Whatever it was, two unheralded and unknown players made the difference for the Chiefs on Thursday Night Football. Justin Watson and Jaylen Watson are not superstars or household names. They are fifth round and seventh round picks respectively. However, their opportunistic play won the game for Chiefs this week.
The Chiefs flat out stunned the Cardinals in Phoenix. Perhaps they were not ready for the new look of the Chiefs offense. The Kansas City Chiefs offense is a bit different this year. Coach Andy Reid is emphasizing a much more efficient passing attack. 26 of their plays 66 plus plays on Sunday were executed out of two tight end sets. They mixed in the run game with the pass, rushing the ball 27 out of 66 plays. It is a full team effort on the offensive side of the ball, allowing most of the receivers and backs an opportunity to positively impact the game. Coach Reid is building an offense of role players, rather than superstars. He understands that teams usually win Super Bowls rather than superstars.
The Bengals did not win this game. The Chiefs lost it. The Chiefs are a high-powered team who lost their discipline late in the 2nd quarter and never recovered it. Andy Reid’s decision to allow Mahomes one more throw was ill advised. Sometimes coaches need to protect their players and thus the team. Coach Reid failed his team. Worse, he blamed his quarterback for his own mistake. Coach Reid should have taken ownership of a bad call instead of berating Mahomes for a bad throw. I think Coach Reid’s reaction had a detrimental effect on the team, and it played itself out the rest of the game. In the 2nd half the failures to execute continued, allowing the game to get tight. Mahomes’s throws were off target leading to multiple incompletes and two interceptions. The Chiefs blew a two-score lead and failed to score a touchdown in the second half. The enemy always gets a vote. The Bengals defense were confident that they could stop the Chiefs high powered offense because they had done it once already this year. They carried that confidence thru to the AFC Championship game. The Bengals took advantage of an undisciplined team’s miscues and secured themselves a spot in the Super Bowl.
Bill Cowher accurately predicted the last team who possessed the ball would win the game. It did not matter how much time was on the clock. All Patrick Mahomes needed was the remaining 13 seconds in regulation to put the Chiefs in position to kick the tying field goal. The Chiefs won the overtime toss and promptly drove down the field for the game winning touchdown. On to the AFC Championship. So, how did they get there?
Sunday night’s game started as many of the Chiefs games this year have started; SLOW! In fact, nothing of real consequence happened until about the ten-minute mark of the 2nd quarter when Cameron Heyward forced a fumble and TJ Watt picked up and ran 26 yards for a Steelers defensive touchdown. It was the first touchdown of the game. Pp until that point, the game had been a massive defensive wrestling match. Patrick Mahomes and the offense struggled to get into rhythm. The Steelers defensive touchdown must have awoken something within the Chiefs. In the last five minutes and 50 seconds of the first half, the Chiefs put up 21 points, closing out the 2nd quarter with an 80-yard 6 play touchdown drive. In the second half, the Chiefs scored touchdowns on their next three possessions. That’s the synopsis. That’s the game in a nutshell. Or is it?
The Kansas City Chiefs got playoff ready in their regular season finale against their divisional rival Denver Broncos by doing something that they utilized in the playoffs during their Super Bowl run. They spotted Denver a healthy lead and then came from behind to secure the win. The Broncos were playing with passion for their coach Vic Fangio. Fangio is a beloved and respected coach by his players and they could sense that his seat was blazing hot. The Denver players wanted to win the game to try and keep Fangio employed, but their efforts would not be enough to hold back the Chiefs from escaping with the victory.
Nothing lasts long in the NFL. Rarely does a team stay on a winning streak for a lengthy period. The NFL season is 17 games of a grueling grind. Injuries occur. Parity is everywhere. Matchups are unfavorable. Mother nature often has a say. Sometimes it’s just a bad day at the office. The Chiefs had all their key personnel, though they did lose an offensive lineman in the first half of the game. Sunday’s result was born out of the simple fact that the Bengals were a bad match up for them this week. When Joe Burrow is on, he and Ja’Marr Chase are a bad match up for anyone and everyone.
The Kansas City Chiefs came out and dominated Sunday afternoon. This was the first game that Patrick Mahomes has played this year without the benefit
It’s the Christmas Season. Rarely in life will your competitive rival provide you a gift, much less a win. That is exactly what the L.A.
