Chiefs at Colts - Week 8 - Record: 5-2

There are a couple of key takeaways from this game. Among all the other things we can talk about, and some of those things we can mention here, certainly, the two things that stand out are:

1. The House of Horrors that Indianapolis is just a day before Halloween turned out to be exactly that, but while I thought that would be because of the awful luck the Chiefs would have again there -- turns out today we won decisively -- it was because of the injuries.

2. The Chiefs showed it is a team with some depth. I know this has been something Reid and Dorsey have emphasized, and today it really showed. We needed it because of, yes, those injuries.

Remember on that fateful day of January 4th 2014, one of the critical components of the Chiefs collapse was the horrific rash of injuries we suffered in that Wild-Card game. We'd stayed very healthy throughout the regular season, then in that Lucas Oil Dome or whatever they call it we'd just gotten smashed up on whatever turf they have.

A long time ago, back in the early '70's when it was brand new, the artificial turf was terrible -- being out there running and tackling was like playing football on plastic covered concrete. Today Alex Smith had to go through concussion protocols twice, the second time when, as Smith went down, a punk Colts defender took his hand and shoved Smith's head into the turf. It happened so fast and it was so hard to see that the officials missed it. But damn.

The depth aspect is that we could put in a Nick Foles who threw two touchdown passes and did a fine job filling in. He was rusty at times -- towards the end of the game when we needed to seal the win he brutally missed a wide-open Charcandrick West for what would have been a cakewalk touchdown.

Thing is, the injuries didn't just hurt the Chiefs. The Colts were going down like flies, too. Their stud cornerback, Vontae Davis, was out with a concussion. Their go-to receiver, T.Y. Hilton, had hamstring issues and caught his first pass at the very end of the game when it was pretty much over.

What is it with that place? Really, seriously, they need to do something about it. I mentioned it in one of the posts after that January 4 2014 nightmare, what's with a playing field that does that much to players on both teams. Again, the idea from that post, it's not just injuries but players' lives. I firmly feel the NFL must do more with the helmet -- make it stronger with some kind of liquid inside the padding to absorb more of the impact -- as well a host of other provisions to work this out.

As for the Chiefs, we must wonder. Will Spencer Ware be ready next week? -- He had a concussion today. Will Alex Smith be ready to go? Again, our depth makes these possible losses manageable -- maybe Jamaal can be ready to go, and even so, West filled in and played well. We also lost Parker Ehinger, but this may be more of a concern. The times we have not been able to have all of our O-linemen all together to play as well as they can has been a touchy issue for us.

As for today, when it seemed like things were going to turn against us and this could easily be yet another House-of-Horrors loss to Indy, we got a big play. Every time we got that big play.

We got sacks when we needed them. Dee Ford was nicely in the mix of all of them.

We got turnovers when we needed them. Philip Gaines was healthy out there with fine coverage today, he got a key pick. In fact we got a solid defensive effort across the board -- wasn't Indy supposed to be another explosive offensive team? Held them to 14 points. Not bad.

We got nice big gains when we needed them. Those goofy wide-out screens we like to run worked to perfection a number of times especially towards the end of the game when we needed those babies to get us good yardage and run clock.

We also benefitted from, yes, some very fortuitous penalties against the Colts, those were very lucky for us -- hey, how about that!

And we targeted Travis Kelce a ton more! Woo-hoo! It really paid off with a touchdown catch, and yes, another fantastic catch that was overruled by the official when he just didn't see that he had possession after making a number of "football moves". I won't get into the abject silliness about yet another of those calls that went against us.

Hey, we won in Indy. That's awesome.
__

Chiefs at Colts 2016 Meeting - Game Preview

Sitting here on a lazy late Friday night just thinking about this game coming up.

In Indianapolis.

Last time... okay. I won't get into it. Every. Single. Chiefs fan. Knows.

