How Did the O-Line Reserves Look in Game One

The O-line then went on a series of good plays. First a run, then a nice pass to Amaro that was called back for offensive pass interference. Another run and then another pass to Amaro. Once again a run and then a pass to Williams that should have drawn a flag on the defensive player for leading with the helmet. Last was a pass for no gain that brought the 3rd quarter to an end.

The 4th quarter began with a field goal that made the score 17-10 Texans.

After the Texans went for it on 4th down and linebacker Ben Niemann made his play of the game, the offense took possession of the ball just inside their own 4 yard line with 9:33 left in the game.

The OL on this drive was LT Bentley Spain, LG Ethan Cooper (Cooper was signed off waivers two days before the game), C Ryan Hunter, RG Kahlil McKenzie and RT Andrew Wylie. The quarterback was Chase Litton and the RB was Darrel Williams.

1st down was a run, the line got decent push but it was only a two yard gain. 2nd down was a QB keeper, a good fake by Litton but TE Alex Ellis missed his block. On 3rd and 8, Spain was beaten and pushed all the way back into the end zone. All three interior linemen did a good job picking up stunts. The pass was complete for a 10 yard gain.

1st down was a run with Cooper pulling, the OL did well for a 6 yard gain. 2nd down was another running play with Spain pulling. Hunter got pushed back initially but recovered and the result was a 1st down.

1st down was a fake run, Cooper pulled and got blown up in the hole and left the game hurt. Spain missed his block completely and it looked like the pass was tipped. Devey came in for Cooper on 2nd down. This was a quick pass to Williams, Spain was beat on a speed rush by LB 48 again. McKenzie got shoved back but didn’t lose control, and the play went for 7 yards. 3rd down was another quick pass to Williams for a nice gain, Houston rushed 5 but the OL held up very well.

1st down was an incomplete pass but the OL gave good protection. 2nd down was a run, Cooper pulled but looked like he took a wrong path, probably because Ellis did a poor job blocking, but it was still a nice gain. 3rd down was a pass, it was a 4 man rush and Litton had very good protection. it was a 12 yard gain to Ellis, who is a lot better receiver than blocker.

On 1st down Litton had a clean pocket but the pass was incomplete, probably should have been PI called. On 2nd down both McKenzie and TE Ellis pulled. McKenzie got a pancake on a LB, it was about a 12 yard run but negated because of an illegal formation call on WR Jordan Smallwood. On 2nd and 15 McKenzie lost position but his man was picked up by Hunter. Wylie was beaten late but the OL gave Litton enough for a completed pass to WR Byron Pringle for a first down. 

On 1st down both tackles attempted cut blocks, it was effective enough for a quick 3 yard pass to Ellis. Spain was beaten by a speed rush on 2nd down and the pass was dropped. On 3rd and 7, Spain was beat on an inside move by the LB but Litton was able to scramble for the first down.

The OL gave Litton a good enough pocket to complete an 11 yard pass to Ellis. This brought us to the 2 minute warning.

After the 2 minute warning the Chiefs had 1st and goal at the 10. The first play was an end around by WR Daniel Braverman for about 5 yards. 2nd down was an incomplete pass, Spain continued to struggle at LT but pass interference was called in the end zone which gave KC 1st and goal at the 1.

1st down was a run play, this is the play that I thought Litton turned the wrong way but it looked to be a bad snap that forced the QB to reach to his right to catch the ball. McKenzie pulled but missed his block, Ellis did a poor job blocking, Hunter got shoved back. Other than Wylie, this was a very poor job by the rest of the OL and TE. 2nd down was another run, the OL got no push at all and the defense won this play for a loss of 2. 3rd down was a jumbo set with Devey lined up just outside of the LT, McKenzie pulled and did a nice job picking up his assignment but Hunter lost immediately and Litton was flushed from the pocket and made an errant throw. 4th and goal resulted in an incomplete pass to Ellis, the protection was good enough but Spain got completely pancaked by Texans number 94. 

After a 93 yard drive that consumed 9 minutes and 19 seconds off the play clock, the Chiefs failed to punch the ball in for a TD and the game ended with a Texan QB keeper.

I thought Wylie looked good at both tackle positions. Ehinger looked good at RT. Witzmann still looks weak to me. Devey is still an average journeyman OL with no upside. Hunter needs a full season in the weight room, he just doesn’t have the strength to handle larger DTs, maybe KC stashes him on the practice squad. McKenzie looked surprisingly good, he had a few bad plays but looks like he is learning quickly. Murray got hurt and we didn’t see much of him. Cooper was only on the team for 2 days, so we will need to see how he does Friday. I can’t imagine Spain making the team after what we saw this game.