 8-0

Another primetime game. Ho-hum. Well, actually, it can't be any better. I can't help but think of the too many lean years when the Chiefs never saw a nationally televised evening game. This one is also on ABC, and that is nice as it is precisely where the traditional Monday Night Football game experience should be -- meaning it is not just on cable.

Since I can blog and watch this thing unfold at the same time I'm just going to track our drives with the score posted after each one. Make it simple tonight in a game we should win, but then... yeah...

1st drive - We moved the ball well, getting it nicely to Travis Kelce. We finally throw the ball deep and a wide-open Worthy near the goal line can't adjust and not go out of bounds on a sure TD. On 3rd down Mahomes lets himself get sacked to keep us from any points. We punt. 0-0.

2nd drive - We moved the ball well again this time with DeAndre Hopkins making the plays. Then we try a double-reverse to Worthy but an unblocked defender messes it up.  Big loss. We must settle for field goal. 3-0.

3rd drive - Matriculated well again. This time Justin Watson is the key receiver. A swing pass to Worthy goes nowhere -- just seems Worthy is playing like a rookie tonight. But then, DeAndre Hopkins. Dang. As Mahomes is getting hammered he drops a deep pass into Hopkins' breadbasket around three defenders. Then the TD pass to Hopkins in the back of the end zone. Dang what we're seeing from this guy is truly something the Chiefs have not had at wide receiver. He is looking like the future Hall-of-Famer that he is. 10-7.

4th drive - With two minutes left in the 1st half we started okay, but, well, turnovers. At midfield with a minute left Kelce had the ball knocked loose. Bucs recovered. 10-7.

5th drive - We got the ball once again but now with :30 left. Got nothin'. Halftime 10-7 us.

6th drive - Now in 2nd half, 1st possession. Fat zero. Three-&-out. Mahomes was totally flummoxed. Bucs just making plays tonight, on both offense and defense. 10-14.

7th drive - Worked Kareem Hunt much more. Also started raining more heavily. Matriculated well, yet again. Got down to 3rd-&-goal and Mahomes magic happened again with a run to the line-of-scrimmage then a quick flip to Perine for the TD. 17-17.

Except the magic came at a price.

Mahomes tossed that ball awkwardly, landing weird on his left leg, and it looked bad. He was helped across the field to the Chiefs sideline, but it did appear he straightened up when he got there, walking decently. At the time of this writing right this minute we have no idea what happened.

After the commercial break we saw that he came out of the medical tent and jogged along the sideline. Oh my. Apparently it was just an aggravation of the left ankle issue he'd been having. Major ::whew::

8th drive - Mahomes back in there, doing decent matriculating. Hunt getting called upon a lot again, and what a runner. He finds creases wonderfully. Thing is they simply don't take advantage of that workload, employing more play action off Hunt's success. But with about 4:00 left we get the pop slant at the goal line to who else, the guy who's going to for-sure make the clutch catch, D-Hop. 24-17.

9th drive - Now we have the seven-point lead with 2:30 left. It is pouring rain, and it is funny that the greatest downpour during an NFL game happened back on the last game of the 1979 season when, you guessed it, the Chiefs played the Bucs in Tampa. Thing is now we're just giving hand-offs to Hunt and they are predictably stuffing him. The only thing that really does is get the Bucs to burn timeouts. Yep. Erggh: Three-&-out.

10th drive - After the Bucs drove right down the field to score a game-tying TD -- something we could have done -- actually just run some decent plays on that drive just before to at least try to get some 1st downs -- derrp, we were left with :30 to try to get down to try to win it. We did squat. Had to punt to take the game to OT. 24-24.

11th drive - We get the ball to start OT. Matriculating the ball really well yet again. Now we're mixing it up brilliantly. Showing different looks -- giving it to Hunt sometimes, getting it to D-Hop, Travis other times.

Finally.

From the one, give to Kareem and he powers his way into the end zone.

Thuh end.

Still undefeated. 8-0. Now holding a 14-game winning streak, longest ever in Chiefs history. Before the game I happened to catch the odds for an undefeated season at 4%, and with the win tonight that goes up to 8%. That's pretty amazing actually -- just fun that it's even there. No big deal if we lose one though, take the pressure off really. Tonight it was pretty close to being the one.

