Chiefs at Raiders - Week 18 - Record: 6-11

It's about an hour or so before game time today, but I wanted to post this image I clipped from Facebook. (Take on the game coming up a bit later, of course.) 

This guy put up all the NFL team's records if close game results were reversed. It is exactly what I thought, knowing the Chiefs pretty much blew out teams they beat, but it was super close in almost every loss.

Close enough that one or two stupid calls or non-calls by the officials made the difference. 

This graphic just proves how many times this happened to the Chiefs over the course of the season. Any observant Chiefs fan could name just about every one of them, specifically.

Just this morning I glanced at the Cowboys-Giants game a family member had on the television, and in one play you could see how it was that the Chiefs were so terribly disfavored this year.

The Giants ran a play with both of their tackles lining up well off the line of scrimmage, pretty much where Jawaan Taylor lined up at a crucial point in the first Denver game when Kareem Hunt completed a terrific pass play to get the Chiefs right at the goal line. Nope, penalty on Taylor for not quiiiite being on the line of scrimmage to start -- play erased, we get bupkis.

Again, this is a procedure penalty officials really liked calling frequently against the Chiefs and Jawaan Taylor in particular, when otherwise I see other team's tackles in other games line up in the same place all the time.

Right then the Giants QB threw about a 20-yard pass at the sideline that was pretty much out-of-bounds, the receiver really wouldn't have been able to catch it. The commentator remarked, however, that there was some handsy activity by the defender but not enough to call a penalty. Again there really was no issue because even if he caught the ball he'd have been out-of-bounds, but still...

What's with the commentator remarking about how much or how little the jostling by a downfield player was anything that affected the pass play?

In other words, it is definitely on people's minds whether or not something is pass interference based on an official's interpretation. And oh did the officials do lots of interpreting against the Chiefs this year in that area.

I happened to catch an actually very fine take from a fan at the Arrowhead Pride site this morning. He made the case that the Chiefs entire offensive approach needs an overhaul, with the main issue defenses having figured out Patrick Mahomes, and that either the coaches need to do much better at changing things up or Patrick needs to get to a point where he is actually being his own offensive coordinator and making things happen more on his own out there on the field, or both.

Great point, I too have for the past couple of years been exasperated far too much watching Patrick just get too frustrated in the pocket and always have to bail too soon and just... phfthxxthpffssssss...

I thought, huh, this guy at Arrowhead Pride got it, huh, why didn't I see that...

But, well, I did. He said it much better, I admit, but I too feel we just need to do something about Andy Reid. The guy at Arrowhead Pride mentioned he should "reapply" for the job, and I do agree something dramatic like that needs to happen. Either he fixes things on his own, or the team has a firm word with him about it, or we just move on with someone else. Just tinkering with a few coaching changes or doing a bit of finger-wagging won't do it.

The problem is I'm still seeing very little from enough people about the real problem, the NFLers simply working against us. That graphic says a ton, I think. The Arrowhead Pride guy and too many others feel that we were "found out" this year and last year "we got lucky." No, the veritable truth is this is indeed a very good team that deserved everything they got last year (another trip to the Super Bowl) and should have at least made the playoffs this year but got extraordinarily hosed by the Scorecasting-proven debilitating officiating.

Do we need improvement in certain areas? Of course! Could we do much more from our game-planning and play-making and just plain coaching excellence? No question! But again, for the umpteenth time, every team racks their minds about these things, and it is always good to have the conversation -- spring season quarterbacking is always a robustly invigorating endeavor.

How about having the conversation about what is really going on in the NFL?

In the meantime, I'm just going to add my take about this last game against the Raiders here in this post a bit later. If we lose we could get as high as an 8th pick in the 2026 draft, I'm told. If we win we may drop to 12th or so. I'm not hoping we lose just to get four picks higher, really. It just doesn't matter. The draft can be such a crapshoot, if Brett just gets the best available player at 12 or 13 we'll be good.

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Nkay. Game take. Just notes is all, really, tough to do in yet another horrific loss as pointless as any of it is anyway.

1. All kudos to Chris Oladokun for his efforts, but his two fumbles in the first half led to two Raiders scores. He also just couldn't get untracked -- constantly looking downfield, making short completions that didn't amount to enough, wandering around back there too often... much of that is on the coaching, again, but to their credit you just can't get it done in the NFL without the guns you need on the field.   

2. People need to stop the constant dissing of our special teams. Our punter Matt Araiza is terrific, and he played great today. Harrison Butker hit all four of his field goals and is still rails. Coverage was fine, though again we got flagged for something, yet again, on a return. 

3. We played Brashard Smith a lot and he ran well enough, but the offensive scheme is just not there (see fuller analysis above). When it is he'll be pretty good.

4. Our passing game was trash today, but then again we played our 4th string quarterback Shane Beuchele in the 2nd half and he did not do well. He got sacked in the end zone for a very unfortunate safety, which in the score was really the difference in the game. He just looked lost out there, even though he had that one terrific throw late to Hollywood which got us into ersatz game-winning field goal range. Again, if you don't have the guns you won't win. Anyone realize how valuable Patrick is yet? I know that is very much a rhetorical question, but it is still extraordinarily meaningful.

5. Our defense played great, people like Nohl Williams come to mind -- it'll be nice to see what he does for us in the coming years. But then, Williams had an interception dropped, and that was typical of this team this year -- a dropped pick here, and missed fumble recovery there, and each of those individual refusals to take advantage of opponents' gifts make a difference in a close game.

6. The defense bent just a little too much when the Raiders had only a minute left with no time-outs, and had to go at least half the length of the field to get a game-winning field goal. They did. Their tight end made a great play to get big yardage, enough to get them in position for their excellent kicker to bang through a, yes, 60-yarder to win it. Yet another wicked picture of this Chiefs season in one single ugly play.

7. And the only saving grace in this putridity, our first-round draft spot in April. It is... wait for it...

Ninth.

So there you go. Thuh end, 2025. If I do another post, great, if not, I may see you in April, or even as far out as August for something of a preview or September for our first game of the 2026. The main question, will Patrick be ready to go by then? We'll see! 

Otherwise, the main underlying question we can only answer as the season progresses, will we have a good enough team to overcome any more NFLer adversity, and if that adversity is still plainly there on the field will there be anyone who'll finally pay attention? We'll see about that too! In the meantime...

Go Brett and the Chiefs!

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Raiders at Chiefs - Week 7 - Record: 4-3

I learned this was our first shutout since, since... do you know when?

Yeah, it was that 30-0 playoff win against the Texans in January 2016. Remember that amazingly splendid win, the first we had since January 1994? Extraordinarily memorable, but... huh... we've had how many postseason wins in the Mahomes era? Not that any of us mind, mind you.

Anyway, quite a stomping by an extraordinarily good Chiefs team versus a not-the-best Raiders team. Fine with us. 

Just a few notes for tonight. 

One, super nice to see Rashee back out there doing amazing things on the field. Every Chiefs fan was looking forward to seeing this, and we weren't disappointed. He had two terrific touchdown catches on the day (the first Chiefs TD of the day was one of those flip-it jet-sweep jobs), and just having him out there added something to the mojo of the team, no question.

Two, the Patrick Mahomes fake-out over center on a 4th-&-1 was too insane. He bleated he didn't think the play would work, with some especially colorful language added for effect, yet still snapped the ball and handed it to Kareem who got a very nice push from the O-line to get the first. Too sweet.

