Kansas City Chiefs grades: Another improbable win
By Andrew Jones
The Kansas City Chiefs went on the road to one of the better teams in the NFC where many expected a tough loss.
However, it was a much more complete game from the entire team that took down the Falcons in Atlanta. It had become common that the defense needed to shut offenses down in order for the Chiefs to have a shot. Against the Falcons, Andy Reid finally opened up the playbook.
The Chiefs put big numbers on the board with downfield plays to Travis Kelce and Albert Wilson. They didn’t settle for field goals in the red zone and took timely risks that shows why Andy Reid just guaranteed his 4th straight winning season in Kansas City. The Chiefs still have some work to do but the way they win gives hope for when the big pressure hits in the playoffs.
Offense: B
What a day for moving the football and punching it into the end zone. Alex Smith on paper had one of his best days and his first half was one that resembled a top tier quarterback. However, his second half left a little to be desired. Smith missed on a couple of sure-fire touchdown passes. One that really had his detractors’ fingers flailing in angry tweets was his overthrow of Spencer Ware.
Ware snuck behind the coverage as Smith began to roll to his left. Even though Smith saw him, he threw the ball on a line rather than lofting it and letting Ware get under it. The pass would have been a touchdown and would have put the Falcons away in the fourth quarter.
Speaking of Spencer Ware he had a difficult time in the run game. He hasn’t had a big game in several weeks and this week was against a weak run defense. A lot of it is the offensive line but some of it lies on Ware. He hasn’t broken the tackles lately that made us so excited in the first few games and he appears just a step slower. It could be a nagging injury and hopefully the Chiefs can figure out a way to get him going as it gets colder.
The Chiefs fandom as a whole owes an apology to Albert Wilson who showed tremendous speed and hands in Atlanta. Wilson took a fake punt snap 55 yards to the house and caught several key passes over the middle. He finished with four catches for 48 yards plus his one run to put him over 100 total yards. In the beginning of the season it was expected that WIlson would drop the big passes over the middle, especially on third down. His emergence could be just in time for Maclin to return and give Smith a complete bag of tools.