Our Kansas City Chiefs finish their regular season schedule today against a Los Angeles Chargers team with nothing to play for and a vague, bleak future ahead of them. At the start of the season, this looked like it would be a big-time matchup with two legit Super Bowl contenders. What the hell happened?
Turnovers. A bunch of turnovers happened. Only six teams in football have fumbled more times this year than San Die-err, uhh, the Chargers. I will not apologize for liking that stupid joke too much. The NFL's top five worst totals for interceptions per team come from the Bucs, Panthers, Steelers, Browns and Chargers. The Steelers are using second-string and third-string QBs all season long. The Panthers have a 23 year-old backup QB in Kyle Allen that already started 12 games this season. And the Bucs have Jameis Winston. Add the struggling 24 year-old Baker Mayfield to this list and the weathered veteran Philip Rivers is a clear outlier.
Maybe it's reductive, but Rivers' lack of effectiveness this season really is their key issue. He's ruined his team's chances to be successful in a way that's only comparable to Jameis, Baker and a bunch of backups. That's a long way for an eight-time Pro Bowler to fall, especially when his team went 12-4 last year. It's a darn shame that L.A didn't plan ahead like a certain other team in their division and groom a talented young quarterback to take the reigns for them soon.
This is just another reminder that Patrick Mahomes is decades of Chiefs drafting mistakes corrected. Finally pulling the trigger on a quarterback early in the first round of the draft, and choosing that quarterback wisely, may have just led Chiefs Kingdom into a new decade of consistently contending for championships. Let's all remember and enjoy that today while Mahomes molly-whops these disheartened Chargers and finishes off the regular season in style.
Doug LaCerte writes last-second blog posts about local sports and neglects his Twitter and Facebook.
Sunday, December 29, 2019
Sunday, December 22, 2019
Expect Mahomes to Outplay Shaky Chicago Offense
On a clear, chilly night in Chicago, Chiefs Kingdom will watch on as their squad faces off with the Mediocrity of the Midway. Our Kansas City Chiefs paved their way to the playoffs already, and they're positioned to face a team with at least seven L's in the Wild Card round. If KC doesn't take care of business tonight, however, they could be forced into a tougher matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
Remember those preseason predictions that the Chiefs and Bears could meet in the Big Game? Well, Chicago and a young QB picked before Patrick Mahomes in his draft will enter this game with a .500 record and without playoff aspirations.
That QB shoulders a bunch of the blame for the Bears' problems this year because the defense looks playoff-worthy. Chicago ranks in the top ten in yards per game allowed, and only two teams in the league hold opponents to fewer points per game. Mitch Trubisky has certainly struggled, but he deserves credit for quietly becoming a competent scrambling QB. Let's keep a close eye on the ability of KC's defense to set the edge and keep Tru-Tru in the pocket. It could decide whether or not the Bears can make this game close. Actually, they're keeping almost all their games close; Chicago has only lost by more than a single possession two times this year. This is in large part to the Bears defense stuffing the run consistently.
Only three teams in football hold their opponents to a lower average on the ground, and only five teams limit the opposition to fewer rushing yards per game. Chicago's dominance of their opposition's rushing game throughout this season indicates that the Chiefs will struggle to control the clock and win the time of possession battle. KC has enough firepower to win this game seven times out of ten, but this inability to excel at old-school football may make this a tougher test than it seems at first glance. Let's not forget that the Chiefs also struggle to stop multipurpose weapons like Tarik Cohen.
It should be fun to see Mahomes find ways to pick apart one of the league's best defenses. Every game he plays is evidence that the Chiefs should score enough to stay out of reach of Chicago's struggling offense. Bears head coach and Andy Reid protege Matt Nagy should have his squad ready to rain on Reid's parade, but I expect our Chiefs to persevere at Soldier Field tonight.
Doug LaCerte writes about Kansas City sports and occasionally glances at Facebook and Twitter.
Remember those preseason predictions that the Chiefs and Bears could meet in the Big Game? Well, Chicago and a young QB picked before Patrick Mahomes in his draft will enter this game with a .500 record and without playoff aspirations.
