Bengals at Chiefs - Week 17 - Record: 10-6

Okay so we managed to pull this one out with enough offense to put Harrison Butker in field goal range for six bangers. I mean, that's great, and I mean we did get the win, and we did clinch the AFC West and yet another playoff berth. Very very very very very nice.

And yes, after a messy first quarter when the Bengals took advantage of some Chiefs sloppiness to go up 17-7, our defense was absolutely ferocious keeping the Bengals from scoring any points at all in the second half. 

All --- Right.

The Not-All-Right thing about this game is our still-raging failure to score touchdowns on offense. We did get the big plays from Isiah Pacheco and Rashee Rice and Richie James, yes, very needed. 

But the again just watching Patrick Mahomes messing up almost cost us another game. To be fair, it could be our rookie tackle Wanya Morris messing it up by allowing a Bengals guy to come in and get a strip sack that led to putting the Bengals up 17-7. It was just like last week, like a recurrent nightmare none of us wanted to keep having.

I've actually been thinking about our 2018 season, only because I was wondering what we did then when Mahomes passed for 5,000 yards, 50 TDs, and we just salivated over what we finally got to have there at quarterback. Two things of note -- and there may be more but there are two things I can think of.

The first is those receivers. In 2018 our main wide receivers were, if you remember, Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, DeMarcus Robinson, and Chris Conley. Remember too that we also had Travis playing at a very high level, and for a while Kareem Hunt. After he had to leave we had Spencer Ware and Damien Williams doing most of the running back work.

Who are our wide receivers today? Can I just put down a great big ::WHIMPER::? I watched much of the Rams game this morning and you know? DeMarcus Robinson actually had a pretty good game for them. I guess I wonder why we gave up on him. I know people were really down on him, and you've got to move on from some people, but the Rams have simply done a terrific coaching job this year.

Our coaching job? I don't think anyone believes Andy Reid and company have done their best work this year. I actually still believe, honestly, that this wide receiver crew is not this bad. I do believe our coaches have simply not done what they need to do to make Patrick Mahomes as successful as he could be.

That second thing is opposing coaches have done that one thing they know they must do to win games against the Chiefs, and I know you know what that is.

Hold on to the football on offense as long as you can.

Today the Bengals ran their first drive for, what, 57 minutes? Of course I'm exaggerating, I hope you know that, but only to make the point. Other teams' coaches know as much as you can keep the ball out of Patrick Mahomes' hands the better off you will be. And getting that nice little boost of getting even a single turnover from the Chiefs? That's bonus time burning-clock-on-offense-keeping-Mahomes-on-the-sideline.

What we do have that we didn't have in 2018 was a game-rescuing defense. I mean they went off all over the Bengals offense in that second half, and that was the key to keeping them from doing the burning-clock-on-offense thing. The Bengals simply could not keep anything going on offense after those first 17 points. 

So yeah, along with all the guys who played so well out there today, Justin Reid and Charles Omenihu just to name a couple, what we have that we didn't in 2018 was Steve Spagnuolo.

Very nice.

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Just a couple other notes that aren't exactly Chiefs related, but I just wanted to add to this week's post.

I kind of like college football mostly because I've been in a college football team fantasy league. We each have teams and follow the AP Poll each week to see which of our teams did best, counting the best four from each of our stables in the poll. It is like pro football fantasy but instead of players it is college football teams.

I had Georgia. And yes, I do think it is a joke Georgia is not in the final playoff. But they are not there because, yes, I do firmly believe, the powers-that-be just don't want Georgia in there again with a chance to win a third straight title. There is just not as much advertising revenue unless it is someone new -- there just isn't.

Thing is, let's face it. Not only is Georgia the best team in the nation, but college football has its big fat head up its big fat rear end.

Really, why not, when you think about it, how about we let Alabama Michigan Texas Washington beat each other up tomorrow and then next week, and then, for all of us who know better, have the winner then play Georgia. I'll take Georgia.

Yesterday Georgia plastered Florida State in the once highly regarded Orange Bowl, 63-3. Yep. Now I do know that those who know, know that Florida State had to play without, what, something like 20 of its best players -- all sitting out presumably to avoid injury and prepare for the NFL later.