Except this one should not have been this close. The Bucs were without their two best WRs, but give them credit, their other guys actually played extremely well. We kept messing up too many times. Even though Patrick did not have a pick for the first time in, how many games? It's been a few. 

Still there were too many things we did that got us derailed against what they said was a pretty weak pass defense. Again, kudos to them, their pass rush was stout, their heart was fully in it, their offense messed with our defense quite effectively -- I mean I watched our defense just get taken like it never had before.

But then for the Chiefs, what an addition is D-Hop. I honestly do not think we win this game without him, and we just got him a week-&-a-half ago. Yeah, I can only echo what so many are thinking -- they even mentioned it on the broadcast tonight, "It just isn't fair."

All good for us.

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The photo is by Sam Lutz  at the official Chiefs site. Thank you.

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Chiefs at Raiders - Week 8 - Record: 7-0

The big news this week was that Brett worked out a sweet deal to bring in DeAndre Hopkins. Just a couple years ago he was definitely one of the elite wideouts in the league, let's hope he still has something meaningful to give us on our grand quest. Sure enough he got that deep out route on our third play of the game to get a clutch 1st down on our way to our first touchdown.

This is one of the great things about the Chiefs right now. With Andy Reid we've developed such a phenomenal culture of excellence and winning that these kinds of players want to come here. It seems like every year we work out bringing in somebody or even somebodies to give us that extra lift. This year there have been a few: Kareem and JuJu and Mecole, all again, and now D-Hop. 

The first half was fine, we actually got a TD, then forced the Raiders into a nice 3-&-out, and could zip down and bang through a FG to make it 17-10.

But then the 2nd half started and it was bad. A drop, a bunch of penalties (poor Wanya Morris -- we do have an issue at left tackle, I think), and the Raiders were in business. Fortunately they could only manage a FG, and when a tipped Mahomes pass dropped into their laps and they had the ball right next to the goal line, our D put together a super nice goal line stand.

No Raider points at all.

On offense our superior interior line -- you know, just like Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance, it is now Thuney-&-Humphrey-&-Smith (and if you don't know the late 1900s Cubs infielder reference, look it up) -- along with the pounding of Kareem Hunt enabled us to chew clock throughout the second half and keep the Raiders offense off the field. Our 3rd down efficiency is also pretty danged great -- I know we take it for granted that whenever there is a 3rd down and within 10 yards to go there's a pretty good chance we're going to get it.

Travis Kelce had a game, and the word is D-Hop really helps opens things up for him.

As usual, the latest on Mahomes success against AFC West teams -- he's now 32-5 against them. This stat is just phenomenal in a parity-overwhelmed NFL.

Thing is we lost Nazeeh Johnson to a concussion and he may be out for a while, making us very thin at the corners. Brett then addressed that need today (remember I'm posting this on Monday) by rushing out and trading for a pretty good edge rusher from the Patriots.

Guh? Why not an actual cornerback?

Really, it is because if your pass rush is extra ferocious, it makes the coverage guys' jobs easier. Yes, we've already got a pretty danged good front seven, but Brett is thinking fresh legs -- so critically important when you've really got to stop an opposing offense that is working it, getting good chunk yardage, staying on the field and make things difficult late in a close game.

Our D is slowly being considered elite, and it is because of Brett's emphasis on getting the best D guys he can, as well as Spags' amazing game planning and later adjustments.

Next up major revenge action against the Buccaneers!

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The photo is from Sam Lutz at the official Chiefs site. Thank you.

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Chiefs at Raiders - Week 8 - Record: 7-0

For the first time in his career Patrick Mahomes is starting a season 7-0! Let's keep this train rolling!

Thing is, a lot happening today, so I'm not able to pound out a post tonight. I will tomorrow! See you then!

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Chiefs at 49ers - Week 7 - Record: 6-0

Just some notes on this one, another win in one of the most anticipated games of the year, that Super Bowl rematch.

It was very fun to watch Carson Wentz come in for one of those patently wild Chiefs red zone formations. They ran a nice misdirection run play that got a few yards just before our first touchdown.

How about Mecole Hardman. People forget that two seasons ago in the regular season game we had against the Niners, he scored three touchdowns. Today he played well again, getting a super nice long punt return and a dagger touchdown late in the game on one of those jet sweeps.

And then there is our other major reclamation player, Kareem Hunt, who with the help of our pounding O-line got good yardage just about every time he got the handoff.

