Chiefs beat Broncos: What just happened?

Dear Chiefs fans,

It is almost midnight on Sunday night and my blood pressure has finally come down enough that I can even attempt to string together some words to describe the Kansas City Chiefs 30-27 win in overtime over the Denver Broncos. This isn’t going to be my longest post because I’m physically and emotionally exhausted after that game. It’s also probably not going to be my most coherent, but there are definitely some thoughts I need to get off my chest before I call it a night.

So here goes….

* Holy heart stopper Batman! I don’t know if I can remember more of a rollercoaster of emotions in one game. The fact that this game ended on a ridiculous missed field goal attempt by the Broncos followed by a “shtoink” off the upright that still managed to go through and win it for the Chiefs is really fitting. It was just a surreal game to watch.

* Justin Houston is back! I was genuinely concerned that we might not see Houston back to his dominant ways this season as he worked back from major knee surgery. He just didn’t look like his explosive and dominant self last week against Tampa Bay. Well apparently he only needed one game to get the rust out because he absolutely man handled Denver all night long. Not only did he have countless big impact plays but he was also held on almost every play where he didn’t make the play. If KC gets a healthy Dee Ford back they will be freakishly dangerous for opposing quarterbacks.

* Tamba Hali’s sack where he pushed the tackle into the quarterback was spectacular. I didn’t think he still had that in him and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

* The Chiefs defensive line depth is stupid good. They were literally without their three defensive line starters in the second half and overtime and Chris Jones, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, and Kendall Reyes stepped up so much that a non-fan would have just assumed those three were the regular starters. If they can get Dontari Poe and Jaye Howard healthy their rotation will be ridiculous.

* That having been said….if Dontari Poe continues to have back problems you can kiss him goodbye this offseason. You don’t give a 340 pound man with back problems a huge long term contract. Period. I love Poe and understand what he brings to this defense, but that’s just not a smart investment. I hope he gets back to 100% and its not an issue.

* On a somewhat related note, I don’t know that Eric Berry is good enough to be the highest paid safety in the league like his agent is apparently wanting him to be, but he was absolutely laying the wood in that game. His physical presence really set the tone for the Chiefs defense.

* Phillip Gaines is going to get meaningful snaps for the Chiefs because of their lack of depth and talent at corner but he had as bad of second half of football that I can ever remember watching and I can remember some really bad corner play over the years (William Bartee anyone?). That touchdown where he didn’t even see the ball was in the air was the absolute worst. He HAS to be better.

* While we’re on the topic of terrible….the offense for three plus quarters was once again the most abysmal combination of head scratching play calls and scared quarterback play. It’s just so painful to watch. Alex Smith drops his eyes and gives up on plays so fast its inexcusable even for the most faithful Smith supporter. While it might be tempting to just say “he sucks, they should bench him” you have to consider how much better he played when it was do or die time. Once he (and Reid) had no choice but to open the offense up they instantly started playing better. Why they can’t have that same approach early in the game is beyond me. We can hope that this late flourish of offense will spark something, but we’ve seen this already this season and they just keep struggling. They have to be more consistent if this team is going to have any shot come playoff time. I don’t know why Smith is playing so scared, but he HAS to get those eyes up and looking downfield.

* Insert weekly “get Albert Wilson off the field” rant here. I’m tired of typing it. Stop putting him out there. Stop throwing to him, especially on key downs. Just. Stop. It. You give his targets to Conley and this offense is MUCH better off. Sigh….

* Insert weekly “get Knile Davis off the field” rant here. I’m tired of typing it. Stop putting him out there. Stop running him, especially on key downs. Just. Stop. It. I swear that Darrin Reaves on the practice squad is a much better runner. Give him a shot! Sigh….

* Cairo Santos is nails. He made our collective hearts stop when he clipped that upright, but he got the job done.

* Tyreek Hill is amazing. I hope the mistakes of his pre-Chiefs days have changed him for the better because he’s absolutely electric with the ball in his hands. This stagnant offense would be absolutely unwatchable (even more than it already is) without him. I don’t know why any team would ever kick to him again. In a league full of some of the fastest athletes in the world he simply has an extra gear that others don’t. He’s fun to watch. If it wasn’t for those two guys in Dallas that are setting the world on fire he may have even warranted some offensive rookie of the year consideration.

* Travis Kelce may be the most athletic route running tight end I’ve ever seen. He’s SO good at getting open. That having been said, if we’re being honest, his hands leave a lot to be desired. He may be faster and more explosive than Tony Gonzalez but Tony G was money in the bank when you threw the ball his way and that isn’t the case with Kelce. I hope he continues to work on it because if he was more consistent he could be the best pass catching tight end in the NFL.

*Finally, I can’t stress enough how big this win was for the Chiefs. They now have road wins against the two teams that they are fighting it out with in their division. Both the Raiders and the Broncos are legit playoff contenders and the Chiefs have wins on both of their home fields. If KC can take care of business in Arrowhead then they control their own fate in the division and that’s a HUGE advantage even if Oakland is currently in first place in the division. That fact alone makes all the other negatives from this game bearable.

I really hope the Chiefs offense can work out the kinks because I really believe if they can just be consistently average this defense can make them a factor in the AFC (assuming they are relatively healthy). The Chiefs are 8-3 and despite the absolutely absurd way their win in Denver played out, it puts them in great shape going forward. Let’s just hope that Andy Reid and Alex Smith don’t use this win to justify the putrid offensive output they’ve had recently. They have to look at the results they had late in this game when they were more aggressive and make that their typical approach even early in the game. If they can do that they may just take control of the AFC West and potentially the entire AFC. If they can’t then be ready for more heart stoppers like this win and potentially some heart breakers as well.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!