And three, sorry, but I can't not share this again because it just seems too few people are getting the memo. I won't stop writing about it even if belaboring it mercilessly. Earlier in the day, the European game (I just don't know where because I don't care, London, Munich, wherever) featured the Rams pasting the -- here it is -- Jaguars. The Rams are a very good team this year, but they also got the benefit of having a fairly called game by the officiating.

On both sides of the ball the Chiefs today played so exceptionally well, as they should, in a game that wasn't a prime-time game so there wasn't any intimation that the score should be closer than it would have easily been otherwise -- that there was no real reason for the officials to mess with the outcome. The Raiders helped by contributing a number of obvious and sometimes dangerous penalties, so trying to hose the Chiefs in this one wouldn't have mattered.

If you glance at this post from a couple weeks ago, you'd know what I am talking about.

Here's to the Chiefs continuing this ride in spite of the still simmering NFLer antipathy. Not sure that will abate since next week's game against the Commanders is, yes, a prime-time Monday night affair.

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The photo is by Sam Lutz at the official Chiefs site. Thank you.

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Raiders at Chiefs - Week 13 - Record: 11-1 - Monday Take

One more take, here on a Monday. Please check out my Sunday Take, it has much more on the current state of our Kansas City Chiefs.

But yeah, I just really wanted to add a couple of quick things, all of it related to the penalties situation with the Chiefs and NFL football as a whole.

First of all I caught this in one of my social media feeds:

So there you go. A reasonable explanation from the NFL front office that the officials did not miss that last call. Again, it isn't just that it rescued the Chiefs, but it is an instance when your thoroughly messing up shouldn't bail you out. 

And then this brief note here real quick after watching some of this NFL football not-the-Chiefs and seeing some of the social media posts put up about the day's action.

I am even more certain of the value of the things I shared in my Panthers game post, and that is here for you to link to it. For review:

1. Get more officiating from "New York." Meaning get officials with monitors to make calls from the 360-degree vision we all have watching on TV, helping out the refs on the field whose vision is just so limited. 

2. Insist on hands off eligible receivers (and defenders for that matter) from the time the play starts. Maybe it's okay within that five-yards, but I'm even thinking even starting the rule from scrimmage: No jostling, slapping, pushing, bumping, or any touching at all. None. Yes, that means no more "You can manhandle them up to five yards out." See if the receiver can run good routes and the QB can connect. See if the D-backs can make good plays on the ball. And any defensive breakaway violations puts the ball at the opponent's one, 1st-&-goal.

3. Any player, offense or defense, who is flagged for this twice is ejected from the game. Well, okay, maybe give them three times, but have some limit. 

Again, much help from the booth with officials looking at monitors makes this viable.

The main point: Let the players make plays. Stop, please stop with the incessantly thrown flags or having us behold silly plays that deserve flags but don't get them because the on-field refs just can't see them well enough. Send that message loud and clear so the players know they've got to make plays and not commit penalties.

Let's enjoy a mostly penalty-free game again.

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Raiders at Chiefs - Week 13 - Record: 11-1 - Sunday Take

We aren't playing today because we played in a rare Friday-after-Thanksgiving game.

Since then a couple things came to mind I can share as I do some lazy Sunday game-watching.

First, the Chiefs got very lucky on the very last Raiders play that should have been a nothing-burger just before they bang through the game-winning field goal. As I watched that play unfold, the one in which they bungled the snap and lost the ball to the Chiefs yet were flagged for illegal procedure, I did think what I'm sure pundits mentioned afterwards -- a thought I have not seen shared because I don't want to look. 

I just don't want to see any more about how lucky the Chiefs are or how much their wins are rigged in their favor. I'm sick of that.

Anyway, I did think what I think a lot of others thought.

How come the play wasn't blown dead before the Chiefs benefitted from a fumble recovery to seal their win? If it was illegal procedure, then isn't it the case the Raiders would've been penalized the five yards and then just kicked the GW from there? I wondered.

I will add that I was very very very pleased the play was ruled the way it was. And one simple reason I do think it was justified, is that why should the Raiders mess up so horribly, get a penalty and then benefit from their mess-up by being given a chance to win the game? I actually thought, huh, maybe the rule is if you do indeed eff things up like the Raiders did -- penalty, mess-up, fumble -- you simply don't get the benefit of your messing up providing you the opportunity to win.

If it had happened to the Chiefs, I'd be horrifically disappointed, and I'd probably whine a bit about the rule inconsistency, but still, I'd be resigned to our fate for that exact reason.

We effed up. Why should we get a chance to win by benefitting from it? We got ours.

In the meantime, that whole episode doesn't do us good, because again, we get everyone blapping loudly about how we don't deserve to be 11-1.

That leads to the second thing I thought about. And that is simply

This team is actually really good.

I may be wrong. This team may, in reality, at its core, be much worse than we think. It may indeed be much more reflective of a team that should be more like 6-5 if it didn't have all the breaks it's had. Or maybe we just need to accept we're playing other NFL teams that can be pretty danged good themselves, no shame in that.

On the other hand, if you really look at all those games there is no reason to assume those breaks got us to 11-1. For a particular example of an instance, that Ravens' Isaiah Likely toe-on-the-endline almost-TD reception at the end of regulation would've only tied that 1st game of the season given the went for a one-point PAT. Generally speaking, how many other times did we win simply because Mahomes & Co. were that good and because of that they could turn a close one into a win. 

And that's the main thing. I just think the team's exceptional quality of talent is making the Chiefs. To wit:

Mahomes. Nuff said.

Our receiving crew has Travis Kelce and a coming-of-age Noah Gray, but it has added DeAndre Hopkins who has been nothing short of phenomenal. JuJu has been playing well, Xavier even better, and just wait until we get Hollywood in there. And everyone seems to forget very reliable Justin Watson, who, if you by chance should remember, was the only Chiefs touchdown-getter in the game Friday.

Our running game got a big boost with Isiah returning but it was doing well enough with Kareem saving things a few weeks ago. Samaje Perine has also been extraordinarily serviceable.

Our O-line consists of what is widely considered the best interior line group in the NFL: Joe, Creed, and Trey. If they do their jobs, Isiah and Kareem should be fine.

That leaves our tackles. 

I'm not going to say Wanya is this or Jawaan is that, except that we all know they aren't playing the best football. But here's the thing. Here's my question...

The Chiefs are THAT bad barely winning games JUST because of our TACKLES? REALLY?

Yes we all know they aren't playing well. But please. With all those other bona fide pro-bowlers -- every single one of those people I mentioned such -- the Chiefs are a bad team just getting lucky?

Oh my.

So what's the solution? What's really going on?

The whole looking to DJ Humphries slotted in at left tackle may seem like a brilliant season-saving move, but I'm not so sanguine. We've seen this movie before, remember our Super Bowl against the Buccaneers? We had a patch-work O-line that really hurt us, but remember, Patrick played lights out. We lost that game much because our receivers were dropping all kinds of passes, and, this is the key, we didn't have a real game plan to cover for those deficiencies.

And you know what that means.

Andy Reid.

I'm sorry, but so far we definitely should have won more of those games by more than one score. This team is too good to have this many close games. But if you look at these games, you'll see that we're messing up just too many times -- we're just not making the plays we should to put many more hammers down.

Is a good amount of that the fault of our poor tackle play? Sure. But then, with everyone else we have in there, that's the only thing that is to blame? We're bad because we have bad tackles when we have an offense full of pro-bowlers?

Please.

