It Could be a Long Season… Episode 6.

Victory!

The Bengals came to Kansas City today and got mauled by my beloved Chiefs. The defense looked pretty good, consistently getting good pressure on Carson Palmer, with obviously positive results… only 1/11 on third down, with the one conversion coming against weak prevent defense late in the fourth quarter… two interceptions… holding their explosive offense to 20 points. I certainly question why Gunther and Herm abandoned the blitz late, as the Bengals moved the ball at will against the prevent defense (Palmer had WAY too much time to pick us apart)… but the game was pretty much decided at that point, so I can’t fault them TOO much.

As for the offense? Well… what can you say about Tony Gonzalez? Two touchdowns, breaking the NFL record for tight ends… he’s been a mainstay of the Chiefs offense for years, and no doubt will one day be a Hall of Fame member. Huard looked like his normal self… decent, but not spectacular. And Larry Johnson? Well… he finally broke loose with a few big runs, but tempered those with several boneheaded plays, the biggest of which, his failure to protect the ball on a sure TD run in the second quarter. Stripped at the one yard line and turning the ball over to the Bengals, the play could have really killed the Chiefs. Throw in a dumb delay of game penalty with 4:00 left in the fourth and the Bengals clinging to faint hopes, stopping the clock and forcing us to punt from deep in our own end zone… well, again… it could have cost us dearly. Blocking continues to be one of his weak points, as a missed block on a blitz nearly resulted in Huard’s beheading.

Anyway, we’re now 3-3 on the year… tied in the win column for the division lead. With Oakland (yes, Oakland), leading the division by a half game (due to the bye week), next week’s game looms large.

Who knows what could happen yet this year? The Chiefs look spectacular at times, and horrific at others. Two things are for certain… the defense will keep us in a lot of games… and the running game still needs help. It’s a recipe for uncertainty… and a long season.