Tamba Hali, Justin Houston much more than pass rushers

Every Chiefs fan took a page out of Houston’s book when news came out about his trip to see Dr Andrews. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

That was rather tense. To see Johnny Manziel and his Cleveland Browns march down the field with ease repeatedly in the second half was not a nice sight to behold, especially when the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense stalled to a halt. Alex Smith and company could not get much going whatsoever in the second half, and were restricted by the lowly Browns’ defense.

However, ultimately all that matters in December is the result, and thanks to a couple of excellent drives that led to Jeremy Maclin and Travis Kelce touchdowns, the Chiefs got the all-important win and moved to 10-5. What made the victory even more important was other results within the conference.

The New York Jets beat the the New England Patriots in over time after a botched coin toss (What were you thinking Bill Belichick?) and so the Chiefs needed to keep winning. Furthermore, the Pittsburgh Steelers fell to their old rival, the Baltimore Ravens, and consequently gave the Chiefs a postseason berth. It was a roller-coaster season, but ultimately, one that the got the job done. The Chiefs will be playing January football, and we can all begin to dream of that elusive playoff victory.

However, what was most striking from Sunday’s game was the rushing yards that Kansas City allowed to a team who is not particularly adept in the area. The Chiefs allowed a total of 232 rushing yards to the Browns, 108 to their scrambling quarterback and 88 yards to their lowly running back, Isaiah Crowell, at an average of 5.5 yards per carry. That is simply unacceptable from a team that has been stout against the run all season long.

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