It Could be a Long Season… Episode 3

Well, my beloved Kansas City Chiefs managed to pull out a victory today versus the Minnesota Vikings, bringing their record to 1-2, tied with the San Diego Chargers, amazingly enough.

Let’s just say today’s win was a lesson in winning ugly… the running game was absolutely stuffed (imagine that, when opposing teams continue to put 8 or 9 defenders on the line of scrimmage), and Chiefs offensive coaches didn’t catch on until the third quarter that it might be a good idea to pull out the downfield passing game (against one of the worst pass defenses in the league). Thankfully, it wasn’t too late… stretching the field with the pass saved the day. Tony Gonzales looked great with 7 catches for 97 yards, and Dwayne Bowe continues to improve, hauling in his second TD of the season (and the Chiefs second offensive TD) on a jumpball situation in the corner of the endzone. Their performance gives hope for the rest of the year… I can’t wait to see what happens once Eddie Kennison re-enters the lineup and we have a triple threat in the passing game for the first time in a while.

It still could be a long season, of course… I haven’t seen much tendency for Chiefs coaches to open things up, so 13-10 games may become the norm. If that’s the case, even the wins could be tough to watch. I never thought I’d say it, but I’m longing for the days of Dick Vermeil again. How nice was it to have an offense that could seemingly score at will? No matter how far behind we fell, it always seemed there was still hope for a victory.

The play of the game? Neither of Jared Allen’s sacks… not the Jared Allen forced fumble… not even Dwayne Bowe’s touchdown catch. The play of the game belongs to KC Wolf, who assisted security personnel in tackling a drunk fan on the field. Great form… great pursuit… I’m thinking he needs to join the Chiefs defense!

Anyway… the next three weeks will be interesting… San Diego on the road (which, realistically, you can pretty much write off as a loss), then Jacksonville and Cincinnati at home. With the Raiders up after that, we could be anything from 4-3 to 2-5 going into the bye week. I’m hoping the former, but only time will tell.