Sorry, but again, and I hate to say it, but that is on Andy Reid. It isn't just that we mess up too much, but our mess-ups are the result of some head-shaking unimaginative play-calling or plays run that had no business being run at those times. How many times do you see that? Be honest. It's a lot. It's happened before, we cringe watching the Chiefs run a play it seems the other team knows is going to be run.

Where is the fun, wild, daring Andy Reid that we've been blessed to enjoy over the past several years? Where is the misdirection, the fake-outs, even the goofy plays he's plucked from the 1947 Rose Bowl team? Have you noticed? They're totally missing from this year's team. 

I believe people hate this year's version of the Chiefs not so much because they believe them so wickedly lucky or feed their theories of bribed officials, but because they are just so boring. Yes, D-Hop has been making some stunning catches and Travis and his after-catch laterals are amazing, but other than that, what are we doing that's special -- that's getting us to show we mean business out there not only making our fans proud but impressing detractors?

I'm not saying at all we have to try to win with gimmicks. Not at all. In fact that's the point. We have some of the best players in the NFL who can do the winning for us. It's just they must be given better opportunities for their play to shine, our poor tackle play notwithstanding. 

Here's a great example: what happened to getting Mecole or Xavier doing jet sweeps? Even if it is a "jet sweep option" at least you're freezing the defense. Sorry but we've been seeing none of that lately. Why?

I've heard some say Andy's waiting for the right moment to spring all that on us. He may, and if he wins another Super Bowl doing that -- well, great. But I also think, why wait? Why not just give us your best now -- and strategically make the other team's players overthink, wonder, play on their heels?

Andy, how about being dominant right now with this amazing offense you have, and yes, make adjustments for tackles who may not be playing that great? 

We play the Chargers on prime-time next Sunday night. They're a solid team, with an excellent quarterback and strong defense, and are now coached by a dude who'll take no prisoners.

If our coaching staff isn't about working to kick ass instead of futzing around and thinking our tackle problems can just take the heat, look out. This could be an embarrassment.

One more thing. I haven't said a thing about our defense, but I think we have more issues there than just losing Jaylen Watson -- something that has seemed to devastate our D-backfield. Our run defense seems to be much softer than it was last year, and our pass rush is average at best.

What is weird is (back to the offense for a sec) I'm watching the Rams-Saints game and they just showed a graphic: after catching a TD pass for the Saints, Marques Valdez-Scantling had his fourth in four games.

Whudddd?

Are - you - kidding - me?

He never played like that for the Chiefs. While he did have some fine games, especially the AFC Title game against the Bengals two years ago, it seems he is way better than we ever thought he was. In fact, I'm watching DeMarcus Robinson play lights out for the Rams... annnd... 

Can you see where I'm going with this?

Even with the Chiefs I'd always been high on D-Rob, but, well, he just never got untracked. Why? MVS also, why couldn't he show us what he had?

Was it these guys, or was it...

Uggghh...

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The posted photo is from Tyler McFarland at the official Chiefs site. Thank you.

Raiders at Chiefs - Week 13 - Record: 11-1

Okay I really can't wait to ferociously blap about this game. Yes, I know there've been a dozen times it seems in recent years when the Chiefs go down early to the Raiders and come back to win comfortably.

But as I feel the need to type this out here about half-way through the 2nd quarter, since I've got a lazy Friday to enjoy Chiefs football while the wife is out shopping with other family, I can't help but be again extraordinarily perplexed.

So far what we've all witnessed was a Chiefs offense that is playing about as impotently as it can. With the exception of Travis Kelce, everyone has been caw-caw. Mahomes is missing open receivers. Our receivers are not getting open and when the ball is put in range of catching they either give up on it or just drop it. Our running game is non-existent, even with the vaunted Isiah Pacheco back in there.

The Raiders' offense, on the other hand, is far less able than the Chiefs' offense, but they're making plays. They're running around like the proverbial Chinese fire-drill dudes but they're still matriculating. They're just making the fine plays they need to make, particularly by their receiver Jacoby Myers. Just now their 2nd-string QB was running for his life and flung the ball wildly whereupon their strong new TE swept under the ball to make the grab. And their running game they've been saying is the worst in the NFL? They've been chewing up yards like they're the best. Whudd?...

On defense we're just not making the plays. Now I see Nick Bolton not make an interception he should have made -- but hey, their really good kicker didn't make the long FG. ::Whew::

But why a bunch of ::Whew::s. How is this looking kinda like that nightmare last year on Christmas, that tremendously silly loss to Raiders at Arrowhead when the team just farted around the whole game against a woefully inferior team and lost. Remember after the middle of the 2nd quarter in that game, their QB, the same one playing in this game, completed zero passes.

It is kinda looking the same this time.

Let's see. It is now almost the end of the 1st half and we do have the ball at midfield... annnd...

Bam. There you go, a good, nice, Mahomes-slip-away-from-the-rush long completion to Noah Gray. The question now is, will we finish. Will this actually pretty decent team get the touchdown here. Will Andy Reid dial up some plays that get the job done?... Um...

Well, okay, but it seemed much more of the patented Kelce no-look catch-&-lateral to Perine to get that 1st down. Super neat. And then FINALLY, the floating pass to Watson at the side of the end zone who makes a terrific hold-on-to-the-ball catch. And the replay: just that Mahomes got clobbered from his left forcing him to make that pass across his body as he went down.

Wow. That's truly part of the amazingness of this dude, that he can kinda suck for a few plays but if he has one chance to make a truly spectacular, very necessary, quite astonishing big-time play, he does.

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Okay, that was it with my 1st-half venting. Now the game is over. We won.

But uggh.

There was one thing that was very pronounced about this game.

It was far too painful to have to endure. Not just at the very the end but the whole thing.

We had two chances to put this away late in the game. With six minutes left we had the ball, up 19-17, three-&-out. With two minutes left we had it again at midfield after a very fortunate missed Raiders long FG attempt, again three-&-out. But really, it should have never come down to that. Really, there are so many things wrong with the Chiefs, and actually right with the way the Raiders played today.

That last-second mess-up-snap fumble recovery to save our asses when they were in easy FG range not withstanding. 

The Raiders, a clearly far inferior team, just played better. They played with the intention of making the plays they needed to make. They are, after all, an NFL team. Their new tight end is the next Travis Kelce, and he played lights out for them.

The Chiefs showed the whole country that they cannot win a game with the offensive tackle play they have and without the defensive backfield play they need. 

The Raiders also won the game in the trenches just like they did last year. The TV guys kept saying over and over and over again the Raiders were the worst rushing team in the league. Except they outran us 2-to-1. Derrp. Add to this our pass rush is just not the best. Chris Jones and George Karlaftis had some decent stops, but it is just not getting enough pressure on the QB. Double derrp.

Mahomes was frustrated not making the plays he can make with the pocket not as securely protected as it should be. He was sacked five times AGAIN today -- remember last week he was sacked five times, by the Panthers. When he is ready D.J. Humphries can't help but help over there at left tackle. I really think the Chiefs thought that really good-looking draft pick Kingsley Suamataia was going to step right in and be the second coming of Anthony Munoz. That he wasn't by miles has really hurt us.

Even when he had protection Mahomes was just missing, missing, and missing again. Our receivers did not help -- while they did make some fine plays, too many other times they just never got open, made some drops, or simply made poor attempts to get up and get that ball.

