Chiefs at Seahawks - Week 12 - Record: 7-4

When seeing that half our defensive backfield was sitting on the sidelines nursing serious injuries, I really wondered today if we could do that one thing we needed to do to show that we truly deserve to be leading the AFC West... Win a November game on the road. The Chiefs were 0-3 in games when our All-Pro D-back Brandon Flowers has not played.

It was kind of dicey midway through this one. Even though Javier Arenas and Kendrick Lewis were also out there limping around, glory be: Our defensive backfield held their own. They did have a quite embarrassing blown coverage that allowed Seattle to get a make-it-mildly-interesting early 4th quarter 87-yard touchdown pass play, but they did a fine job of keeping Seattle's QB Hasselback from hurting us. They got some help from the Chiefs D-line who sacked him a few times, once causing a fumble that was sandwiched between two TD plays that put this one away late.

They had said this Seattle team was a big-play team, and sure enough they got us early by blocking a field goal attempt, then blocking a punt and returning it for a touchdown.

But then there is this Kansas City offense.

Every time Seattle did something to make it close, our offense did the job. What can be said about the key performers.

Matt Cassel and Dwayne Bowe. These guys played like Hall-of-Famers today. They really did. This was an exceptionally standout performance by both of them. Twelve connections, three touchdowns, and the even better completions were those short slants to get those clutch first downs. 3rd down after 3rd down they converted and keep drives going. The troubling thing is that these guys are so in-sync that no one else in the passing game is getting in the mix. Moeaki is coming off an injury but he had only one catch, the final TD of the game. The other receivers -- Terrence Copper, Verran Tucker, and Chris Chambers -- didn't even have to be on the field. What's going to happen when we need them to produce?

Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones (and DE Shaun Smith with "The Refrigerator" blast into the endzone!) What else can you say that hasn't been said. These guys are still running over everyone. Jamaal Charles alone ran for nearly 200.

Three, the offensive line. Hey, all of this could not happen without an O-line playing their souls out, and playing well. Branden Albert was out, and there were some early critical penalties that could have really cost us. But they picked it up, dealt splendidly with the loud Seattle crowd noise throughout, and made it so the highly efficient Cassel-Bowe-Charles-Jones machine could keep humming.

We're at home next week against Denver where we should be focusing on exacting a bit of revenge for the debacle in Denver a couple weeks ago. But then it is on to San Diego, the road game that will not only show even more whether or not we're a contender, but whether or not we'd be a genuine player in the post-season.
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