Chiefs Shock and Awe: Zero, Two, Eleven and 9:32

Chiefs Shock and Awe: Zero, 2, 11 and 9:32 – it was the best of times… and… it was the best of times. I just said that twice because it bares repeating when talking about the Kansas City Chiefs jolting victory over their arch rival, the Oakland Raiders on Sunday in Arrowhead Stadium. The distinctive aspects of this Chiefs performance are best revealed through the numbers they produced, although I’m not strictly a numbers-guy… necessarily. So, let’s examine what happened in this game that hopefully becomes a trend.

The Number Zero

To fully appreciate the Chiefs committing zero penalties in this game versus the Raiders, you must first understand who, or what, they had become this season, as well as last season, in the Penalties department. In 2018, the Kansas City Chiefs led the National Football League in Penalties with and 8.2 average penalties per game (ranked 32nd). What may give that dastardly number some perspective it that no other team in the league last year averaged 8.0 penalties or above… and… 19 teams in the league averaged below 7.0 penalties per game. For 2018, as far as penalties are concerned, the Chiefs weren’t just bad, they were epically bad.

This season, 2019, the Chiefs have been improving but not until Sunday’s game, have things looked truly hopeful. Prior to Sunday’s contest versus the Raiders, the Chiefs were the 15th worst team in the league in penalties per game at 7.1 ppg, but by laying a happy goose egg in this department on Sunday, jumped up to the 8th best team in the NFL in committing penalties.

It’s a significant enough jump that the Chiefs players recognized the impact in after the game interviews. Here’s Travis Kelce:

“Nonstop focus on the little things. It’s the best feeling in the world, to come away knowing that all the small things that coaches harp [on], especially when it’s something that we haven’t been necessarily perfect at throughout the season, we come away with a win the way we’re supposed to.”

If a team wants to really control their own destiny, as the playoffs approach, minimizing the plays that can hurt your own team will be crucial. It’s probably the most shocked I’ve been this season, seeing, “The Nothing”… in the Penalties Department.

The Number Two

We’re talking Punts here. The Chiefs were forced to Punt the ball 6 times in their game against the Chargers two weeks ago. That’s all about Offensive Efficiency. In the Game three weeks ago against the Titans, a loss, the Chiefs offense produced: a Punt, a Fumble (resulting in a TD for the Titans), turning the over on Downs, and a Blocked Field Goal. Not to mention that four of the Chiefs drives in that game ended in a Field Goal instead of a TD.

That’s been one of my big gripes for the past few years (the Andy era), is that the offense doesn’t finish drives by reaching the end zone, more than they do. In the game against the Packers, a loss, the Chiefs offense produced 3 Punts, a Missed Field Goal, and a Fumble.

On Sunday, the Chiefs offense Punted two times. Two. An average of one Punt per half. Anytime a team can limit the amount of times they are Punting to two in a game… they’re probably winning that game…. and the Chiefs did just that. It’s a really good sign moving forward. Especially since the Chiefs offense has been sputtering as of late.

The Number Eleven

Prior to the game on Sunday, Chiefs running back Darwin Thompson, aka, DTrain… aka, The Termite… aka, Mighty Mouse (actually no one is calling him that except me)… well, rookie Mr. Thompson had only 5 carries on the season.  However, even though HC Reid and OC Beiniemy may have been planning on giving DTrain some carries, it looks like it was fortuitous because running backs: Damien Williams was inactive, Darrel Williams was out with a Hammy, and LeSean McCoy needed resting. So, “The Termite” (as Mitch Holthus calls him) stepped in and flexed a little of his little muscles… which as it turns out, are considerable. Turns out, Darwin’s carries were a “load management” issue.

Coaches had indicated they liked his work ethic and practice energy prior throughout the year, but once Darwin got his chance to shine, he flipped the switch like Heidi Gardner (she was the celebrity who flipped the switch to turn on the Plaza Light this year on Thanksgiving evening).

Thompson gained 44 yards on 11 (eleven) carries and not only scored a TD but showed coaches and fans that he could be relied upon between the tackles, or outside, and his penchant for refusing to go down was Kareem Hunt-esk. His excellent performance was good news heaped upon good news (blowing out the Raiders). It may make the job of drafting that much easier in the Spring too, if Brett Veach doesn’t have to think about drafting a RB.

The Numbers 9:32

These numbers are related indelibly to the number eleven as Darwin Thompson’s running ability meant everything to the Chiefs ability to sustain a long and clock devouring nine minute and 32 second drive bringing an arctic blast down upon any hopes the Raiders may have had for coming back in this game, or even making it respectable.

A long sustained 4th quarter drive has not been in the Chiefs lexicon (vocabulary) for, let’s see… forever. Can you imagine what a player like Darwin Thompson could have meant to a game like the Patriots game last October when the Chiefs got the ball with 3:15 left on the clock and needing only to drive the field and score a Field Goal for a victory? Now, I must admit, part of the problem there was Andy Reid because he had Kareem Hunt on his roster at the time but he called a play that had Patrick Mahomes throwing a 75 yard TD pass to Tyreek Hill and as exciting as that was, it meant the Chiefs had to rely upon their unreliable defense to get a stop to secure that game, and we all know how that worked out.

On Sunday, Patrick Mahomes handed the ball to Darwin Thompson 11 times in a 14-play drive lapsing nine minutes and 32 seconds. That’s astounding. If the Chiefs can, and will, use a player like Darwin Thompson to pick up some critical 1st downs on the ground and eat the clock like high schoolers eat pizza… it will make the Chiefs offense one that can “control their destiny” moving into the most important time of the year.

Now, I would expect Andy Reid to hide his new found switchblade swiss army knife and not overuse him but pull him out at the right times… but it will be incredible just knowing that Reid has such a weapon in his back pocket. I just wish Andy Reid was more like the mean kid I grew up down the street from who would pull out his switchblade any time he felt like sending the neighbor kids high tailing it.

There you have it… the Chiefs win the numbers game in this contest but more importantly, pile on some numbers that may end up making this season one to truly remember, when all is said and done.

Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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