Meanwhile their QB was set up for success from his coaching staff. Step back, throw the ball to the spot, and let the receivers do their jobs in the routes he knows they're running. Our defensive backfield certainly helped them out. They gave up big play after big play to Raiders receivers who weren't going to mess up.

We just didn't seem to care enough on offense to make the plays or on defense to stop them.

This Chiefs team should have won going away, really, 30-7. At least. But again, maybe, really just maybe those deficiencies at tackle and the inabilities to replace Jaylen Watson are just far too glaring.

As it is we're assured of a playoff spot. 

But dang.

This kind of effort won't get it done against, coming up...

The Chargers.

The Texans.

The Steelers.

And yes, nowadays, the Broncos.

And and and...

Whatever playoff teams we'll face.

Last year after that horrific Christmas Day Raiders debacle, we ran the table, most notably against very very very good Bills Ravens and Niners teams to win it all. 

Will we keep that phenomenally unprecedented run going for the three-peat?

Errrgmpf.

Not playing like this.

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The photo is from Kyle Rivas at the official Chiefs site. Thank you.

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Chiefs at Raiders - Week 8 - Record: 7-0

The big news this week was that Brett worked out a sweet deal to bring in DeAndre Hopkins. Just a couple years ago he was definitely one of the elite wideouts in the league, let's hope he still has something meaningful to give us on our grand quest. Sure enough he got that deep out route on our third play of the game to get a clutch 1st down on our way to our first touchdown.

This is one of the great things about the Chiefs right now. With Andy Reid we've developed such a phenomenal culture of excellence and winning that these kinds of players want to come here. It seems like every year we work out bringing in somebody or even somebodies to give us that extra lift. This year there have been a few: Kareem and JuJu and Mecole, all again, and now D-Hop. 

The first half was fine, we actually got a TD, then forced the Raiders into a nice 3-&-out, and could zip down and bang through a FG to make it 17-10.

But then the 2nd half started and it was bad. A drop, a bunch of penalties (poor Wanya Morris -- we do have an issue at left tackle, I think), and the Raiders were in business. Fortunately they could only manage a FG, and when a tipped Mahomes pass dropped into their laps and they had the ball right next to the goal line, our D put together a super nice goal line stand.

No Raider points at all.

On offense our superior interior line -- you know, just like Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance, it is now Thuney-&-Humphrey-&-Smith (and if you don't know the late 1900s Cubs infielder reference, look it up) -- along with the pounding of Kareem Hunt enabled us to chew clock throughout the second half and keep the Raiders offense off the field. Our 3rd down efficiency is also pretty danged great -- I know we take it for granted that whenever there is a 3rd down and within 10 yards to go there's a pretty good chance we're going to get it.

Travis Kelce had a game, and the word is D-Hop really helps opens things up for him.

As usual, the latest on Mahomes success against AFC West teams -- he's now 32-5 against them. This stat is just phenomenal in a parity-overwhelmed NFL.

Thing is we lost Nazeeh Johnson to a concussion and he may be out for a while, making us very thin at the corners. Brett then addressed that need today (remember I'm posting this on Monday) by rushing out and trading for a pretty good edge rusher from the Patriots.

Guh? Why not an actual cornerback?

Really, it is because if your pass rush is extra ferocious, it makes the coverage guys' jobs easier. Yes, we've already got a pretty danged good front seven, but Brett is thinking fresh legs -- so critically important when you've really got to stop an opposing offense that is working it, getting good chunk yardage, staying on the field and make things difficult late in a close game.

Our D is slowly being considered elite, and it is because of Brett's emphasis on getting the best D guys he can, as well as Spags' amazing game planning and later adjustments.

Next up major revenge action against the Buccaneers!

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The photo is from Sam Lutz at the official Chiefs site. Thank you.

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Chiefs at Raiders - Week 8 - Record: 7-0

For the first time in his career Patrick Mahomes is starting a season 7-0! Let's keep this train rolling!

Thing is, a lot happening today, so I'm not able to pound out a post tonight. I will tomorrow! See you then!

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Raiders at Chiefs - Week 16 - Record: 9-6

"Run the ****ing play."

These were the words mouthed by Patrick Mahomes coming off the field after one of the several butt-munch plays the Chiefs ran today. We could blame the receivers yet again, and I do believe our receivers are still not getting the job done.

I also do believe that the receivers not getting the job done is resulting in something very, very concerning for this Chiefs team.

It is making it so Patrick Mahomes is simply not running the ****ing play.

And sorry, but much of that is on Patrick Mahomes.

I never watch any of the pre-, mid-, or post-game commentary, but for some reason the television was still on after the game and with all the milling around here on Christmas day I happened to catch Phil Simms' remarks. And I think he said something very profound about the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes.

He said Mahomes needs to stop being so gun-shy and, yes,

Run the ****ing play.

Of course Phil didn't include the colorful epithet, but he said as much.

He said Patrick absolutely cannot worry about whether or not a receiver is going to do one thing or another -- he just needs to run the play. He simply cannot try to control everything and if a receiver doesn't do his job that's on him and the coaches.

How many times did we watch Mahomes run around like a crazed banshee back there and ::ERRRGCK:: not throw the ball. When they showed replays of receivers downfield during the time Mahomes had opportunities to throw the ball, I hate to say it but it did look like they were open enough for him to get that football to them.

Let's just face it. This was an ugly bastard, mostly for Patrick Mahomes.

This is a decent Chiefs football team. It is very tempting to say things like, "This is simply not a Super Bowl football team." I confess I do that all the time when I see Chiefs efforts like today. But you know? 

We can blame Brett Veach all we want about not getting someone like DeAndre Hopkins when we could, but Mahomes needs to get the ball to the guys he has and not worry about what they do.

We can blame Andy Reid and Matt Nagy all we want about not running plays that will succeed, but the players need to perform -- remember today we lost 20-14 in a game where 14 of those points were from two single defensive plays where Mahomes really ****ed up. 

We definitely cannot blame our defense who is carrying this team right now, and our leadership has got to help keep them from being discouraged for working their asses off only to see us go 3-5 over the last eight games, because our offensive players including, sadly, Patrick Mahomes, are not doing their jobs. I mean get this, I'm pretty sure their quarterback did not complete a single pass in the entire second half. I mean, that's shameful, it is truly shameful we could not pull this one out.

Two guys who stepped up were guys I've been screaming for them to play more: Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Richie James. Sure enough those two guys did ball-out. And yes, it was me, sorry, I called it. I believe these guys can contribute way more than people think they can.

As far as where we're at right now, we're likely to make the playoffs and even win the division. The only way we can lose it is if the Raiders or Broncos win their last two games and we lose our last two.

That latter thing? I wouldn't put it past them if this actually pretty talented team doesn't get it together and start playing like they mean it. And yeah, sorry, but it requires -- it is hard to say thing because we've been so spoiled to have a guy like this play at a phenomenal level just about every single game -- but it requires Patrick Mahomes himself to, yes... just plain --

Run --- the --- ****ing --- play.

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Chiefs at Raiders - Week 12 - Record: 8-3 - The Take

As I shared yesterday I spent the afternoon with my daughter. I watched the game on DVR later that evening, and, of course, it was immensely enjoyable. The best part, again, is that we meant business in the second half. Our running game was productive, and sorry, Clyde Edwards-Helaire was an instrumental part of that. I do believe getting him involved especially in our short passing game will help the receiver play we've all been lamenting so much.

