Week 1, week 2, week 3 and week 4 retrospect! Catch up now!
Two weeks removed from the brutal loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Kansas City Chiefs were marching into rival Oakland Raider territory. Each team had a vibrant opportunity to prove themselves. First place Oakland and quarterback Derek Carr were looking to sink the Chiefs season. Kansas City and quarterback Alex Smith needed to have a complete game to dismiss the notion their season was dead. Despite a ‘walking the plank’ situation, it was rivalry week, emotions were high, and the Chiefs had the will to survive. The Kansas City Chiefs defense raided Oakland, composing their first complete game and holding the explosive Raiders to a mere ten points.
Kansas City Chiefs Defense Raids Oakland Coliseum – Week 6 Retrospect
Battle of Will
Football demands strategy and strength, but neither are worth anything without the will to win. In the first half, the Kansas City Chiefs had an opportunity to kill the will of the Raiders. Yet, the start was far from ideal. Oakland kick returner Jalen Richard made the opening drive easy for Derrick Carr and crew, taking the opening kickoff to midfield. Although the Raiders running game and DeAndre Washington were bland, it was Carr connecting to receiver Amari Cooper that enabled them to take the ball quickly 46 yards for an opening touchdown. Andre Holmes hauled in the score after three downs of goal line fighting. The Raiders were the first to flash their strength of will in this rivalry matchup.
The Chiefs opening drive was not as impressive. After Spencer Ware rambled for a quick ten yards, the rest of the team flailed around for three minutes leading to a punt. The old Chiefs offense arrived, and the game could have quickly gotten out of hand. Frank Zombo made matters worse as he jumped offsides, giving Oakland a quick first and five. Just as Carr could have lined up the kill shot, all-pro Marcus Peters proved to be the Chiefs dominating force as he intercepted an attempted pass to Michael Crabtree.
With momentum in their hands, the Chiefs had a chance to wound the Raiders. Alex Smith capitalized immediately with a 21-yard pass to his favorite target Travis Kelce. Ware ran the ball with energy, and after overcoming a few miscues, punched the ball in on one goal line attempt.
With the second quarter now in progress and the score knotted at 7-7 a duel of fates ensued. The Chiefs defense, dedicated to proving rival superiority, took the momentum in hand. Carr was finding ways to move the ball up the field, but a holding penalty and fumble set them back. After bending, but not breaking, safety Daniel Sorensen stopped Cooper from moving the chains. Whether it was mental pressure, the muddy field, or the confidence of the Chiefs defense, Sebastian Janikowski put an attempted field goal wide left. Momentum was tilting to the Chiefs.
High off the missed field goal, Jamaal Charles, Tyreek Hill, and Albert Wilson moved the ball efficiently for 58 yards. Charles leapt into the end zone to put the Chiefs up 13-7. Notably, the offensive line was working as a unit on this drive, and the holes were wide.
Despite everything that was positive, Oakland Coliseum was beginning to flood. The decimated field was turning into a mud pile, and Cairo Santos missed the extra point. Although muddy fields are no excuse for any team unit, the Raiders running game looked completely dysfunctional on the next drive. Despite Cooper landing another long pass on the next drive, Chris Jones and the secondary made key stops to force the Raiders into a fourth and five. Without the ability to kick a field goal in the mud, Carr attempted a deep pass to no avail.
The Chiefs, however, did not learn from the Raiders wisdom not to kick a field goal. On the next drive the Chiefs marched the ball quickly down field, but then were stopped with twenty-five seconds in the half. Santos lined up for a standard 38-yard field goal, but put it wide left – missing in the same manner as Janikowski did a few minutes earlier. With excellent field position, the Raiders targeted tight end Clive Walford for the first time, moving to the Chiefs 28-yard line. Janikowski subsequently nailed a field goal as time expired, closing the Chiefs lead 13-10.