That QB shoulders a bunch of the blame for the Bears' problems this year because the defense looks playoff-worthy. Chicago ranks in the top ten in yards per game allowed, and only two teams in the league hold opponents to fewer points per game. Mitch Trubisky has certainly struggled, but he deserves credit for quietly becoming a competent scrambling QB. Let's keep a close eye on the ability of KC's defense to set the edge and keep Tru-Tru in the pocket. It could decide whether or not the Bears can make this game close. Actually, they're keeping almost all their games close; Chicago has only lost by more than a single possession two times this year. This is in large part to the Bears defense stuffing the run consistently.
Only three teams in football hold their opponents to a lower average on the ground, and only five teams limit the opposition to fewer rushing yards per game. Chicago's dominance of their opposition's rushing game throughout this season indicates that the Chiefs will struggle to control the clock and win the time of possession battle. KC has enough firepower to win this game seven times out of ten, but this inability to excel at old-school football may make this a tougher test than it seems at first glance. Let's not forget that the Chiefs also struggle to stop multipurpose weapons like Tarik Cohen.
It should be fun to see Mahomes find ways to pick apart one of the league's best defenses. Every game he plays is evidence that the Chiefs should score enough to stay out of reach of Chicago's struggling offense. Bears head coach and Andy Reid protege Matt Nagy should have his squad ready to rain on Reid's parade, but I expect our Chiefs to persevere at Soldier Field tonight.
Doug LaCerte writes about Kansas City sports and occasionally glances at Facebook and Twitter.
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Can Drew Lock and Denver Play Spoilers at Snowy Arrowhead Stadium?
Beating up on the Pats in New England sure felt good, but now our Kansas City Chiefs return to Arrowhead to avoid the dreaded "trap game". The confidence for KC is riding high right now, and the 5-8 Denver Broncos are an objectively inferior squad this season, so does Chiefs Kingdom have any good reasons to fear this matchup?
Two key factors could make today's game closer than Chiefs fans would like. First off, the weather's going to be nasty. Local forecasts are now saying temperatures at the stadium will hover around freezing, and a blanket of snow already coats the field as of two hours before kickoff. KC's first-string running back Damien Williams is injured today, and the Chiefs struggle on the ground this year even when Damien's healthy, so perhaps this could cost them today. Patrick Mahomes' impressive-but-short resume would look great with a few more wins in inclement weather, but Denver would love to play spoiler in the snow today.
The other obvious difference between today's game and that 30-6 Chiefs win in mid-October is the Broncos' recent change at the sport's most important position. Drew Lock provides Denver with an inexperienced wild card at QB instead of a consistently sub-par option in Joey Flacco. Lock's effectiveness has led Denver to back-to-back wins over the Chargers and Texans in the Broncos' last two games. In these wins, Lock has a completion percentage over 72 with 441 passing yards and five touchdowns. Is it actually possible that Broncos GM John Elway finally found himself a QB that doesn't stink? Only time will tell.
Despite these two significant factors, KC should be victorious today, and I presume a large fraction of Chiefs Kingdom would be disappointed if Denver can even make it close. The Chiefs have found ways to win without a good run game all throughout this season, and as good as Lock may be, his best-case-scenario for today is still equivalent to an average game from Patrick Mahomes. KC may not sack Drew Lock 30 times like they did to Flacco, but they should pressure the rookie replacement enough to make him uncomfortable and force him to eat his first L ever as an NFL QB.
Doug LaCerte is now the proud father of a rescue puppy, so don't resent him for not updating his Twitter and Facebook.
Two key factors could make today's game closer than Chiefs fans would like. First off, the weather's going to be nasty. Local forecasts are now saying temperatures at the stadium will hover around freezing, and a blanket of snow already coats the field as of two hours before kickoff. KC's first-string running back Damien Williams is injured today, and the Chiefs struggle on the ground this year even when Damien's healthy, so perhaps this could cost them today. Patrick Mahomes' impressive-but-short resume would look great with a few more wins in inclement weather, but Denver would love to play spoiler in the snow today.