Rashee Rice had a number of fine catches, one of which he took from some distance out for the score. It is obvious his yards-after-catch ability is exceptional. He really is the one guy who is rescuing the stature of our receiving crew. I would have like to have seen the team finally employ Kadarius Toney downfield more, but he was out for the game -- whupp, hopefully his past injury issues are not afflicting the Chiefs too much now.

Otherwise a nice dominant win for once -- this team is too good for us to have so many uncomfortably close games this season. 

I did mention that I'd gone to see the Taylor Swift concert film with my daughter, and I thought I'd add a bit more about that since I'd mentioned it yesterday.

I am not a big Taylor Swift fan -- it isn't that I don't like her, I just pay no attention to much of anything about her. But it was obvious watching the film she is an extraordinary performer. Her music is actually pretty good, and she is phenomenally talented, as a songwriter and entertainer. Her music is quite seductive, in the sense that her lyrics speak to the lives and relationship experiences of her fans.

Thing is, as a follower of Christ, I was concerned about a number of things I saw, which I did address with my daughter. She was very good about understanding and conversing meaningfully about them. I could mention a number of them here, but the main one is just how devoted her fans are. And yes, it is clear this devotion borders on idolatry.

Really, how much is one's attention to, adoration of, even obsession with a given thing replacing the genuine devotion that should only be afforded to God? I actually only say this because I too can be guilty of this. 

Can I give the Chiefs too much of my emotional investment? I know I can. If you've read some of my blog before you know I can do the very best ugly -- I've ripped Chiefs people new aye-holes far more viciously than I'd like to admit, with I believe Andy Reid and Clark Hunt getting the brunt of my embarrassing ire.

On the other end of this unseemly passion, just as much as Taylor Swift endears herself to millions of devotees, her new beau Travis Kelce can do the same for all of us Chiefs fans. Like Taylor he is smart, committed, industrious, personable, charismatic, and on the field does things that win games. Taylor and Travis are winners, we can vicariously experience the glory of their success over and above the things each of us experience in our lives that are not so glorious or glamorous or gratifying.

It is exceedingly entrancing.

Thankfully God shares with me some things that keep me grounded. Two weeks ago we were privileged to get free tickets from an in-law of a relative who could not attend the Rams-Seahawks game at SoFi Stadium -- ironically the same venue from which all the Taylor Swift concert footage was taken. 

Sitting behind us was a gentleman who was, shall we say, quite a devout Seahawks fan. I mean rather expressively so. It wasn't as much his cheering for his team, one that actually played pretty well on the whole. It was his incessant grousing about every little thing that didn't go right for his team.

Huh.

Sounds like me sometimes with my own emotional commitment to the Chiefs.

And wow, was this Seahawks fan annoying. Just sayin'... I never want to be like that. Elation when we do well? That's great. Disappointment when we don't do so well? Not a good feeling. But when that obsession gets overwhelming it is far too painful than it should be, not just for me but for those around me. This is precisely because my perspective may get wildly out-of-whack.

I have been around some fans, especially when attending live sporting events in-person, who just can't hold a perspective. And it isn't just the scoreboard -- add in all the drinking and gambling and, as Scripture says "jealousy, fits of rage, and selfish ambition," along with whatever other ugliness is in the mix, and you've got a nasty idolatry. (That biblical verse is in the fifth chapter of the letter to the Galatians, by the way.)

So yes, I spent the afternoon with my daughter during an optimum opportunity to spend time with her. It was right at the time of the Chiefs game, and yes, just before the movie started I noted we were ahead 28-17. I did not check my phone again until the movie was over. The wonderful thing was settling in to watch a scintillating concert performance on film that was genuinely enjoyable, except for those things...

The main thing is the time spent with my daughter, the film experience was good and the conversation afterwards was good too. I have the same kind of vibrant interactions with my sons regarding all things Chiefs, all of that is good too.

But to keep all of it from being to destructive to my psyche, I know I must give all the glory for the ultimate victory to God. I humbly but heartily encourage my readers to do so too.

Blessings.

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The photograph was taken by David Gray at the official Chiefs site. Thank you.

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Chiefs at Raiders - Week 12 - Record: 8-3

I did a very Chiefs thing this afternoon.

I spent the entire time during the game watching the Taylor Swift movie with my daughter.

It was a Chiefs thing! After all Taylor is dating Travis! Right! Doesn't that count?!

Anyway, all I know is that we did win, and that --

We scored in the second half!

I noted we even scored 17 needed second half points to take this one. Wow, awesome.

Just looking at the score, our D stepped up yet again to allow only a single FG in that second half.

So for once, a fine second half performance to get the dubya!

After I watch this on DVR I should put in another post. Until then!...

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The photograph was taken by Andrew Mather at the official Chiefs site. Thank you.

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Chiefs at Raiders - Week 18 - Record: 14-3

This Saturday game was the first after this past Monday Night Football game suspended after Bills D-back Demar Hamlin endured a critical health issue on the field. The NFL decided to suspend the game permanently making it a no-game-at-all. This meant the Bills and Bengals each would have played one fewer game this season, and that would have an impact on who would earn the No. 1 seed for the playoffs.

Turns out the way the NFL arranged it meant that no matter what a Chiefs win would mean the Chiefs would get that No. 1 seed no matter what Buffalo does tomorrow. If that Monday night game had been completed with a Buffalo win we'd have to have won today and hope Buffalo loses tomorrow. The only thing now that would be a concession to Buffalo is if the Chiefs and Bills both make it to the AFC Championship game, that game would be played on a neutral field.

As it is we got the win, really putting together a dominant effort against the Raiders. This does mean we get the bye next week -- we have it right now, we don't have to wait to see what happens to either the Bills or the Bengals. We really got a nice deal with how the NFL addressed this thing, we have to admit.

The play of the day was an Andy Reid spectacular, they called it the "Snow Globe," and it was neat to see it drawn up for this game, one that really wasn't nearly as important as a playoff game when it would be doubly spectacular.

About the very end of the first half, Chiefs ball at around the Raiders 10, 15 yard-line, the offensive unit huddled in a circle arm-in-arm and spun around in an 11-man circle. Really. Just like on the 1st grade playground. They surely did it because when they broke the huddle they wanted to surprise the Raiders defense. Breaking from their "Ring Around the Rosie" fun they spread themselves all over the place, with Jerick McKinnon taking the shotgun snap and Patrick Mahomes lined up behind him.

McKinnon took the ball and after a quick RPO move pitched it back to Mahomes taking a few steps to the right, who after catching it immediately threw it back across the field to Kadarius Toney who wove his way to the end zone for the touchdown. 

Wow.

Thing is they got one of our O-linemen for holding, so the play was nullified, but on the replay I just could not see where No. 52 who they called it on, or No. 62 who it may have been on, did any real holding at all.

Not to worry. Next play, Mahomes just very conventionally handed the ball to Toney for him to zip and zoom through the left flat to get the TD.

Couple quick notes. Really liked seeing Ronald Jones get a lot of reps. Most of them were in garbage time at the end, but he did get more other runs than in any other game. Good to see him get that work and do reasonably well at that, even scoring a touchdown. And our pass rush was on it today. We had something like five sacks I believe. Excellent play there will be critical for a deep playoff run.

See you in two weeks after we do the wait-see for who we'll be playing then!

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The image of Kadarius Toney is courtesy of Andrew Mather at the official Chiefs website, thank you.

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Raiders at Chiefs - Week 5 - Record: 4-1 Part II

I couldn't resist. I just had to add a few things after last night's thriller today after also peeking around a bit at what people have said about the affair.