Battling Until the End
The second half gave the Chiefs an opportunity to come out and negate their defunct opening drive. In the best drive of the season so far, Smith spread the ball to Chris Conley and Jeremy Maclin to go 74-yards in three minutes. After getting stalled on the goal line, Andy Reid pulled out a literal giant trick. 6’3” and 346-pound defensive tackle Dontari Poe lined up as full back on third and one, and pounded Oakland’s defense to score a touchdown. It was fun, exhilarating, and exactly what the Chiefs needed to take the will from the Raiders.
The Chiefs secondary stepped up to the next challenge, and shut down the Raiders in a quick three and out. Tyreek Hill flashed his athleticism when he took the ensuing punt return 50 yards. A 30-yard pass to Spencer Ware put the Chiefs in field goal range, and although they stalled, it was enough for Santos to redeem himself with a field goal, extending the lead 23-10.
Both defenses flashed their will on the upcoming drives. Preventing field position from being a factor, both special team units did their job. Although both Hill and Charles had good catch and run scenarios on the next drive, there was no punctuation mark. The Chiefs would need to enter quarter four to turn the tide of momentum again. Spencer Ware got going at the end of quarter three with a nine-yard punch.
Although this would be the last Chiefs scoring drive, it was both convincing and efficient. Ware ran for 24 yards on the drive, and chunked five minutes off the clock. The drive did not end in a touchdown, but Santos nailed a 44-yard field goal attempt to garnish a 16-point lead with ten minutes remaining.
Feeling pressured, Carr worked through Michael Rivera and Cooper to put the ball in scoring range. Moving 55 yards in seven minutes provided hope for Raider fans a mud-bowl miracle was in hand. Alas, it was Dee Ford whose will proved stronger. On second and ten, he ripped past the offensive line and forced a sack fumble. Tamba Hali took the recovery 12 yards, all but initiating the kill shot.
The next Chiefs drive was understandably conservative, eating three and a half minutes off but ending in a punt. It didn’t matter, as Hali and Ford had ripped the will right away when they took the ball; the Raiders closing drive went for negative eight yards and finished with another another Dee Ford sack. Pitching a shutout in the second half, the Chiefs defense rose victorious, battling until the very end.
Takeaways
The Kansas City Chiefs won this game by owning superior will down the stretch. Everything the defense did was defined by a predetermined conviction to win. What would happen if the offense played with a similar conviction?
Not to bash on the offense, for they had a great game as well. Battling a rival defense, Reid used variety and technique in his winning play calling. After all, he is a master coming off bye weeks. Once ahead, the Chiefs stayed ahead, but transitioned to a conservative offense. The conservation worked, but it proved later in the season to be a poor strategy.
Reid ought to be willing to transition to more aggression when playing with a lead. The last drive of the fourth quarter aside (that exemplified proper conservation), the gap could have been widened further. The Chiefs defense, fortunately, is stellar at preventing comebacks.
At times Reid did change up the playbook, and Spencer Ware shined. Aggressive play-calling is not intrinsic to deep passing alone, but can be a subset of different running styles. Sweeps and dump-offs work in conjunction with the typical counter. Hence, the reason Tyreek Hill will be featured more in 2017.
Analyzing the defense; their play was stellar. Allowing only the opening drive to go for a touchdown, the secondary adjusted throughout the game and quieted Cooper and Crabtree. Marcus Peters and crew proved to be fierce and smart in coverage. Fierce coverage allowed for Ford and Hali to dismay Carr into ‘coverage pressure.’ The disastrous mud bowl did not help Carr out, but stating the mud too much is a discount to Ford’s high motor.
High motor ought to define 2017 for Ford and the pass rush. Ford will be a key contributor to the Chiefs moving forward, and he needs to establish himself as a consistent counterpart nightmare to Hali and Derrick Johnson. Coming off a bye week spent ruminating over giving up 43 points, the defense played angry and passionate, yet smart and educated by the blowout. Anger pushed the Chiefs defense to become a nightmare. Combine nightmare defensive traits with smart, veteran play, and a steel curtain of their own is crafted.
The Chiefs needed a complete win, but more importantly, they needed to stay alive against the rival Raiders. Not only did they stay alive in week six, but they plundered the Raiders will to fight and set the course for the rest of the season.