The other obvious difference between today's game and that 30-6 Chiefs win in mid-October is the Broncos' recent change at the sport's most important position. Drew Lock provides Denver with an inexperienced wild card at QB instead of a consistently sub-par option in Joey Flacco. Lock's effectiveness has led Denver to back-to-back wins over the Chargers and Texans in the Broncos' last two games. In these wins, Lock has a completion percentage over 72 with 441 passing yards and five touchdowns. Is it actually possible that Broncos GM John Elway finally found himself a QB that doesn't stink? Only time will tell.
Despite these two significant factors, KC should be victorious today, and I presume a large fraction of Chiefs Kingdom would be disappointed if Denver can even make it close. The Chiefs have found ways to win without a good run game all throughout this season, and as good as Lock may be, his best-case-scenario for today is still equivalent to an average game from Patrick Mahomes. KC may not sack Drew Lock 30 times like they did to Flacco, but they should pressure the rookie replacement enough to make him uncomfortable and force him to eat his first L ever as an NFL QB.
Doug LaCerte is now the proud father of a rescue puppy, so don't resent him for not updating his Twitter and Facebook.
Sunday, December 8, 2019
Can Patrick Put Specter of Pats' Success in KC's Past?
Chiefs Kingdom regards particular people from the Patriots dynasty as boogeymen of sorts, but that mentality is changing with the times. The things we fear about New England aren't a part of New England any more. The clock-killing Sony Michel is averaging a full yard less per carry this season compared to last. Tom Brady definitely isn't playing at a top-ten Hall of Fame QB level right now. Rob Gronkowski is done catching footballs and now spends his screen time making quips with Michael Strahan and Terry Bradshaw. However, while New England's 14th-best offense isn't very intimidating this year, the Pats defense certainly is. That same defense that's got a chance to set all-time records this season also helps the reigning champs dominate the turnover battle.
New England forces opponents into turnovers more often than any other team in football. That defense's 20 picks outnumbers every other team total by at least five. The Pats' +18 ratio is seven turnovers better than the second-best ratio in the league. Say what you will about Brady's ugly completion percentage in recent outings, but at least ole' Tom's wise enough to throw the ball into a crowd on the sideline instead of into the teeth of the defense. I will add, however, that Brady threw a pick in both of New England's losses.
Mahomes faces a huge test of his intelligence today. KC averages exactly 29 points per game, which makes the Chiefs the third highest-scoring team in the NFL. The Chiefs offense is undoubtedly good enough to outscore the Pats...if the turnover ratio is even, or if it favors KC. However, if you make mistakes against Brady and Belichick, it will result in the typical Patriots dominance. Patrick's ability to quickly read the defense and make critical decisions will decide who walks awake victorious after this memorable meeting.
The most recent notes about KC's injuries indicate that they may struggle with moving the ball on the ground and stopping the Pats from moving it through the air. This shouldn't take KC out of contention, though. The Chiefs will be missing two cornerbacks and two running backs, while the Pats listed only an offensive and defensive lineman each as officially out on their final report. I didn't expect to be praising KC's depth in the secondary this season, but I will, right now: KC has exhibited remarkable depth in the secondary this season. That should pay off today as New England's offense continues to under-perform against a crew of Chiefs safeties and CB's that continue to go underrated.
Sometimes, even in the game's biggest spotlights, football is still as simple as keeping a group of guys healthy and not turning the ball over. KC looks relatively healthy for this time of year, and the basic principal of ball safety remains crucial to their success, and our subsequent joy. That provides further evidence that our Chiefs are better than your average football team, and the Pats don't have a good track record when facing better-than-average teams in 2019.
There's a very clear relationship between good, mediocre and bad football teams and how the Patriots perform against them. The Pats dominate bottom-feeders, lose to legit playoff contenders and just scrape by against teams that are somewhere in betwen. New England won by at least two touchdowns against the Dolphins, Redskins, Giants, Steelers, Browns, the Jets and the Jets again. The Pats edged out the Bills 16-10 in Week 4 and snuck past the Cowboys 13-9 just before Thanksgiving. Brady's Boys lost comfortably to the Ravens 37-20, and Deshaun Watson's Texans beat New England last week 28-22. That's their whole schedule. Aside from maybe that Bills game, it's a pretty dang black-and-white description of crushing crappy teams and losing to good ones, right? Citizens of Chiefs Kingdom argue over many things, but we all know that KC is an objectively good football team right now. So, why by spooked by The Aging Wonder and that grumpy old Scrooge at Overpriced Razor Stadium?