First, the Chris Jones roughing-the-passer call that shouldn't have been. Afterwards Jones was extraordinarily gracious and deferential, but profoundly truthful. What was the main takeaway from his postgame remarks?

That there simply must be officials up in the booth making those calls.

It is simple. The refs on the field simply can't get it, things happen so quickly. Officials that are in the booth with initial authority to make calls wire down to the field, tell them it really wasn't RTP, and no one is worse for wear. Are there other things the NFL can do to protect the QB? Perhaps, but you can't take the game away from the players.

Second, there was a play Mahomes made that was one of his most spectacular. It was when the Chiefs were driving for their first score to start catching up after going down 17-0. He'd already been sacked, but this time he dropped back but then stepped up right into the teeth of the pass rush, bobbed and weaved a bit, and flicked a -- what, 10 or 15 yard pass? -- right into the mitts of MVS.

First down.

A few plays later they had the touchdown. I actually believe the image I led with in the first post last night right after the game was of that exact throw. I'm just surprised more wasn't made of that amazing play. But then again, yeah, ho-hum, just one of the hundreds of the many Mahomes Mahmazments we've seen and continue to enjoy seeing.

Lastly I did see some people remark that Arrowhead was even louder than when it broke the decibel level record back in 2014. Nice. The reputation Chiefs fans have for their unmatched passion is really pretty cool. And last night's game: again, we can screech all we want about the injustice of the Chris Jones call, but the loudness is assumed to have even shaken the refs to make sure they call the game right. Did that give the Chiefs a bit of an edge in ref calls? Maybe.

Did it rattle the Raiders? I can't think that it didn't.

But then I just think about the other Chris Jones goofball call in the Indy game. Oh my. He tackles someone perfectly legally and gets flagged. He blurts "Yo momma" while just standing there and gets flagged. Yet to his credit he treated each instance with tremendous poise and respect. Yet he'll still join his teammates and Kingdom fans fighting like crazy for the win.

Wow these Chiefs. The Kingdom.

I like it.

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The image of Chris Jones is a screenshot of a posted video from a postgame interview.

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Raiders at Chiefs - Week 5 - Record: 4-1

Patrick Mahomes Patrick Mahomes Patrick Mahomes Patrick Mahomes.

Travis Kelce Travis Kelce Travis Kelce Travis Kelce.

Brett Veach Brett Veach Brett Veach Brett Veach.

We won a heart-wrenching squeaker and the reason I mentioned those guys is Mahomes threw four TD passes, Kelce caught four TD passes, and Veach is just a beast at putting together a team that has enough depth to make "next-man-up" keep us competitive in a given game. 

We suffered a number of injuries today and it will take a while to gather the extent of those injuries. We started the game at a disadvantage from the injuries we already had. No Willie Gay to stop their fine run game, no Trey Smith to better protect Mahomes, no Trent McDuffie to cover a Davante Adams, no Harrison Butker to actually make field goals (even though fill-in Matthew Wright nailed a 59-yarder which really was the difference in the score)... not having any of those guys helped make this affair much closer than it should have been.

Thing is, the Raiders were suffering their own slate of injuries. First their fine tight end Darren Waller was out, and at the very end of the game their terrific running back Josh Jacobs went down when he was doing great slashing his way down the field to try to get the Raiders in position for the game-winning FG.

This game started when we had the Raiders at 4th-&-1 and they threw a 58-yard TD bomb to Davante Adams. Yhee.

A bit later we had 4th down deep in Raiders territory, and our replacement kicker missed a gimme FG. Errgh.

We must have done something to help out our young D-backs trying to cover him because we did a decent job of neutralizing Adams for most of the rest of the game, until very late when they got a TD pass to him to almost tie the game bringing the score to 30-29 Chiefs. They burnt our young D-backs yet again.

As it was we did poorly in the first quarter, going down 17-0. We then poured it on and went up 30-23, but then let them right back in it with that second long TD pass to Adams. They failed on the two-point conversion, and when we needed what Shawn Barber called "Attitude Runs" with four minutes left we just didn't get enough. We we started off well, but stalled. No points, not even a FG at least to get us up by four.

Thing is, our defense held.

It held.

Keeping Davante Adams from beating us was big. There was a play on 3rd down when Adams barely did not get his feet in bounds for what would have been a 16-yard gain to get the Raiders closer for a gimme 67-yard game-winning FG from their excellent kicker.

We could talk more about the horrific officiating calls, especially the one when Chris Jones got a splendid strip sack fumble recovery and sure enough they called roughing the passer. I think this actually lit a fire under our butts and helped us more than hurt us. It was great seeing Andy Reid just light up the refs after that one. I like it when he does that, I think we all do. Defend what is right, awesome to see!

A close one with lots of story lines but as it is a Monday night and I have work tomorrow, a potential second post will have to wait.

Next week, though...

Da Bills.

4-1 verses 4-1. Rematch of that amazing divisional game last year.

Prime time on CBS, late Sunday afternoon at Arrowhead, Jim Nantz and Tony Romo announcing, game of the year so far...

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The first image is from Chris Donahue, the second from Gavin Littell, both at the official Chiefs website. Thank you.

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Raiders at Chiefs - Week 14 - Record: 9-4

Jarran Reed! Mike Hughes! Harrison Butker! (Made the PAT!)

Chris Jones! Melvin Ingram!

Tershawn Wharton and each of our defensive backs!

Patrick Mahomes! Mecole Hardman! (Memo to Arrowhead Pride: Time to knock off the constant deriding of Hardman -- he's still a valuable asset to this team, always has been...)

Darrel Williams! Clyde Edwards-Helaire!

Daniel Sorensen! Tyrann Mathieu!

Michael Burton! Josh Gordon! (His first touchdown for the Kingdom!)

Mike Hughes again! (With the nice punch-out for the turnover!)

Each of our offensive linemen and CEH again! (With the amazingly slippery TD run!)

And finally, Andy Reid! (Yes I ride his butt quite often, but his skill at playmaking and getting this team to play its best is still unparalleled -- we're now looking to be back to our solid confident selves!)

That was just action from the first half. The second half was really all just a formality. Final score, 48-9.

It is nice to simply cover this post with lots of unequivocally earned kudos to our boys. 

With a blowout win over the Raiders, we've clinched our ninth straight winning season. Oh that 2012 is now such a distant memory. Switch those last two digits for a 2021 and we're now still blessed to enjoy this grand Chiefs renaissance. Seven playoff appearances with an eighth very likely. Several division titles -- how many in a row now? I've lost count. Three straight AFC Conference Championship games and counting. Two Super Bowls and one quite delightfully wonderful NFL Title.

This Thursday we try to keep up the momentum against the Chargers in Los Angeles.

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The posted image is from Steve Sanders at the official Chiefs website. Thank you.

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Chiefs at Raiders - Week Ten - Record: 6-4

Another prime-time game for our team. As up-and-down as we've been so far this year, as much as the heaviness whatever-it-is weighs on this fine team, we are a national television draw. Mahomes is still a marquee caliber player. This offense is still Hollywood spectacular quality.

For the first time it really looked as though Andy Reid was in the best form calling a football game. For the first time this season I'm sure we all got the feeling this team was being coached and our players were making the plays as they should be. 