The way everyone sees this game is that we're going up against yet another team with a fine offense but lousy defense. I have no idea what the Colts are, who they are -- I mean I do know they still have Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton ::cringe:: -- okay, I'm tipping my hand, what it is that's on my mind about all this.

Let's just get this out of the way. The Colts just seem to be, yeah, it is a really big seems-to-be -- they're one of those teams that just has our number. Just a few weeks ago we saw just how awful the Chiefs are in Pittsburgh. The Steelers are truly stinking against most other teams, but against the Chiefs? HA!

Same with the Colts. Luck. Horseshoe. All that. We just haven't been able to beat this team. The last time we did beat them, we helped them be so bad that year they could get Andrew Luck. And trade Peyton Manning to a division rival. If this isn't among the most horrific of all Chiefs bad things ever, I don't know what is.

So okay, what about this game? With these players? The one coming up, this one irrespective of anything that ever happened any time before which has nothing to do with anything now?

Right now, I really really really like Alex Smith. In fact, in that January 4 2014 playoff debacle he actually had a pretty danged good game.

Thing is though, he really really really needs to have another fine game on Sunday. Because yes, I'm sorry, even though we also have Spencer Ware and Travis Kelce and Jeremy Maclin and Tyreek Hill and an offensive line that is playing very studly right now...

I still don't have a lot of confidence in this offense.

Andy Reid Andy Reid Andy Reid.

Everyone's talking about how great he has been at mixing up the run with the pass. That's great. But how come we aren't throwing to Travis Kelce more?

Everyone's talking about how great Spencer Ware is doing. That's great. But how come we can't seem to get consistent offensive line play? I think I heard Mitchell Schwartz may be out for this game. Can we handle that?

Everyone's talking about how we're getting better at stretching the field with the pass -- Maclin, Conley, Hill, even Thomas -- woo-hoo! That's great. But how come we only scored six points in the second half in the Saints game?

Everyone's talking about how ferociously opportunistic our defense is. That's great. But turnovers are often the result of mere fortune -- I wonder if our ferocity is actually a sure feature of the strength and steadiness of the defense and can truly contain Luck et al. Look at this defensive backfield -- I'm very nervous. Sure we've got Berry and Peters. Sure Sorenson and Parker had fine days last Sunday. But I saw we're without D.J. White because he broke his hand.

Everyone's talking about how much both our offense and defense are highly touted. That's great!

But are we for real or... or...

Yeah, against the Colts, no matter what kind of a team they have, I wonder.
___

Saints at Chiefs - Week 7 - Record: 4-2

At a point around the very beginning of the game, they showed a graphic: "The Saints have given up an average of 33.6 points a game. If that continues it will be the worst in NFL history." Something like that.

Of course all of us Chiefs fans are salivating. Let's see, will we get 50? 60? 70 points against this team??? Of course of course that means if we're going to win the score will have to be something like 70-67, because the Saints offense is extraordinary. Their quarterback Drew Brees is still terrific.

Turns out we ended up winning 27-21, so what was this? Was this because our offense was pathetic or their defense is better than the stats say? Was this because their offense was pathetic or our defense actually did pretty damn good against this Saints team?

I think there was some of all that in the mix with this one, but there were a lot of other things that happened that got us the win -- some really really good that showed we earned this, some really really bad that almost cost us, and some really really lucky that were tremendously helpful for us.

Let's go over each item in chronological order.

1. On our first drive Alex Smith barely overthrew Maclin and Harris on consecutive plays. Errgh. We were driving down the field with great Spencer Ware running and I was afraid this'd be another typical Smith blow-it -- just not being able to make those connections. When the Saints got the ball they drove right down the field and scored a touchdown.

2. On our next drive Spencer Ware caught one of those Chiefs specialty wide screen passes, and he ran it all the way for a touchdown. Very nice Spencer Ware specialness.

3. Brees resumed carving up our young D-backs, until Eric Berry made a big-time play by batting a pass up enough for Daniel Sorenson to swoop in, grab it, and rocket through the Saints for one of the neatest pick-six runbacks I've ever seen.