Thing is, this is not unusual. Lots of teams are doing this, and it is stupid. I do get it, I understand why they say they are doing it, but what happened college football stars to your commitment to your school and your football and your all-paid-for education there?

Thing is thing is, this foolishness is on the college football leadership. That they allow the players to do this is just wrong. So this is getting-your-heads-out-of-your-asses Part One.

Part Two is how the college football leadership has not gotten the conferences to stay intact. Next year a number of teams are continuing this idiotic trend of moving into different conferences. This has basically destroyed the PAC-10 and put teams in ridiculous geographic positions. I do not keep track of any of it because it is so heinously stupid, but I do believe UCLA and USC next year are going to play in the Big Ten, and if I'm not mistaken that's way up in the Great Lakes region, far far away from us people out here in the west who actually enjoy the PAC-10 rivalries out here where they belong. 

Because the PAC-10 is no more, I see that Cal and Stanford have been forced to play, get this, in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Please. I kiiiiinda thought Cal and Stanford were prettttty close to the Pacific Ocean. Pacific over here, Atlantic waaaay over there.

Sorry, but all of this is just moronic. Yet it reflects a complete lack of leadership among the college football people who could have just all come together and simply worked it out.

So yeah, bottom line, kudos at least to the Georgia Bulldogs and its leadership, who took their contemptible playoff selection snub with grace and did a great job of keeping all their players on the field for a bowl game that really didn't mean a thing -- they didn't have to prove anything to anyone yet they still went out there and played the game.

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How about this story I just saw. The NFL has "downgraded" an officiating crew, whatever that means, for its boneheaded move allowing the Cowboys to win last night's game against the Lions. Sure enough the play in question was all on the stupidness of the NFL -- exactly like that call against Kadarius Toney in the Bills game. I could get into the details of the technicality ding-dongness that each of these entailed, but I'm not. Needless to say, the NFL leadership needs to take responsibility for this crap, not just slough it off on its hardworking officials.

It is funny, they also mentioned a missed call in the Chiefs-Packers game -- sure enough one that went against the Chiefs that could have easily cost them the game.

Huh. Funny about that...

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Finally, my fantasy football team won its Super Bowl today, so at least there was that! My son was actually the drafting expert, putting together a dominant team at the very beginning of the season. My brother-in-law set up a Yahoo league with 18 teams of his friends and relatives and friends of friends and relatives of relatives, and I did tell him I'd never done a pro football fantasy league before. He still graciously invited me to join.

So, checking with my brother-in-law and getting his enthusiastic approval, I let my son do most of the drafting at the beginning of the season while I followed along, adding some amount of input. We did so well we barely had to make any moves throughout the campaign. It was terrific from start to finish. 

Just to boast a bit, here were our key players on offense.

QB: Really split between the Jaguars Trevor Lawrence who did great to start, then the Rams Matthew Stafford who carried us the last part of the season.

RB: The Rams Kyren Williams was amazing all year. We even had the Titans Derrick Henry, and while he had some decent games he did have some duds.

WR: The Lions Amon-Ra St. Brown and 49ers Brandon Aiyuk were studs all year long.

TE: The Jaguars Evan Engram was also solid all year.

W/R/T: The Texans Nico Collins was the recipient of terrific play from CJ Stroud all season long.

My son also did great making those few necessary moves all season long to keep the team viable each and every game. At the very beginning of the season I did tell him he'd get half the winnings, happy to do it! Besides I just don't even really think too much about the money (though some of the participants would disagree!)

Just thrilled we could come away with the title! Very fun!

Now...

Can the Chiefs do the same in the real live NFL playoffs?...

::Whimper:: -- ::Sigh:: -- ::Unngh:: -- and whatever other sorts of viscerally expressive onomatopoeia there are...

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The photo is from Cassie Florido at the official Chiefs site. Thank you. The screenshot of the tweet featuring the I Think You Should Leave guy was taken after peeking at some Bleacher Report posts.

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