Mahomes was doing more to simply step up in the pocket and hang there for just that tick more to get that throw to his receiver. He was doing less drifting -- when he does it is still messy. When it is planned, like his rollout to get their second touchdown, it is great! When he gets those short routes available to him, it is great! Williams, Pringle, of course Kelce were the main beneficiaries, very nice to see all of that making for very nice, long, multi-play drives.

Also nice to see more of those bang-bang plays, quick throws from Mahomes, tonight showcased by that quick TD sling on 4th-&-goal to Noah Gray who'd just dropped two passes. 

Thing is, Mahomes has just got to take something off when heaving his deep passes. He had a number of shots way down the field that just sailed.

Much kudos to the other parts of our game tonight. Our O-line did a terrific job of protecting our quarterback as well as getting our backs grinding. Andrew Wylie even did a terrific job of neutralizing their fine DE Maxx Crosby.

Darrel Williams had a phenomenal night, highlighted by an amazing catch at the end zone! I think he really wanted to make up for his drop back in the Super Bowl on that amazing Mahomes pass while he was in the air vertical.

Our defense also did fine work. It seems as though the pickup of Melvin Ingram has been a difference maker, but it is mostly Steve Spagnuolo just getting his players in the right places doing the things they do best. I think everyone agrees the Chris Jones-at-DE was an unsuccessful experiment. Juan Thornhill playing regularly is key, Rashad Fenton being given substantive playing time has been key. Willie Gay and Nick Bolton anchoring the front seven has been key. There were other contributors -- Jarran Reed for example, he had his first real impact game.

Overall it may just be the case that our poor play up to this point has lit a fire under these guys, moving them to realize they can't just rely on the raw talent. The way it looked out there tonight their extra work paid off.

If you can believe it, this team is now in first place. The Chargers at 5-4, Broncos at 5-5, and Raiders now at 5-4 have just been sputtering and we're looking revitalized. We'll take it.

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Both images are from Steve Sanders at the official Chiefs website. Thank you.

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Chiefs at Raiders - Week 11 - Record: 9-1

With a minute and change left in the game we were down 31-28, and we definitely need games like this to keep getting Patrick experience with these last-minute instances when we've got to score. We'll be in the playoffs again this year, but this is very good, keep working hard. We simply cannot blow out every opponent and get flimsy taking things for granted. 

Indeed there've been a couple far-too-close wins we've really had to eek out this year. The Chargers game. The Panthers game.

But wow, did Mahomes take care of business. He was 6 of 7 for 75 yards in 65 seconds of play, capping it with a nice scramble hitting Kelce wide-open in the end zone. We got the very nifty late comeback win.

But the Raiders really played well, even with a defense crippled by Covid suspensions. Derek Carr had his second terrific game against us when in just about every game he'd played against the Chiefs before was not his best. We did a decent job of keeping that big-play pass from hurting us, and we actually did pretty well against their run. But their pass blocking was terrific and could have won them the game. Our defensive line simply could not get to Carr, and the Raiders really could have gone up by enough to win if their receivers didn't have several critical drops.

As for us, just some quick notes:

The Mahomes-Kelce-Hill triumvirate was astounding, yet again. DeMarcus Robinson ran a poor route leading to a Mahomes pick, but he did well later to make up for it snatching a critical 4th down pass.

LeVeon Bell got much more in the mix, and showed some of what he was so good at before. He even scored a touchdown.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire was terrific again, and having Bell in there is also terrific so CEH doesn't get overworked. We need both of them for playoff endurance.

We've got to keep our heads. No reason for Tyrann Mathieu to get an unsportsmanlike late in the game.

Too many penalties made me nervous, especially at the line. Mahomes hard counts though also got those guys to move all over the place to our advantage.

Our defense was far too bendy, but adjustments seemed to help as the game moved forward.

Next week we've got the other pirate team, Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, I'm pretty sure a "prime time" afternoon affair.

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Raiders at Chiefs - Week 5 - Record: 4-1

It had to happen someday. Our defense's liabilities would be brutally exposed.

Interesting, do you know we'd been 28-2 against the AFC West since that game when Jamaal Charles fumbled it away against the Broncos at the beginning of the 2015 season? Those two games, both Thursday night games: the Raiders in 2017 when we were way ahead but they came back with the help of lots of PI calls on Eric Murray, and 2018 when we were also way ahead but the Chargers came back and beat us with a two-point conversion at the very end of the game. 

The turning point in this one was when we were in total command in the 2nd quarter, and Tyreek Hill was targeted on a deep throw and was totally PI'd by the Raiders defender. No call. There is a ruthless example of where the fourth horseman of the football apocalypse can really destroy us. Right after that obvious non-call we had a chance to keep things going and Mahomes made a great play throwing the ball right into rarely-used Nick Keizer's hands, but he dropped it. A guy like that simply can't afford to drop that ball. 4th down, no points, when we should have had the ball close to the goal line.

It was all downhill from there.

The refs were all over us all day. There were a number of questionable holding calls on our O-linemen that cost us big, a cheap-shot pick call on Kelce that eliminated a TD... I don't know. I could complain about the NFL notifying the officials to start being really picky against us because they had been pretty light on us for the past year and a half. 

As far as our D goes, ouch. We so need better linebackers. This is not news. Ben Niemann is just not getting it done back there. They ran over us all day. Our D-line did okay, but they can only do so much.

The Raiders ran the football against us, which really is the strategy to keep games close against us. Other teams are realizing that because we just don't have that Ray Lewis guy there (oh the years and years I've been shouting for that.) By doing that they are taking possession time away from our offense. That's the secret to beating the Chiefs, and let's face it, if our D cannot stop the run, we won't repeat no matter how great Mahomes is. Our D was not good today. Throughout much of the 2nd half the Raiders played us like we had 8 guys out there on defense.

Their O-line was good. Our O-line, let's face it -- CEH is simply not getting untracked. We lost our fine new LG Osemele early to injury. 

Meanwhile, for much of the 2nd half it looked like the Raiders had 17 guys on defense against us. Mahomes just looked frazzled far too much. We managed to get a late TD score to get us to within one score, but we simply could not stop the run when the Raiders needed to chew clock.

Well, any given Sunday, that's the NFL. We should do fine adjusting our match ups against other teams, and we've been doing a terrific job against our AFC West opponents for a long time. And in a perverse way, we can now really grasp what others know about our team and we should get that worked out.

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Raiders at Chiefs - Week 13 - Record: 8-4

"Chiefs have not lost a Sunday division game since 2014." This was the stat of the day shared by Mitch on the post-game radio show, and this is truly amazing. One of the terrific things about Andy Reid is his dominance against our division. Just an update overall: All-time we are 65-54 against the Broncos. We are 63-55 against the Chargers. And we are now 66-52 against the Raiders. That's pretty cool.

But for now? We've simply got to handle other teams out of our division. Here's one of those things with Andy Reid. Here's precisely why I just fear we're not going anywhere in the way of glory with him and his amazing playmaking ability leading the team.

In the middle of the 1st quarter we had the ball deep in Raiders territory, up 7-0, with a 3rd-&-1. Reid runs Darrel Williams into the line, no gain. On 4th-&-1 he runs Williams again into the line. No gain.

See, if this guy has all this amazing playmaking ability, what good is it if we don't use it? What good is it unless we use it to get good yardage and more points? Here we are in the middle of the 1st quarter ready to put the Raiders away, and we get vanilla with the game calling.

How about this? How about our head coach, no matter the score or situation, just runs the plays? How about putting confidence in the best quarterback in the NFL and on that 4th-&-1 do some play action, roll out Mahomes, and have him pass it to Kelce for the 1st down?