4. The Kansas City fans were unquestionably a key part of this home win, as they often are. As the game wore on there were more and more false starts and delay-of-games by the Saints.

5. Alex Smith finally aired it out to Tyreek Hill and he made a splendidly acrobatic catch in the end zone for the Chiefs third touchdown of the first half. Finally finally finally.

6. Alex Smith was still, however, missing receivers breaking open. On one play he threw underneath for an incompletion, and the back-of-the-end-zone camera view showed Maclin and Kelce both getting a step on their defenders. Smith has shown he can make those throws. Why doesn't he?

7. The Saints get another easy-drive touchdown to start the second half, making the score 21-14. We get a decent drive and get a field goal, but of course I'm thinking: to keep a step ahead of the Saints we've got to get a touchdown -- a field goal is just not good enough.

8. On 3rd-&-7 Eric Berry makes another stud play, tackling a receiver after a catch just before the marker. The 4th quarter started shortly after that.

So with the score 24-14, here is that quarter:

9. Chiefs have the ball and simply must have a sustained clock-chewing keep-Brees-off-the-field drive. They start okay, with Spencer Ware running the ball well as he did all day. But then what could have been a key play against the Chiefs: Demetrius Harris drops a pass right in his hands on 3rd-&-6. Tuh-riffic.

10. Will our defense do the job? It looked bad yet again, as Brees resumed his carving-us-up activities. But then -- probably the most critical defensive play of the game, with the Saints in the red zone -- Ron Parker jabs the ball out of their go-to back's arm and we recover. Wow, was that big.

11. Alas, our offense dragged again. What was with this? At this point I'm screaming inside -- we have a total of 3 second-half points against this defense. Thuh-ree. Then we got another of those great clutch wonderful plays that meant a lot -- and Alex Smith was a key guy. On 3rd and 17, he fired a laser accurate pass to Chris Conley on the sideline, with Conley using his strong hands to hold it getting both feet barely in-bounds for the first down. The Saints tried to challenge, but it was clearly a good catch.

12. Thing is, right after that great play we stalled again. We tried a screen pass to our back and it failed again -- I just can't figure why, with this team, we simply can't get a decent screen pass to a back out of the backfield. 4th down.

13. Still 24-14, and the Saints start slicing-&-dicing again, and get in the red zone. With no meaningful pass rush Brees moves around a bit and fires a bullet to his receiver in the end zone surrounded by what I think was 57 Chiefs defenders. 24-21. You are kidding me. I kinda got the idea this was a team we should be ahead of by more like, oh, 49-21. This game could be lost simply because our offense wasn't getting any game-sealing touchdowns.

14. With a little over two minutes left, they try an onsides kick. Jeremy Maclin brushes the ball out of bounds keeping their guy from snatching it. Another of those good, solid, heads-up, and certainly somewhat fortuitous plays that was really good for us.

15. We just need to run clock, and run a few times without much success. But after one of those runs a Saints lineman body-slammed Spencer Ware to the ground. Personal foul penalty, 1st down Chiefs, now in field goal range. We run the ball a few more times, kick the field goal, leaving the Saints down by a touchdown with only a half-minute and no time outs.

They simply do not have enough time and we finish them off 27-21.

What happened with that? I'm thrilled that we won, but please.

We had the scantest of SIX points in the entire second half. Sorry fellow Chiefs fans, but against THIS defense? That stinks. And we got a ton of help from nine Saints penalties that netted us a total gift of 70 yards.

On the other hand, our defense did some terrific things. A pick-six. A forced fumble. Several key stops against this explosive defense. Great individual efforts in key spots and we needed every one of them.

That our offense scored only 27? That's crap. That our defense held them to 21? That's fantastic.

Sorry Chiefs fans. Yeah it's nice to be at 4-2...