Andy and Patrick are not intimidated by TB12, The Hoodie or the Foxborough faithful. I expect the Chiefs to win a thriller today and remind the country how good KC can be.
Doug LaCerte is too stressed about his Chiefs and his Christmas budget to update his Facebook or his Twitter.
New England forces opponents into turnovers more often than any other team in football. That defense's 20 picks outnumbers every other team total by at least five. The Pats' +18 ratio is seven turnovers better than the second-best ratio in the league. Say what you will about Brady's ugly completion percentage in recent outings, but at least ole' Tom's wise enough to throw the ball into a crowd on the sideline instead of into the teeth of the defense. I will add, however, that Brady threw a pick in both of New England's losses.
Mahomes faces a huge test of his intelligence today. KC averages exactly 29 points per game, which makes the Chiefs the third highest-scoring team in the NFL. The Chiefs offense is undoubtedly good enough to outscore the Pats...if the turnover ratio is even, or if it favors KC. However, if you make mistakes against Brady and Belichick, it will result in the typical Patriots dominance. Patrick's ability to quickly read the defense and make critical decisions will decide who walks awake victorious after this memorable meeting.
The most recent notes about KC's injuries indicate that they may struggle with moving the ball on the ground and stopping the Pats from moving it through the air. This shouldn't take KC out of contention, though. The Chiefs will be missing two cornerbacks and two running backs, while the Pats listed only an offensive and defensive lineman each as officially out on their final report. I didn't expect to be praising KC's depth in the secondary this season, but I will, right now: KC has exhibited remarkable depth in the secondary this season. That should pay off today as New England's offense continues to under-perform against a crew of Chiefs safeties and CB's that continue to go underrated.
Sometimes, even in the game's biggest spotlights, football is still as simple as keeping a group of guys healthy and not turning the ball over. KC looks relatively healthy for this time of year, and the basic principal of ball safety remains crucial to their success, and our subsequent joy. That provides further evidence that our Chiefs are better than your average football team, and the Pats don't have a good track record when facing better-than-average teams in 2019.
There's a very clear relationship between good, mediocre and bad football teams and how the Patriots perform against them. The Pats dominate bottom-feeders, lose to legit playoff contenders and just scrape by against teams that are somewhere in betwen. New England won by at least two touchdowns against the Dolphins, Redskins, Giants, Steelers, Browns, the Jets and the Jets again. The Pats edged out the Bills 16-10 in Week 4 and snuck past the Cowboys 13-9 just before Thanksgiving. Brady's Boys lost comfortably to the Ravens 37-20, and Deshaun Watson's Texans beat New England last week 28-22. That's their whole schedule. Aside from maybe that Bills game, it's a pretty dang black-and-white description of crushing crappy teams and losing to good ones, right? Citizens of Chiefs Kingdom argue over many things, but we all know that KC is an objectively good football team right now. So, why by spooked by The Aging Wonder and that grumpy old Scrooge at Overpriced Razor Stadium?
Andy and Patrick are not intimidated by TB12, The Hoodie or the Foxborough faithful. I expect the Chiefs to win a thriller today and remind the country how good KC can be.
Doug LaCerte is too stressed about his Chiefs and his Christmas budget to update his Facebook or his Twitter.
Sunday, December 1, 2019
Oakland Comes to KC With a Lot to Lose
Our Kansas City Chiefs get a chance to ensure their divisional supremacy today against an old rival with a lot to lose. The Oakland Raiders' desperation could be their biggest advantage this afternoon. Oakland's coming off a humiliating defeat at the hands of the New York Jets, and they still get a chance to draw even in the standings with their divisional rivals. More importantly, Oakland is one of four different 6-5 teams fighting for the AFC's final spot in the playoffs.
Pittsburgh is technically the front-runner right now, but they have legit teams left to play. The Steelers face the Browns at home today, travel to Arizona, then come back home to face the 8-3 Bills. Pittsburgh then finishes the regular season with consecutive road games against the Jets and the Ravens. My guess is the Steelers drop three of their last five and finish the season around 8-8. That means they'll be out of the Wild Card race by the end, which brings us back to Oakland.