Our run defense in the 1st half was stout -- in the 2nd half it let their RB get some decent runs, but for the most part it was solid. As far as the defense as a whole, their QB Purdy just looked flustered all day. He got picked a couple times that were critical to stopping any Niner threats.

While I challenge all the naysayers who diss people like Clyde Edwards-Helaire, I join them in asking why Skyy Moore is still on the team. I guess with our wide receiver room a bit in flux, especially now that JuJu seems to be dealing with a hamstring issue, you have to keep him around. But after Moore dropped another pass I wondered why we weren't just throwing to people like Justin Watson. They did get it to him nicely in next series, and started targeting the guy they certainly need to go to more: Travis Kelce.

George Karlaftis was having a day. Noah Gray was having a day. Trent McDuffie was having a day. Samaje Perine helped close it out late with some runs and a 1st down catch. And please, Andy and Matt had a day for the brilliant set-ups for later crazy take-down plays when they needed it.

At the end of the 3rd quarter was the play of the game. With the Niners playing well enough to get back in it, the magic of Patrick Mahomes was exhibited once again. He went back to pass and after scrambling left he faked a couple forward pitches, got about 10 yards, then at the sideline stopped, juked, and ran down the sideline for another 20 yards.

A few plays later with the ball an inch from the goal line facing a 4th down, Mahomes got everyone split out wide and he stepped back... only to run a nifty QB draw right into the end zone. 

Finally I have to add how much fun it was to listen to Tom Brady speak so glowingly about Mahomes throughout the game. I've heard people say Brady wasn't doing very well as a color announcer, but from what I heard, I think he did great, and not just in the way he raved about Mahomes' play.

The Chiefs locomotive won't stop! We've not only got two straight Super Bowls, three in the last five years, but with the Vikings loss today we're now the only remaining undefeated team in the NFL!

Chiefs rule!

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The photo is from Mikayla Schlosser at the official Chiefs site. Thank you.

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Chiefs 2024 Bye Week Edition

The Chiefs have a bye this week, one of the earlier ones, but it is still a good time to rest and recover. I was thinking Marquise Brown would be back here sometime but I think I saw that he may not even be back until as far out as the playoffs. Wow. 

More on a couple Chiefs things in a moment, but I did want to pound out my thoughts about the professional sports world as I occasionally do here in this all-things-Chiefs effort. 

The baseball playoffs are going real good now, as they do every October, and I just wanted to point out yet another instance of evidence that the major league baseball world continues its competitive duplicity unabated -- namely that there are distinctive advantages granted to the Yankees and the Dodgers that no other team has. 

This has been the case for many years now.

Sure enough, this year, not only are the Yankees and Dodgers appearing in their respective league championship games, but the New York Mets will be facing the Dodgers in their affair. How'd that happen, when last year the Mets were such a train wreck? The World Series will be featuring at least one New York or Los Angeles team this year. And if it is the Yankees and the Dodgers, the entire major league baseball world will be cheering this on and of course enabling the wicked deceit that goes with it.

I've already gone to the mat to elucidate this duplicity, most recently in this post. I will add that my good friend sent me an article written by a Bay Area sportswriter about how horrible the owner of the A's is, you know, to let them slip away to another town and all the rest of it. No. Not even. Please. "Bad owners" are a dime a dozen, and most sportswriters and fans like to heap vitriol on the ones that they think are just not as good as others are. It is just plainly stupid considering what the MLBers are really doing.

No, the problem is the competitive duplicity that is quietly embraced by everyone who wants to make money in pro baseball. The only way that happens is if the Yankees and Dodgers are always winning. And the only way that can happen is if they are patently handed the overwhelming advantages they have. Again, "What is good for the Yankees and Dodgers is good for major league baseball," is a principle that governs the majors, and when that is widely and articulately challenged then I'll pay attention.

Again, so much more can be detailed to prove this, and hundreds of thousands of tunnel vision fans and sportswriters who bleat about the fun they want to have that I don't like doesn't change this reality. Indeed that so many of them are brazenly enthusiastic about this possible renewed "classic World Series matchup" helps prove my point. The MLBers (again anyone who makes money from this operation) know there are millions -- and when I say that number I mean literally millions -- of fans who'll be much more engaged in Yankees and Dodgers success and therefore all will reap the benefits. 