But dang it we still have a long way to go to show we can confidently take care of business when we must against a very good team.
___

Chiefs at Raiders - Week 6 - Record: 3-2

I have that funny feeling again. I don't like it, I really don't. Do you have that feeling? Are you as nervous as I am about that funny feeling? Today, right now...

I like Andy Reid and Alex Smith.

It is a good, bad, good, nervous feeling. It is very bad, and very good at the same time. Please -- please tell me you know what I mean at this point in Chiefs history of things. Right now the Chiefs should be cruising through the NFL, mostly because it is the fourth year of the Reid/Smith regime. That's the time the Chiefs should be doing just about the very best that any Chiefs team has ever done in the history of Chiefsdom.

We've got good players.

We've got that Arrowhead spirit.

We've got vibrant youth, veteran leadership, solid health, and decent balance at every level of our game.

But is all of this just a fake-out?

Today we played a Raiders team I was told had an all-that offense. At the beginning of this game it looked to be true -- their QB Derek Carr carved us up and got the Raiders what looked like a far-too easy touchdown. But then they got bogged down pretty much the rest of the game. Was that because Carr just had a bad game or was our defense all that?

After the game had gone a few plays, the television people put up a "Keys to the Game" kind of graphic. The Raiders defensive strength? "Edge rushers." The Chiefs offensive weakness? "Pass protection." I thought, Great, that'll be our undoing -- they have a crappy defense, they say, yet Smith will get sacked every other play. Guh-rate. In fact, Smith got sacked twice on Kansas City's very first possession, but to be honest, I don't think Smith got sacked again the rest of the day.

We simply took advantage of the rest of the poor Oakland defense. Thing is, while that's great and all, that's just the thing. It was a very poor Oakland defense.

And know what? We still messed it up too many times. On our 6th possession Tyreek Hill got a terrific punt return into Raiders territory, then Spencer Ware did something great running it down to the three, then we went into one of the Chiefs play-fart modes. On third down -- about as obvious a play as you could have: quarterback draw -- we instead throw another of those wide screen passes and sure enough -- plotzz -- it gets stuffed. We have to kick another field goal.

On the other hand, who couldn't LOVE that screen pass touchdown thing to Dontari Poe at the one-yard line after another nifty Reid-constructed/Smith-executed drive. What a splendid wonderful splendidly wonderful play. And that the Chiefs did something crazy like that -- who has ever seen that before?! -- and it worked perfectly.

On the other other hand, the clock/game management at the end of the first half was, ahem, beyond abysmal -- ahem ahem, Andy Reid. With the score 13-7 and under two minutes left in the half, we get a fantastic long pass from Smith to Maclin to get us into sure scoring range and then run Ware a few times, only to see our O-line spittle on 3rd-and-1 and we have to try the FG with about 30 seconds left instead of 1. Santo misses (::errrgh:: in and of itself), and the Raiders storm down the field and kick their field goal, some of which was set up by an inexplicable failure to cover properly to prevent the field goal position to begin with. It was a joke.

Other things of note that were pretty darned positive:

Jamaal Charles was back and running well. If he's 100% through the rest of the season, what a trio we have with Ware doing much of the dirty work, Charles spelling him for more dynamic offense (although Ware is no slouch either, for sure), and Charcandrick West getting back in the mix.

And special mention to Spencer Ware. The guy was a workhorse out there. I think they said the Chiefs had a season high close-to 200 yards rushing today. Today it was pouring rain and a good running game is essential in those conditions. It really helped us today. Our O-line was serviceable, it did make it so Smith could do good things back there, and it did get some nice steady pushes so Ware could grind.

Our defense gets at least some of the credit for stopping this Raiders offense. The run defense was solid, and the pass defense somehow shut down Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree in the second half. It appears too that Marcus Peters does not have a concussion, that's a major relief.

Our most highly touted rookies, Tyreek Hill and Chris Jones, were terrific today. Both have that got-it, you can just see it. Both players instinctively know how to play football at their particular skill positions, and ironically both can inspire all the other players to play with that feel. It's great stuff, and they're just the greenest of rookies -- what'll it be like when their game gets more refined? It'll be even better.

