Categories: Kansas City ChiefsPaul Pulley

Chiefs: Ravens Rewind, Chargers Challenge and Berry’s Back?

Chiefs: Ravens Rewind, Chargers

Challenge and Berry’s Back?

by Paul Pulley | December 13, 2018, Game Day

Before charging on to the Chargers… one last look at the Raven’s… playoff prospects… & why I’m very wary of Berry.

A Ravens Rewind

The Baltimore Ravens came to Arrowhead and it took the Kansas City Chiefs a last minute 4th quarter drive for a touchdown, and then a field goal in overtime, to put another notch in the win column. The Ravens rushed for 198 yards because for too much of the game, Chiefs defensive coordinator, Bob Sutton, played nickel defense against a team that could barely pass the ball.

In the second quarter, the Ravens had a 75 yard drive that took only 8 plays, and they never passed the ball.

Fortunately, some individual players on defense stepped up and made some really good plays. Justin Houston made several good plays, including the strip sack and fumble recovery that should have won the game in regulation.

I thought the cornerbacks, especially Kendall Fuller had good games. I couldn’t believe that Raven’s QB Lamar Jackson kept throwing passes to guys that Fuller was covering, but that just showed Jackson’s inexperience. Other than the dropped (almost) interception, Scandrick had a decent game as did Stevie Nelson.

The defensive line did a good job once Sutton finally figured out that the Ravens were going to run the ball (which the rest of the football world knew weeks ago) and left three D-linemen in the game.

The ILB’s, Hitchens and Ragland led the team in tackles, but their play continues to leave a lot to be desired. Ragland is just too slow to be much use in today’s NFL and although he is under contract through 2019, there is no guaranteed money and I hope Veach is able to find an upgrade.

Even without Eric Murray on the field much, safety play continues to be a liability. Ron Parker is a wasted roster spot, he can’t even be bothered to touch a guy already on the ground to keep him from gaining extra yards, pathetic. Ok, I’ll stop harping on the safeties, everyone knows that I think they are by far the weakest part of the Chiefs Roster.

A win is a win, no matter how we got there.

The Chargers Challenge

On to the Chargers! With just a few short days to prepare for a Thursday night contest against the Los Angeles Chargers in Arrowhead, the Chiefs medical and training staff are going to need to work overtime trying to get players healthy enough to secure another victory. This game is once again shaping up to be another huge game for both teams.

The Chargers come into Arrowhead winning their last three straight games. Two of those wins were in Los Angeles against two bad teams in the Arizona Cardinals and the Cincinnati Bengals. I didn’t see the Bengals game Sunday, but the Chargers seemed to have trouble defeating a team with the worst defense in the league (yes, Cincinnati’s defense is actually worse than the Chiefs), playing without their starting QB and best wide receiver. I did see the game played the week before versus the Pittsburgh Steelers (who seem to be faltering) and I thought the Chargers were very lucky to have left Pittsburgh with a victory.

It also looks like as of right now (Tuesday morning), both Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler, the Chargers top two running backs, could miss this game Thursday. The Chargers do have a rookie RB, Justin Jackson, that looked pretty good when he played in the Pittsburgh game. This means that the Chargers QB Philip Rivers might be passing the ball early and often in this game and we could be in store for another shootout, but honestly, I think that benefits the Chiefs.

The Chargers do have a stout defense, not as good as Baltimore’s, but good none the less and the Chiefs offensive line is going to need to play a little better game than they had Sunday versus the Ravens. Once again, I believe we will have to rely on Patrick Mahomes arm and inventiveness to bring home victory number 12.

Those Playoff Possibilities

A Chiefs win Thursday night will give the team it’s third straight AFC West Championship and a first round bye in the playoffs. If the Steelers can defeat the New England Patriots Sunday in Pittsburgh, the Chiefs would have home field advantage locked up and could give some aching players some much needed rest prior to the postseason, but first things first, a win against the Chargers has to be accomplished before anything else.

Oh, and Eric Berry’s Back?

So apparently, Berry is now officially past “day to day.” I’m not so sure that this Berry fiasco isn’t a bigger travesty than the Kareem Hunt situation (not really, but I’m past tired of it). If the Chiefs had a safety on the active roster that would actually make the roster of any other team, I personally wouldn’t care if Berry came back or not, but assuming he will be healthy enough to play (Berry really needs to take toughness lessons from Tyreek Hill), he has to improve the defensive backfield.

Eric Berry, as injury prone as he is (a guy that has missed almost 40% of the games since he was drafted has to be considered injury prone), will improve the play of the DB’s. I do believe Berry has been and will probably continue to be a very good player, but he is just a bad business investment and I think it’s time to move on, but that idea is for a later date.

Well, I’m planning to pop the top on one or two later this evening, so here’s to a Kansas City victory Thursday night:

Chiefs 41, Chargers 30

Paul Pulley – ArrowheadOne

If you are viewing this in Apple News and would like to join the Discussion, [GO HERE.](http://arrowheadone.com/chiefs-ravens-rewind-chargers-challenge-and-berrys-back/#disqus_thread)

LadnerMorse