What does this have to do with the Chiefs? Why do I write about this yet again? One major reason is this here is just a platform for these truths to be expressed. I'm not a major influencer with this, but at least I can share here. It'd be nice if others would be bold and truthful about it.

Some of it is just amplifying the meaning of what we get to enjoy with Patrick Mahomes and company doing what they are doing in light of the competitive duplicity that seeps into everything professional sports. The gambling thing is already infecting the game, and if it isn't affecting game outcomes at least from what we can openly see, it is afflicting the people who watch them. The NIL thing in college sports is now doing some nasty things as to how college players consider themselves and their schools.

The Chiefs success is something to truly enjoy right now in spite of all that. They can take pride in the work that people like Clark Hunt and Brett Veach are doing as much as they are not as much hindered by the same impediments that the MLB has for teams not the Yankees and Dodgers. More parity and some meaningful limits on free agency are instrumental, of course, and the Chiefs have been fortunate to have probably the best general manager/head coach combo in the history of the game. Brett picks 'em and Andy coaches 'em. Both perform at Hall-of-Fame levels. (I can't neglect to add that Brett manages the cap restraints extraordinarily well, that is a critical part of the Chiefs success.) Oh, and we just can't not mention the HOF coaching of Steve on the defense. They are really carrying the team right now.

This year they have done wonders with reclamation players Mecole Hardman, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and of all people Kareem Hunt. And don't dismiss the impact Mecole Hardman has had. In the Saints game he had good kick returns and a couple nice gains on plays that use his abilities to the best.

I'm still taken by the whole Kareem Hunt thing. Don't forget how dominant he was when he came on the scene in 2017. Remember that opener against the Patriots, and that amazing long TD pass from Alex Smith to him to help them paste the Pats in that Thursday night game? He did everything a running back could do for the next year-and-a-half -- they're now saying Well, he's now 30 years old [or however old he is] and he probably doesn't have anything left in the tank...

Well, it appears he can do just fine in the offense of Andy Reid who just knows how to use him -- like he does with Mecole, and with JuJu, and with any player who joins, or rejoins, the Chiefs Kingdom.

Yes, I'm convinced the NFLers hate it. Why isn't this happening with the Giants, the Jets, the Patriots, and above all the Cowboys? The NFLers simply can't do what the MLBers are doing, and what a testament to the genius of Brett and Andy.

Next week we get the rematch with the 49ers, let's see if we can keep the party rolling.

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The posted photo is from Steve Sanders at the official Chiefs site. Thank you.

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Saints at Chiefs - Week 5 - Record: 5-0

Sorry but I've got early Tuesday morning work and I'm starting to pound this out here in the early 3rd quarter. These Monday Night Football affairs -- it is great we're on prime time some, what, 36 times during the season nowadays, but it is ruthless for us bloggers with jobs that start early in the morning. And yeah, I'm here on the west coast so I've even got a few hours on everyone else. I have no excuses. Sorry.

I'll start with the latest on Rashee Rice. I saw a quick note somewhere that said he was now officially out for the season. Then I looked around to get confirmation, but I saw nothing else on that -- no other news or notes anywhere. Are we still waiting with that sliver of hope that he'll somehow be okay?

Over the course of the 1st half we had our way with the Saints, really. The only thing the Saints had was a nifty long-bomb TD pass from Derek Carr to Rashid Shaheed. That was absolutely it for them. Our D-line was doing great work stuffing Alvin Kamara. Bryan Cook snatched a nice pick early to get us started on the drive for our one 1st half TD.

Meanwhile we got terrific play from our O-line busting Kareem Hunt free for regular big yardage runs, including a 5-yard TD run. Mahomes was stepping it up, elevating that Mahomes-like play to that next level, nice, really having a good feel for the pocket tonight, making connections when he could and when he couldn't he scrambled nicely.

The highlight of the game so far: After being stuck with a 2nd-&-34 on a Carson Steele messed up fumble thing then a Trey Smith penalty, we spectacularly got it down to 4th-&-2 at the 24 yard-line! How? That patented Kelce catch-&-flip thing! He caught it, ran a bit, then threw a spiffy hip pass right to Samaje Perine whereupon he gained about 15 more yards. Still, we had to settle for a Butker FG. 

With minute left in half, the Chiefs used some really nice passing connections from Patrick to JuJu to do some major matriculating. Still could only muster another FG. Up 16-7 at the half.