Annnd, yes, Alex Smith had a fine game. Ergh. Ergh ergh ergh. There's that funny nervous really-good really-bad feeling again. He was something like 19 for 22, and at one point had, like, 11 or 12 straight completions. Oh oh oh oh oh would I like to see that against a really good defense. Next week we play New Orleans, and from what I gather they've got a good offense but a suspect defense.

We've now won seven straight against AFC West opponents. That has to be a record, at least in recent Chiefs history. Remember when it seemed we couldn't buy a win in the division? Maybe, just maybe, all that drafting strategy by John Dorsey specifically with AFC West opponents in mind is paying off. I remember the Dee Ford pick was specifically made to challenge the fine QB's in the division -- well, Ford had two important sacks today, one of them a strip to get the Chiefs the ball early in the 4th quarter.

Well, this was certainly one of those this-was-a-good-day-for-Reid-and-Smith days. We like them. They were good today. We like that a lot.

Please guys be as good when we really really really have to be good.
__

Chiefs Bye Week - Major Chiefs Concerns Yet Again

It really isn't any different, sadly. As I think about the 2016 version of the Kansas City Chiefs, I'm afraid I have concerns that are the same old concerns. Sometimes I look back at my blog posts from 2008, 2009, back then, when I screamed at the top of my lungs Get a good solid drafted and developed quarterback who can take us the distance and ya know what?

We still haven't done it.

I say this because I am yet again getting tired of Alex Smith and his ineffectiveness. I'm getting tired of feeling this way then watching him have some spectacular game and thinking, Huh, maybe I was wrong, and then we all watch him get right back to his surprising ineffectiveness.

I think back to the middle of 2012 when he was with the 49ers and coach Jim Harbaugh kept him out of games in favor of Colin Kaepernick even when he was healthy again. I think about how we all marveled at the opportunity for the Chiefs to get him, and we did. And I think now, however, that maybe Harbaugh saw something that we just couldn't see.

I do know a lot of Chiefs fans see it, but I'm like most Chiefs fans, enjoying Smith when he does well, banking on how smart everyone says he is and how athletic everyone says he is, and it is true those things do shine and make us happy just enough to keep us from seeing through it all.

But the truth is Smith simply doesn't have all of the got-it he needs to get us the distance, he just doesn't. I hear things like "Smith is really successful at this, that, and the other thing so give him a break!" and he has led the Chiefs to winning records each of the past three years.

Buuut then I look at things like the caliber of teams we've played in those three years. Really, except for the New England and Seattle wins in 2014 and the Denver win in 2015, really, what really good teams have we beaten? I also look at something I've tried to rationalize away and think Whull we'll just prove them wrong won't we -- Alex Smith will show them they're wrong!

That something is the quarterback rankings NFL pundits, reporters, journalists, and media experts provide us mostly to help us get our fantasy league teams drafted. If you've ever looked at them, those pundits across the board rank Smith no higher than the 20th best QB in the league. Whuuut? That can't be right -- these guys have to have it wrong -- not smart athletic versatile sharp wise-game-manager once-a-No.-1-overall-pick ALEX SMITH!

I'm not kidding you. Smith may reach as high as 18 or 19 on somebody's list, but if you look you'll see that some them will rank milquetoast quarterbacks above Smith, some will even rank rookies or unproven quarterbacks or even back-ups above Smith. Seriously, not a single mention of "Alex Smith" in the top 20 from just about all of them, much less a mention remotely close to being among the top 10 QB's around today. There are 32 teams in the NFL.

I've tended to slough this off as anti-small-market anti-media-darling anti-Kansas-City-podunk-nowhere-midwest-cow-town bias, but I hate to say it...

Are these "experts" on to something?