The Raiders, of course, face off with our Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead in just moments. Oakland then meets the Titans and Jags in Oakland, then go on the road to face the Chargers and Broncos. The Tennessee Tannehills are a tough team to predict, but they're equally tough to beat in the trenches, which could limit Josh Jacobs and Oakland's effectiveness. I'll take the Titans to beat the Raiders and bring more dismay to Oakland, which always brings me great joy. A hungry Raiders squad should fare well against the sub-par Chargers and Broncos, so I expect them to finish the season around 9-7.
Thankfully for Raiders fans, the AFC stinks so much this year that 9-7 could be enough for the #6 playoff seed.
Tennessee plays the Colts, Raiders, Texans, Saints and Texans again. I'll assume they lose at least three of those games and drift away from playoff contention. The Colts have a seemingly easier path to that Wild Card seed, however. Indianapolis plays the Titans in Indy today, then they travel for two weeks to face the Bucs and Saints. The Colts then come home to play the Panthers, then finish the regular season in Jacksonville. Indianapolis only has a clear disadvantage in one of those games, so if they take care of business against teams they should beat, they'll be a six-loss or seven-loss team when the regular season comes to an end.
An injury to Damien Williams indicates that KC will need to find creative ways to control the clock today. Other than that, and the aforementioned reasons why the Raiders are desperate to win this one, the Chiefs have a decisive on-paper advantage. The Reid and Mahomes combination dominates the Raiders and any other opponent they face after an extra week of rest. Frank Clark looks more and more like the guy Chiefs Kingdom has been begging to see all season long. Everyone not named Damien is healthy and ready for action. After a shaky middle of the season for the Chiefs, I expect KC to get back to looking like a Super Bowl contender. Finishing another Raiders Week victoriously sounds like a solid first step in that direction.
Doug LaCerte writes about Kansas City sports while procrastinating his Christmas shopping and neglecting his Twitter and Facebook.
Pittsburgh is technically the front-runner right now, but they have legit teams left to play. The Steelers face the Browns at home today, travel to Arizona, then come back home to face the 8-3 Bills. Pittsburgh then finishes the regular season with consecutive road games against the Jets and the Ravens. My guess is the Steelers drop three of their last five and finish the season around 8-8. That means they'll be out of the Wild Card race by the end, which brings us back to Oakland.
The Raiders, of course, face off with our Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead in just moments. Oakland then meets the Titans and Jags in Oakland, then go on the road to face the Chargers and Broncos. The Tennessee Tannehills are a tough team to predict, but they're equally tough to beat in the trenches, which could limit Josh Jacobs and Oakland's effectiveness. I'll take the Titans to beat the Raiders and bring more dismay to Oakland, which always brings me great joy. A hungry Raiders squad should fare well against the sub-par Chargers and Broncos, so I expect them to finish the season around 9-7.
Thankfully for Raiders fans, the AFC stinks so much this year that 9-7 could be enough for the #6 playoff seed.
Tennessee plays the Colts, Raiders, Texans, Saints and Texans again. I'll assume they lose at least three of those games and drift away from playoff contention. The Colts have a seemingly easier path to that Wild Card seed, however. Indianapolis plays the Titans in Indy today, then they travel for two weeks to face the Bucs and Saints. The Colts then come home to play the Panthers, then finish the regular season in Jacksonville. Indianapolis only has a clear disadvantage in one of those games, so if they take care of business against teams they should beat, they'll be a six-loss or seven-loss team when the regular season comes to an end.
An injury to Damien Williams indicates that KC will need to find creative ways to control the clock today. Other than that, and the aforementioned reasons why the Raiders are desperate to win this one, the Chiefs have a decisive on-paper advantage. The Reid and Mahomes combination dominates the Raiders and any other opponent they face after an extra week of rest. Frank Clark looks more and more like the guy Chiefs Kingdom has been begging to see all season long. Everyone not named Damien is healthy and ready for action. After a shaky middle of the season for the Chiefs, I expect KC to get back to looking like a Super Bowl contender. Finishing another Raiders Week victoriously sounds like a solid first step in that direction.
Doug LaCerte writes about Kansas City sports while procrastinating his Christmas shopping and neglecting his Twitter and Facebook.
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