It’s a New Day as Chiefs Beat
Back Time and the Colts
by Laddie Morse | January 13, 2019
The Kansas City Chiefs flattened and deflated the Indianapolis Colts, 31-to-13, on Saturday afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium but more than that happened in the process. A much maligned Chiefs defense manhandled the Colts, the so-called “hottest team in football,” and only allowed one score as the franchise that had only played in one AFC Championship title game ever (a loss in Buffalo, following the 1993 season), is now hosting that game next weekend and giving themselves the chance to hold up the “Lamar Hunt Trophy” the name given to that game and award. The opportunity to go to the Super Bowl is in their grasp. Win one game… and their in. Wow, that’s special.
No More Curse Words
I don’t know if the score — which finished as a palindrome (same forwards and backwards)– holds some magical, mystical powers, but something has changed. As I mentioned, something else happened in this game. By winning, the Chiefs took care of… “it.” Some fans have talked a lot about it… while younger fans have only heard of it and were probably tired of hearing about it… in the meantime the current players didn’t want to acknowledge it… and the “it” is… The Curse. So many have believed that there was a curse holding the Chiefs back from playing in an AFC Championship a game named after the Chiefs owner, Lamar Hunt… but that’s over now. Kaput. Done. Some want to think it means more than that but it doesn’t. That strange thing is… whatever it was… is over now and this team, in this time… can get on with the business of winning their own way, creating their own legacy. Hopefully that’s an AFC Championship next Sunday.
A Defense on the Rise
The Chiefs would not be denied on Saturday. The offense had 433 total yards compared to the Colts 263 (and a lot of those yards came on their one late scoring drive). A real temperature gauge of what happened in this game is the Time of Possession, which the Chiefs won holding the ball for 39 minutes and 49 seconds compared to the Colts 20:11. Another clear cut barometer is the three straight 3-and-outs the Chiefs defense forced to begin the game, Better yet was that in the Colts first 9 possessions they had to Punt 7 times, missed a Field Goal once and Fumbled once. Add all that up and throw in a little — NO 3rd DOWN CONVERSIONS… soooo, can you say… GAME OVER. I really can’t say enough about the performance of the defense in this game and it’s as if Bob Sutton had dialed up exactly what was needed at every turn. The Chiefs defense has now allowed an average of 17.4 points per game in the Chiefs Home appearances during the regular season and playoffs.
Yes, I’m still hoping the Chiefs go with a new DC over the offseason, even if they win the Super Bowl. There have been too, too many lapses on the defensive side of the ball in the past two seasons to think anything else should happen. Andy Reid said in a postgame interview that no game ball was handed out but my game ball goes to the defense as a whole. Hat’s off to Dee Ford, Justin Houston, Chris Jones, Charvarius Ward, Kendall Fuller and the rest of the D. That’s 10 total points allowed in the past two games. Keep that up and the Lomabrid is within reach.
The defense lined up with Ford and Houston on the same side, on different side running stunts and causing penetration I dont think the Colts line had experienced all year… if ever. Chris Jones was walled off a lot in this game so how did he respond to that? He put his big old mits up and blocked one pass after another. I think he had three or four blocked passes. Derrick Nnadi had a great penetration and tackled a RB for a loss and K.C. native Xavier Williams was seen in the Colts backfield as well. Also, it could have been because the Chiefs D-line was causing Andrew Luck to hurry his passes but, the Chiefs D-backs had quite a number of passes defensed and knock downs. Every time you looked up, the defense was making a play. I haven’t wanted to watch the defense take the field this much since Derrick Thomas was hammering QBs in the 90s.
Seeing is Believing
Chiefs RB Damien Williams rushed for a 129 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. "They were on a roll, but we were on a roll too. They came to our house and we had to lay it down." pic.twitter.com/fAu1gGrz2W
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) January 13, 2019
Someone has to thank GM Brett Veach for the offseason signing of running back Damien Williams. Chiefs fans need to get to know who Damien WIlliams is and make sure they appreciate that he’s a Kansas City Chief. Since that other running back left town, DWill has been treated like an unwanted step-cousin staying overnight while his parents were off betting and boozing in Vegas. Williams deserves our undivided loyalty. He ran the ball 25 times for 129 yards while catching 5 passes for 25 yards. His running kept the Colts scratching their heads all afternoon wondering how they could tackle him. His stop and go ability caused havoc for Indy and they had no answer for him. Certainly not Marlon Mack, who ended up with 46 yards rushing. Welcome to Chiefs Kingdom Damien Williams. You’re Awesome and we’re glad you’re here!
Damien Williams too SHIFTY for the first score of the game 😳 pic.twitter.com/6eVBdIlh4p
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) January 12, 2019
There’s No Place Like Mahomes…
There’s No Place Like Mahomes…
There’s No Place Like Mahomes
The first time jitters in the playoffs never materialized for our first time QB. Patrick Mahomes continues to elevate his game and make plays that we’re only used to seeing ten-year veterans making. We (me) need to stop being amazed that he could make some of the plays he is able to make. In this game he made a side-arm throw around a defender being blocked and when you look at the play from another angle you can see that he CAN’T see exactly where he was throwing the ball, which was a completion to TE Travis Kelce. I’m amazed so often now that… the thing that amazes me most is that he plays for our Kansas City Chiefs. About that… I am stoked! And they tell me 10-to-15 years of bliss is just ahead because of him.
Patrick Mahomes side arm slingin' pic.twitter.com/vTv5vjqL2x
— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) January 12, 2019
I can’t wait to hear from you and get your thoughts on the game. I will leave you with this:
Patrick Mahomes has had no trouble with Cover-2 or Cover-3 this year. In fact, he's put up historic numbers against them.https://t.co/TSYNvUQ1dk pic.twitter.com/ayziVrJtoM
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) January 11, 2019
Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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