I really don't think there has ever been a Chiefs game I have witnessed in which I was going so far up and so far down with my range of emotions than I was with this game.
And I will tell you right here -- and you have every right to refuse to believe me in the most abject way possible --
I really did feel we were going to win this game.
For some reason, through the entire week, I just had this feeling deep in my gut that we were not only going to make this close, but we were going to flat out win it. I just felt that the team would rally around the new coach. That late in the season at home we could take down a top team like the Packers. That Kyle Orton was going to show that he could still perform at the top level of QB play in the NFL.
We got the kickoff to start the game, and I was flying high just watching our team do something it has just never done, not for a long time.
They were executing a long, grinding, sustained, solid, sure-ground-gaining drive.
And one of the things I thought about was how much this just wouldn't've happened with Todd Haley in there. It just wouldn't've. I don't think there is a single Chiefs fan who did not share this exact sentiment. Romeo Crennel put together the ideal game plan to take on the Packers. It really came down to one simple thing, and it worked beautifully.
Keep Aaron Rodgers off the field.
Through the game we had clock-chewing drives, giving Rodgers many fewer opportunities to do his magic.
Another thing that blew me away was something the announcers said right outta the gate. The Packers were something like 31st, I think it was, in total defense.
Guh???
An undefeated team with the 31st ranked defense in the entire league??? They added that the Packers have always taken advantage of turnovers. Makes perfect sense. Cough up the ball and Rodgers gets more chances. In fact Orton was with Denver when the Packers blasted them earlier in the season, and he threw three picks in that game.
Well, for one, we had no turnovers on the day -- again, very controlled, time-managed offensive football.
400 yards? The Chiefs? When was the last time you saw those two things written so closely to each other?
But then there were those emotional drops. My insides were a roller-coaster through this one. The guy who roughed the punter when we stopped the Packers in their first series. Give Rodgers a second chance?! Are you insane?! Let the guy kick it to Alberta, Canada for all we care! And how about all the times we simply could not finish the drive. How many 18-yard field goals did Succop have today? Four? And that one time we had 2nd and 1 from the Packer three and couldn't even get a first down on three successive plays! Aaaaaagh! (There goes my heart, doing that huge loop-da-loop...)
Well, there's work to be done there.
But our defense. How great were they today. I do think a lot of it was the offense being on the field long enough to keep them rested so they could fire out when they needed to be in there. They had a handful of sacks on Rodgers and kept him flustered enough all the other times.
A lot of that was due to our fantastic defensive back work. Wow. Again they showed they are one of the best. And that's without Eric Berry in there. Yes, I'd love to see more push on the D-line, and more aggression from the linebackers. Good thing Derrick Johnson is having a career year to keep things decent in that area.
No question this is a wonderful win for us. Can't help but be reminded of the Steelers win a couple years ago. But we can't say too much about what this means in the grand scheme of Chiefsdom. It really doesn't mean a whole lot except that we showed the NFL world that the Chiefs can play football.
For now, that's pretty dang fine.
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