Why is Andy Reid so scared?

Remember, even though we pounded the Raiders today, what will happen when we are in that close game? A nice pasting of the Raiders is fun, but we really need those critical games when Andy has absolutely got to adjust his playmaking to be better than the opponent late in a very close playoff game.

Yes! I am Monday Morning Quarterbacking, I am! I confess! And it's not even Monday! Aagh I'm sorry! But we are all so good at it! We do it for most all of January just about every year!

As for the bulk of this one, the weather was poor today, and we just played a Raiders team that was woefully overmatched. Ngck. Don't get me wrong. I'm really pleased with this. We're now in total control of the AFC West at 8-4. Maybe it'll be good we're playing New England next week so we can tough out a reeeally close game and we can -- ngcknghghnkck -- you know it --------

Practice winning a close game that will result in winning a playoff game that we actually do win because we truly fully actually 

TOOK CARE OF BUSINESS.

Some really good things about today's game, just to put 'em down.

Tyreek Hill did his job again. Routes, catches, acceleration. Awesome in only a few catches. I also like Sammy Watkins still drawing lots of attention. Don't get down on him. Watkins' play makes things wide open for Hill and Kelce.

One of those particularly nice Mahomes throws to Hill was a dime that helped lead to our first TD. He also threw an amazing pass to Kelce, while backpedaling, perfect for Kelce to jump up and nicely snatch it right at the 1st down marker.

When we were up 31-3 in the 4th quarter, we decided to let rookie Darwin Thompson run the ball, get him experience, chew clock. He really responded by essentially single-handedly matriculating the ball all the way down the field capped by a rushing touchdown.

Our defense was solid today, frustrating Derek Carr making his day at Arrowhead yet again just miserable. The highlight was the play of another rookie, Juan Thornhill, who had a terrific stop on a Raiders 4th down, and just a bit later read a slant pass play like a book and picked it taking it to the house.

Harrison Butker, on a blustery day, banged through a 50-yard field goal. Speaking of special teams, at the very end of the game we got a blocked PAT returned for two points, neat. But yeah. Can we get one of those to win an incredible playoff game, if we need some crazy wonderful play like that to win then? Can we?

And our discipline across the board was very strong, no penalties! Can you believe it! None, zero! That's major. This is only the third time in all of Chiefs history when they've had a game with no penalties at all. (I should note they had a penalty but the Raiders had one on the same play so they were offsetting.) The Raiders were abysmal with the penalties, 12 all together and most were big. They even got hit with a PI that had to be reviewed in New York, an INT that was reversed and followed by a Chiefs touchdown shortly afterwards.

On to the game of the year against the Patriots!
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Chiefs at Raiders - Week 2 - Record: 2-0

This was definitely a very satisfying game. It was the last game we'll play at the Oakland Coliseum, it'll be nice not to have to run around on the infield dirt. That is so annoying. Next time we are at the Raiders' stadium it'll be in Las Vegas. I'd heard they won't be allowing Raiders fans to tailgate, is that right? Wow. Nothing like being a Chiefs fans and enjoying that community at Arrowhead for hours before gametime.

Thing about it though is that the Raiders look like they've got a team that if it gels over the years, could be very good. They had three 1st round draft picks this year, they've been able to plug holes, they want Jon Gruden to build something there -- I'd be wary of this Raiders team in the future.

In fact, it looked really good for them to start this game. They shot out to a 10-0 lead while we were flat-footed. Could they have had it come together so soon?

Well, not. We went off on them with 28 unanswered in the 2nd quarter. But at the beginning of this game I was wondering about our ability to get a team to gel. Brett got a slew of fine players to fill out this roster, but the big question is: Are all the pieces gelling? Especially our defense! We were far too bendy in the first two Raiders drives of the 1st half, and we were bendy again at the beginning of the 2nd half.

The Raiders got all the way down to the 4 on one of those first drives, I think it was that first one, but a Breeland INT in the end zone proves you often win by just not breaking even if you bend. Key guys making key plays on the D throughout the game -- Clark, Kpassagnon, Fuller, Jones, Ogbah, Ward. I'm sure I've missed some, but there were times these guys stood out. Something else that is also very nice: our depth. The rotation of several D-linemen keeps them from being tired -- especially in light of our quick strike offense!

It was also nice to see our new D-coordinator make adjustments that worked. The Raiders only had a few meaningful plays in the second half, one of which was a 51-yard run by their fine back Josh Jacobs, but again we did the job of nullifying anything major. Our big test will come next week against a very good Ravens team.

Before we get to the offense, two things are worrisome. Our penalties and our run blocking. First, the penalties. Still ugh. We had a 72-yard Hardman TD catch nullified by a LeSean McCoy hold. Maybe it was good he had to do that to protect Mahomes, but still, you've got to just block better. Second, our O-line did a decent job of protecting Mahomes, but our run blocking was atrocious. We could not get Williams or McCoy untracked. That groin injury to Eric Fisher may have been a major factor.

Couple other notes about the Raiders. First of all they had a lot of injuries. I think that demoralized them as the game wore on. But it is interesting that Derek Carr yet again had a poor game against the Chiefs. I just watch no other football, I really don't, but I hear he actually does really well against the rest of the league! He was picked twice today, sacked three times.

Now to our explosive offense. Wow, all that could be said. Just that Andy Reid, for one, dials up plays like they're on a mega-rolodex. That 2nd quarter was phenomenal. We're down 10-0 then, BAMM.

Then, naturally, what more can you say about Patrick Mahomes. It was as if the Raiders made him just liiiitle bit angry. I mean, his reads, his decision-making, his timing, his touch, his arm strength -- I mean...

It goes without saying that we just have too many weapons. For one, I've always believed that Demarcus Robinson is tremendously underrated. Did you know he was drafted before Tyreek Hill? I have never seen him do anything except make Mahomes look good, snatching everything thrown to him, either in traffic or making his way open so very nicely. Today he had two long touchdown receptions.

Of course we have the extraordinarily reliable Travis Kelce -- he was his typical superman out there. His TD grab was bobbled but clutched firmly just before he rolled out of the end zone. Mecole Hardman had his first touchdown grab, just outrunning the D-backfield on a post route.

With that 2nd quarter display, I just wonder, why even run the ball at all? With this offense, setting up the run with the pass sounds like the way to go, but with Reid calling anything and everything in the cupboard and Mahomes whipping up some fine passing touchdowns... I mean.
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Raiders at Chiefs - Week 17 - Record: 12-4

AFC Western Division Champions, third year in a row!

No. 1 seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs, with accompanying bye week!

Patrick Mahomes, only the second dude in NFL history to tally 50 touchdown passes and 5,000 passing yards in a single season! I mean, look at that number: 50 touchdown passes in a season. I don't know if you remember but when Dan Marino got 48 in 1984, he shattered the previous record of 36 by George Blanda and Y.A. Tittle from the '60s.

Sure the rule changes over the years have made the passing game that much more pronounced, but still...

You can't deny that much of Mahomes numbers are the result of his phenomenal talent, vision, energy, hard work, and desire to win. I should add (as Mahomes always does when asked about it) that he does have some tremendous weapons at his disposal: his tight end, some fine backs, a strong core of receivers, a steady offensive line, and a head coach born to mold and shape this kind of quarterback.

I do want to write more on today's wonderful events, and continue the very simple preview posting I've been doing. But more of that tomorrow.

For now

GO CHIEFS!!!
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