Here as the 2nd half starts they received the kickoff and continued matriculating until they got stopped and, alas, Butker bonked his 50-yard FG attempt off the upright. Eegh. 

We managed to stop the Saints yet again and yet again we matriculated beautifully until......

At the Saints 2 they get one of those stupid ridiculous plays that always used to wreck the Chiefs. Mahomes throws a strike to JuJu at the goal line and he simply can't hold on. It pops right into the hands of Khalen Saunders of all players, who runs it all the way back out to the 35 yard-line. EEEEEEgh. What is so grating is that right before that play the TV shows photos of Travis and Khalen's brother dancing the night away with Taylor Swift at one of her concerts. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeegh.

How on earth is it we simply cannot put teams away. We are still up 16-7 as we near the end of the 3rd quarter, but dang. We really should be up 27-7, but we just aren't finishing these very fine offensive drives. We are absolutely dominating this team yet the Saints are a couple of ridiculous plays from taking the lead.

Annnnnnd the Saints just scored a touchdown driving the rest of the field after that Saunders whoopsy-doo pick earlier. Please.

Nkay everything is back to normal, at least for now. JuJu makes up for his earlier ugly whiff by running a perfect crossing route for a 50-yard gain, then we follow it with a Kelce wildcat handoff to Worthy who streaks for the touchdown. Now 23-13.

We're matriculating again, getting down deep into Saints territory, and - and - and - with about 4 minutes left we stall, a penalty, a sack, errrgh...... So with 3 minutes left we get another Butker FG to make it 26-13.

And I thought all the splendiferous Taylor Swift mojo was spent after that silly precog thing the TV did just before the wildly goofy Saunders interception that was almost the start of our undoing. Wasn't to be as we did nail this one down.

There is, however, just that Chiefs weirdness of having former Chiefs JuJu, Mecole, and Kareem back and producing for us. With our newer key guys Rashee and Isiah Pacheco, and Hollywood for that matter, all out with extended injuries, it is nice to see these guys out there with some fine Chiefs Kingdom mojo in them.

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The photo is simply a screen shot of the ESPN highlight of Worthy's touchdown out of the wildcat with Kelce taking the snap.

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Chiefs at Chargers - Week 4 - Record: 4-0

Here's a good rule that is never followed because everybody thinks the quarterback should not sulk after throwing a pick and should actually be out there trying to tackle the interceptor.

The rule: Don't have your quarterback try to tackle the guy who just intercepted his pass.

First of all if your super-valuable QB (::cough cough:: Patrick Mahomes ::cough cough::) is out there trying to make tackles no matter how much he caused the conditions for said tackling attempt, he could so easily get injured. The pick-six he gave up this one time is not worth the dozen touchdowns he's not getting for you in future games because he got foolishly injured trying to make some weird tackle.

It isn't as if he can't make some attempt to at least look like he is getting in his way or just get off the mat and look like he is running interference of some kind, but he really should be thinking much more seriously about staying out of harm's way.

Second of all your super-valuable QB may be super-good at throwing the ball for many touchdowns, but he's probably a klutz trying to make some beast tackle as if he were some boss strong safety. 

Such was the case today when Mahomes tried to kneecap the interceptor and he ended up kneecapping his best receiver as he was trying to tackle the interceptor.

And by kneecap, we mean kneecap.

As it is they are saying Rashee Rice may have torn his ACL, and if that's the case, he's done for the year.

Yikes.

It is weird because we thought we'd be without his services for some time anyway because of his drag-race driving incident earlier in the year. So yeah, we can't get Hollywood Brown out there any sooner.

As far as the game went, the Chargers looked pretty hapless out there for most of it. Their only touchdown came when their QB Justin Herbert was hammered and just before the hit flung the ball to the back of the end zone that their receiver just managed to stick his hands out to grab.

Otherwise for the most part our D had its way with these guys. Chris Jones was unstoppable. Spags' D plan made for a ferocious attack the Chargers had no answer for. And we should give a shout-out to our punter Matt Araiza who continuously flipped the field forcing the Chargers into long tiring drives any time they had the ball.

And for the offense it did get the job done with a number of contributors. It was especially nice to see Xavier Worthy get that nice long bomb touchdown catch as well as watching Kareem Hunt do very good work for us reminding us of what he gave us seven years ago.

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The photo is from Evan Sanders at the official Chiefs site. Thank you.

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