I think back to that Niners playoff game against New Orleans in 2011 when Smith was extraordinary. Wow that guy will come to Kansas City and do that for us?! Buuut then, yes, I think about the game he played right after that. -- the NFC Championship game against the much less talented New York Giants. He was awful. Well, not really awful but definitely not-nearly-as-good-as-he-should've-been-when-he-should-have-been. Annnd, really, that's not much different than awful. Yes, I understand Smith could not rely on his receivers who did play very poorly in that game, but please, let's face it, it was a close enough game, and big-game quarterbacks get the job done.

What about this year? Have you really looked carefully at the Chiefs offensive production this year, in the four games we've played? Go ahead, look at it.

It has been pathetic. It really has.

We've had one quarter that has been any good, the 4th in that Chargers game (and you could say we should add that nice TD drive in overtime, but the Chargers defense was exhausted that whole time). Otherwise we've bungled and bobbled and buffooned our way around the field. The first three quarters of the Chargers game were a joke. How many touchdowns? One, that nice slant to Tyreek Hill at the very end of the 3rd quarter to make the game 24-10. Before that? Putrid.

The Texans game? Putrid. Some write that off as a bad day for the Chiefs. Okay, I understand. But the offense was not just off but atrocious. Some will say the Texans are a decent team. We'll have to see, but two years ago in their first 2014 game, at home, the Chiefs got clobbered by the Titans who ended up going 2-14 for the year.

The Jets game? Offensively anyway, putrid. The Chiefs won 24-3 but the offense scored one touchdown, a nice crossing pattern pass to Travis Kelce. The offensive ineptitude was overshadowed by phenomenal defensive play, but it could be pointed out that the Jets had a similar offensive meltdown the following week, so was it really all our defense or just the opponent's ineptitude?

The Steelers game? Super putrid. Our defense in this one was horrific, but -- yesss -- the offense was even worse. We scored two meaningless second-half touchdowns when it was already a blowout. Earlier we looked like the Keystone Kops (how many times did I use that reference during the abysmal '07-'09 years) this against a relatively poor and injury-plagued Steelers defense. There was just no excuse for Sunday night, none whatsoever.

I know many are blaming Andy Reid for all this, and I got that too. We've looked thoroughly unprepared in every single game we've played so far. Some will say we started off poorly last year and look at what happened. But let's face it last year after the 1-5 start we got a cushy schedule of teams to play to go 10-0, and even then...

We barely won the Pittsburgh game, at home, against a poor rookie quarterback.

We barely won the San Diego home game and almost lost it lucking out when their guy dropped an easy touchdown pass and Rivers couldn't get the ball in the end zone with it at the one-yard line and about a minute left.

We barely won the Cleveland game -- also at home -- when a flustered Johnny Manziel (now out of pro football) simply couldn't finish a drive deep in our territory at the end of the game.

What, with a terrific running game featuring Spencer Ware, Charcandrick West, and a returning Jamaal Charles, with a solid core of receivers -- finally! -- featuring Jeremy Maclin, Chris Conley, Tyreek Hill, and Travis Kelce, with a revamped offensive line... Look at this explosive offense -- really, I feel like Vince Lombardi on the sidelines miked for NFL Films: "Will someone tell me what the hell's going on around here?!"

I think I know, I do. I see Alex Smith out there. I see him not being able to measure the defense well enough to know which receiver he really needs to target. I see him ditch his progressions way too soon -- what's new? I see him have little confidence in his arm to throw the ball in those tight windows when he absolutely has to. I see him completely miss wide open receivers because he simply doesn't have the field vision to grasp where those receivers are. I see him throw passes that receivers just can't catch: too wide or too heavy or too off-target or too something-not-good, and if he doesn't even do that he just dances around before he gets sacked.

I'm sorry, but as I think deeply about all this and look at what's going on out there, I just can't see how Alex Smith is going to get us the distance, not even close. Again, outside the end of the Chargers game, in four games so far this season we have two meaningful offensive touchdowns. Unless Andy Reid starts doing the thing he does well and starts preparing us for games -- that's his talent, we all know it, and it hasn't been happening -- then we're going to be stuck in the deep morass for much longer.

