Wow, I can hardly describe in words the great feeling I have after getting this win!!! What a great game and a HUGE, repeat HUGE, win for the Chiefs. Not only for this season, but for the future of Todd Haley, Matt Cassel, and the franchise. More on that later.
As always let's start with the good from this game.
-Jamal Charles - The first play of the game Jamal Charles takes a kickoff back 97 yards for the touchdown and a 7-0 lead. Charles took the kickoff, hit the hole, broke two tackles then accelerated away from the rest of the Steelers. The Chiefs may have a legitimate budding star on their hands. With each big play Charles gets he will get more and more confidence and will become more and more dangerous. Not only did he have that good play, but he ran the bell effectively. His stats don't jump out at you, but he was good enough to keep the Steelers honest and allow the pass to succeed. He is also a much better blocker than LJ was. I am excited for the future of Jamal Charles.
-Chris Chambers and Lance Long- These two have done nothing but play solidly well and make big plays since they have been a part of this team for the last month. Chambers finally allows us to stretch the field and I am definitely developing a man-crush on Lance Long. He is the Chiefs version of Wes Welker, he goes over the middle, makes the tough catch, has good hands, and can run well with the ball when he has it. Long only made one of the biggest plays of the game catching a 30 yarder over the middle from Cassel on 3rd and 9 on the Chiefs game tying touchdown drive. Cassel made a perfect throw and Long made a tough catch to keep the drive alive.
Chambers decided to equal that big play, not once but twice. On the very same game tying touchdown drive Chambers made a leaping 47 yard grab to put the Chiefs into the red and allowed them to score. As if that wasn't enough, Chamber's grabbed a drag route from Matt Cassel on 3rd down in overtime and sprinted 61 yards down to inside the ten yard line setting up Ryan Succop's game winning 22 yard field goal.
Both players were discarded by their old teams and have found new life in KC. Sometimes that's all somebody needs, a change of scenery and a chance and look what can happen. Chambers has changed the dynamic of the Chiefs offense because now that they have the ability to stretch the field teams can't stack the box and rush the passer as much so Cassel has more time in the pocket, and it has allowed the offense to obtain more success.
-Matt Cassel - So I have been undecided on Cassel so far this season. I know he has talent and could be a good leader, but I just hadn't seen what I needed to see to be converted. This game may just have done it. You have to give it to Cassel, he has been running for his life all season and has just kept on chugging. He hasn't complained to the media, hasn't called out his teammates or his coaches, like a good leader he has just kept his head down and kept trying to make plays. He got off to a slow start early in the game only completing 4 passes in the first half, but he woke up in the second half and made some great throws. He had a great throw to Bobby Wade early in the game off his back foot, fitting it into a window. He had an amazing throw to Lance Long on the game tying drive, putting perfect touch on the pass and fitting right into the bread basket. He had another great throw to Chambers on that drive to get them into the red zone and then made the throw to Charles (on a great play call) for the game tying touchdown. He also made a good play scrambling and finding a wide open Leonard Pope for a 21 yard touchdown.
What this has shown me is that, when given the time and the receivers, Cassel can make the throws and make the plays. However, more importantly he has shown he can be the leader you need your quarterback to be. Even a player that doesn't have the skills of a Peyton Manning, can be just as valuable if he can lead and his teammates are with him. Cassel took control of this team today and it is now his and this will only amount to good things in the future for him and the Chiefs.
-Andy Studabaker - Here is a kid who came from a D-III school, never started a game in his career, and has the "brave little toaster" "little engine that could" mojo working for him. As Mike Vrabel is hurt, Studabaker got the start and boy did he take advantage. Studabaker came up with two HUGE interceptions, including one in the endzone to stop a possible scoring drive, and returning it 94 yards to inside the 10 yard line. He also added 6 tackles to his total. This shows the Chiefs now have good depth behind Vrabel and possibly someone they could groom into his replacement.
-The defense/defensive line - The defensive stats won't show it, but they are playing better. The have moved from a broken D to a bend but don't break (at least all the time) D. That's an improvement in my book. They are gelling together as a unit and the D-line is playing very well and will be a strength of this team going forward. Glenn Dorsey will be a stud, T-Jack showed up again and blocked a pass, he will mature and be very good, and with Alex Magee, Ron Edwards, and Wallace Gillberry rotating in, it should make a for a formidable line with good depth.
Tamba Hali gets either double teamed or held on every play and is playing out of his mind. He is having a pro bowl season but the stats won't show it and people won't be talking about it. He is the best defensive player we have and is coming into his own. If we can get another legitimate pass rusher, this D will come together.
Let's also talk about Brandon Flowers. Do you hear his name all that much? Me either...and that's a good thing. Flowers is not making many mistakes, not getting burned all that often, and teams are not throwing his way all that much. Given a team that can consistently apply pressure and he's a pro bowler.
There are also, seemingly, a lot more holding penalties going against the Chiefs, which shows me that we are getting more pressure on the QB and causing offenses to respect our pass rush more. Again, this bode's well for the future.
-Plays that will go unrecognized - Chris Chambers, on 2 seperate occaisions, was able to break up an interception at two huge points in the game. Well done, Chris.
-Todd Haley - Say what you will about his play calling so far this season, but he made some great playcalls today and orchestrated a great game tying drive. Starting with the end of the Jacksonville game, Haley has slowly started to win this team and make it "his" finally. This was a monumental win for Haley, the team will start to come around now. If the Chiefs can pull a couple more wins together and have a solid second half of the season, they will have some good mojo going into to next season.
-Most important, the Chiefs had many chances to fold and/or lose, but they kept their composure (thanks to Cassel) and found a way to win. This was not the "same old story," and every time you thought "here we go again," the Chiefs would come up with a big play. This is the kind of win you need to stop a losing culture, a team needs to know they can win and compete with a good team, and this is what this game showed.
Now that was a lot more positive than usual, but there are still some negative that I will have to point out.
-The defense - Even though they are playing better they are still allowing to many yards. Especially passing. The run defense is getting better, but the secondary still continues to allow over 300 yards a game. I feel this is a scheme issue, the cornerbacks are giving entirely too much cushion for the NFL. I think Clancy Prendergast either needs to be fired or demoted and Romeo Crennel needs to be hired as he had an entire year to recuperate from hip surgery. I am excited for this possible hire.
-The offensive line is starting to get better at run blocking but they still cannot get Cassel the time he needs. They are getting better and Cassel is showing what he can do with some time, but overall, they need to do better.
-Too many receivers and tight ends running wide open on long developing drag routes and flare outs. This is another scheme issue that needs to be solved.
Final Thoughts:
This game was absolutely HUGE. I still don't think this season will amount to much but they will use this game to build some good mojo and good momentum going into next season. This was a huge game allowing Haley and Cassel to fully assert that this is now their team. There was nothing better than to see all the disheartened Steeler fans after this game (and their were a lot of them). Cassel showed good leadership and the team showed good moxie to be able to come back twice and get the game into overtime, then hold them, get the ball and score to win the game. When the Chiefs make a run at the 2011 Super Bowl, it will be this game that turned it around this franchise. I DO NOT wanna cry, and will enjoy this victory for a while.
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