Chiefs at Chargers - Week 11 - Record: 5-5

It's looking like our defense and special teams are settling in to show that they can get the job done like we always thought they would.

Justin Houston made a great play on a Philip Rivers screen pass to bat it, grab it, and then rumble the ten yards or so he needed to get into the end zone. Tamba Hali was all over Philip Rivers, I believe he had two sacks and a slew of pressures.

In fact, there were two defensive touchdowns on the day, really. Dontari Poe took a handoff at the 1-yard line and blasted across the goal line a la William "The Refrigerator" Perry. Okay okay it wasn't really a defensive touchdown, but it was a defensive player who got it.

And Eric Berry. I mean. What a player, and what a man doing what he's doing after the whole cancer thing. Everyone was seeing how he'd really come back to his Pro-Bowl self on the field last week, but in this game he looked even better. He was all over the place shutting down the Chargers offense.

Can't overlook the punt team. Yes, I know, the punt team. But Dustin Colquitt et al are the absolute best at getting the ball pinned back deep in the opponent's side of the field. This is virtually a defensive kind of thing, anyway, because it makes it so much harder for the opponent's offense to have to go farther and farther and farther down the field.

Our special teams and defense were in fine form today.

Now for the offense.

Yes we got terrific play from Spencer Ware, our last available halfback since Knile Davis was deactivated and Charcandrick West suffered a hamstring injury. He scored a couple of touchdowns late, the first after he blasted through the line and weaved for a spiffy 50+ yard run.

But Alex Smith. Mnnmfmnnmnhmmnm... I mean. The guy is sometimes spectacular, he really is. Sometimes I watch him and I go, wow-this-guy-is-amazing. Even some of his passes are just insane. He once threw a strike to Albert Wilson deep down the field between three Charger D-backs.

Other times, it's mnnnckckmmrggrrrrr. Come on, isn't it that way with you? And about half the time when he runs he's extraordinary -- let's face it he does power the Chiefs locomotive with his running ability, he really does. But other times he tries to run thinking he's all that and then he gets stuffed -- do you get that idea? It's as if he thinks his runs can rescue him from anything -- sometimes he makes the most cursory look down the field and when doesn't get the full breadth of what he can make happen down the field, he starts timidly shuffling about trying to run somewhere.

Sack.

Now, to his credit, today I did see something I really really liked. With a couple of plays Smith did unload just before he got hit, and, -- yay! -- actually completed the pass! He didn't try to scoot away, instead he made the pass work. We are definitely going to need more of that, because I have to be honest with you.

I kind of want the Chiefs to win a playoff game.

Here's the reality of what we've faced this season. Yes I know every game is against an NFL team. But just a small reminder. After we were 1-5, these were our results:

A win against a Pittsburgh team that was playing a third-string quarterback.

A win against a Detroit team that had just shuffled its coaching staff all over the place.

A win against a Denver team that was just asking for that game that would expose the tremendous liabilities of its aging once-great quarterback. They were also without key defensive players.

And today, a win against a San Diego team that had a disastrous offensive line, a dropsy receiving core (without their two best receivers), and a notoriously weak defense (that included some wretchedly inexcusable head-hunting by their tacklers). Even Philip Rivers who has been beast this year and always murderous against us couldn't overcome those other Chargers issues.

They said on the broadcast today that the Chiefs have the lightest remaining challenge of any team in the NFL, a combined record of 21-43 among their final six scheduled opponents. They even mentioned that one of those teams, the Ravens, will not have their terrific quarterback Joe Flacco because of a season-ending ACL injury.

The point is that everyone seems to be beaming about how good things look for the Chiefs because of all the ways we can beat weak and injury-riddled teams. You could add that the Chiefs are injury-gripped too, I mean, we lost the best player in the NFL in Jamaal Charles! We may even still have running backs issues with the uncertainty of West's injury and Davis' unknowns. Ya go with who ya go with.

My point is that I almost look at any Chiefs success as that time when, when --

We can finally win that playoff game.

I mean, I'm not even thinking about anything beyond that! Not that I don't want a Super Bowl title, but how about enjoying that playoff win that we get because we simply played better than the other team?

Will we be able to proudly and convincingly get that one?

Yes, I love Chiefs wins! All of them! Regular season ones just as much! With whoever out there on the field against whoever we are playing against! Today! In this game! Yee-ah-heah! I'm with you!

But I want to be playoff ready. Sure it would be nice for us to carve our way through light competition to get to the postseason, and yeah, I guess that's all I should be talking about now. One game at a time, yeah, I'm good with that.

In fact, I believe next week's game against Buffalo, at home, may be the most important game of the season at this point. Buffalo is one of those teams we're now fighting with for that playoff spot. I've heard nothing about them having issues. Seems to me anytime I've seen anything about them they've been solid. Let's see if we can meet that test.

So yeah, the Chiefs have the potential -- in every area -- to be the team we thought they could be when this whole thing started. Now's the time to do that, these last six games. Now's the time to show we've got it, because encompassing just the final six games of the regular season, we've had only one winning record (that one in 2010) over the course of the last ten years, something like that.

Let's see if we can keep this thing going.
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