I'm actually okay with putting Nick Foles in, really. I am. I know we're still light years from that good, solid D&D guy, that is still crushing us -- and I know we're still blistering our brains with wondering who can be our quarterback when the Patriotses and the Packerses and the Steelerses just never have to do that ::sigh:: --

But anytime now, let's go with Foles. I'm sorry, but when I saw his preseason play he stayed resolute in that pocket and found a way to get the ball to the open man. I'd like to see Andy Reid take his purported magic with quarterbacks and see if Foles can get back to his 2013 form.

How about Philip Rivers? A work colleague of mine keeps telling me we should trade for him. The Chargers are offering, and he's at the start of a four-year deal so there is the conception he's got at least a couple good years left. To be honest, I'd do it in a heartbeat, but I really think the price would be too high. But Philip Rivers, damn, how great is this guy, he plays with broken backs and torn knees, and if he had this offense? With his phenomenal field vision and passing arm?

I feel sad for Smith, I really do, but we all know there is the precedent with him here, in 2012 -- getting replaced by someone who just got the job done -- with Kaepernick the Niners went to the Super Bowl that year.

What do you think?
__

Chiefs at Steelers - Week 4 - Record: 2-2

There is just something more.

There is. There is something about all this that goes far beyond which team has what talent, how a team is coached one way or the other. There just is. For those of you who read my blog and continue to read it, I'd like to think that you've given at least a bit of credit to this.

Call it the Steelers being charmed, call it the Chiefs being cursed, something like that, but any time our Chiefs go to Pittsburgh that thing whatever it is is just amplified like crazy.

Yes, I agree, I don't think we're as talented as we think we are.  We have young defensive backs who got schooled tonight. We have an offensive line that plays very inconsistently. We have a quarterback who will just not play the game that he truly can. And I'm not denying at all that Pittsburgh's three B's, Roethlisberger, Bell, and Brown are extraordinary players.

But a difference of this much? I truly don't think you can say it is just because of some difference in the two teams. Thing is, it is just too huge and

It just happens all the time.

In 2006, the Chiefs lost in Pittsburgh 45-7, and the whole game it felt like they had 17 players on the field on both sides of the ball. That was a year the Chiefs made the playoffs, and the next greatest point differential in a Chiefs loss that year was 13. In 2014, the insane things that went against the Chiefs were just too numerous to count, though I did try to. Go ahead, read my blog post from that game, you'll see.

Remember, this was a Steelers team that got shellacked last week 34-3. This was a Steelers team that had two of its key defensive leaders out of the game completely.

And so this one started fine. We made some fine plays, then stalled. We stopped the Steelers just fine, then got the ball back and

Spencer Ware fumbled it away. They got a touchdown.

Then Alex Smith threw a tipped pick. They got a touchdown.

Then Dustin Colquitt shanked a punt. They got a touchdown.

Our guy Tyreek Hill returned a punt for a touchdown, but it was called back after a very questionable call by the officials on an illegal block. Late in the 3rd quarter the Chiefs FINALLY sent Hill on a deep route and Smith threw a strike, but their D-back just barely got his hand in to push Hill's hand away just as he was about to grasp it. Really, that should be a PI, but, well,

That's just it.

There's that thing.

When Colquitt finally got a beauty of a punt off and Tyreek Hill et all were right there to down it inside the 5, the ball still squirted into the endzone -- it just skipped right past everyone. Guh? When the Chiefs got into field goal range with 8 seconds left in the 1st half, it started pouring rain -- really pouring. Sure enough, the holder slightly mishandled the soaking-wet ball, and Santos' kick bounced off the upright.

As I wrote after the last Chiefs game in Pittsburgh, you can't make this stuff up.

That's because, as sure as there are sure things...

There's that thing.
__