Shocking The Chargers
As I sit here reflecting on the week 1 game versus the division rival San Diego Chargers and reading some of the articles around the web, I am cautiously optimistic about the season ahead of us.
So many clichés come to mind after watching that game – “you have to play the full 60 minutes”, “ On Any Given Sunday”, “ It’s Not Over Until It’s Over”, “Playing Not To Lose”, and “It Comes Down To Which Team Wants It More”. I think we may have seen them all (any probably a lot more) in the game.
Pre-Game
Prior to the game, the Kansas City Chiefs were favored, rightfully so. Playing at home after an off season of improving the roster of an 11-5 team. San Diego had a lot more work to do on their roster and was on the road. Granted, they have Phillip Rivers, but he does seem to need the Heimlich maneuver at Arrowhead a lot.
Kickoff
It seems that pretty much from the kickoff until early in the third quarter the Chargers were on top. They were marching the ball down the field and scoring touchdowns. Meanwhile, we were struggling to get anything going after an early field goal. From the 11:59 remaining mark in the first quarter until the 2:47 remaining mark in the third quarter, we were held scoreless (that’s 39:12 of game time – wow). Not only were we scoreless, but the closest we got was the San Diego 45 yard line. We went into the half down 21-3. It wasn’t as many expected. This is not to say that a complete blowout was what everyone was calling, quite the contrary. It was supposed to be a KC win that was hard fought with the Chargers putting up a good fight.
Halftime
Coming out of the half was not much better, or so it seemed. Although we didn’t score for 12:13 seconds into the quarter, the defense started putting up a fight. First, they held the Chargers to a punt and then a field goal (now down 24-3). At this point, I was feeling like this was going to be a long and disappointing season if we continue to play this way. Another lost year. Another mid to lower mid draft pick. We have been there so many times that it gets to feel familiar.
And then, with 6:02 left in the third quarter, the Chiefs start a drive. Smith to Ware for 45 yards. The team never looked back after that pass. Everyone was making plays on offense. Maclin, Kelce, Ware, West, Smith, Hill, Conley, and even Harris. Smith spread the ball around and Ware made Te’O look silly.
It was unbelievable. I mean literally unbelievable. We hadn’t ever seen a team come back from this kind of deficit, so the doubt was still there. When were we going to make the mistake? When were the refs going to make the bad call? When was the ball going to bounce the wrong way? I am sure many of us were just waiting for it.
-I like to call this one, “Fording the Rivers”
Instead, score tied with 0:53 left, some guy named Ford brought down Rivers. Sack for a loss of 10. They couldn’t convert from 2-20, so they punted. We were going to OT? Well, there is still time for a disappointing loss. After all the excitement of getting to the point, my heart had stopped.
OT
First thing for overtime is the coin toss (I swear we could lose calling heads with a double headed coin). I am sure many of us were waiting for the inevitable loss of the coin toss, followed by Rivers finding the open man for a 75-yard walk-off touchdown. Instead, we won the toss. The ensuing kickoff not only wasn’t botched, but we picked up 5 extra yards on a San Diego mental mistake.
I think it was right about this point that I finally started to believe we were going to win the game. I had seen the team come back from down 21. Seen Dee Ford make a sack when it was really meaningful. Seen Ware bust 100 yards receiving in a game. Seen Alex Smith lead an important comeback. Yet, I was still waiting for the snatching of defeat from the jaws of victory. (Until the coin toss, that is.) When I realized we had won the toss, fielded the kickoff without making a mistake, and picked up a few more yards on a Charge penalty, my heart started beating again.
The offense takes the ball at their own 30 and I was wondering if Andy Reid was going to stick with what had been working or risk changing it up. Apparently, he decided to listen to the voice in his headset instead of his head. He let Ware pick up 41 of the needed 70 yards. (Good job Andy) Kelce pitched in with 23 yards on 2 key plays to extend the drive. And good ‘ol AS11 made up the other 7 (Wilson lost 1 along the way) with a 2-yard end zone dive for the win. The team looked jacked. I was jacked. My son was jacked.
Game Over
It was tough fought. It didn’t go the way we thought, but ended up where we thought. I have to give the Chargers some additional respect. They played better than I thought they would and really took it to us in the first half plus.
All is well in the Nation. Chiefs are top of the AFC West (we have an actual division win to break the tie over Oakland and Denver, sorry guys). I can sleep well tonight and not dread the highs and lows of the remaining season for another week.
I am rather excited by what we can do with Ware/Charles/West in the backfield. Or, better yet, split wide. Can you imagine trotting Ware, West, and Charles out as RBs, only to break the huddle and send Kelce, Ware, and Charles as trips wide with Maclin on the other side and West in the backfield on a first down at a critical time in a game? I doubt a Defensive Coordinator would be thinking to send out a dime package and, if they did, then you’ve got 3 RBs to try and create a mismatch rushing. Anyway, I will continue to dream of what this team is capable of doing and wait for it to happen live and in HD.
What do you guys think of this game? Did it go like you thought? Did you ride the roller coaster? Were you happy Andy “Hey Kool Aid” Reid didn’t do his usual end of game ritual?
And there’s The Rub!