Kansas City Chiefs at St. Louis Rams recap: The Chiefs win the Missouri State Championship
It is an odd phenomenon to witness an NFL football game where the home field advantage may very well be in possession of the visiting team. Such was the case yesterday at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis where the fan base had to be 15% to 20% clad in red. While the Rams fans were louder when the Chiefs faced 3rd down, the Chiefs fans were quite raucous as well when the Rams faced 3rd down. By the end of the game St. Louis had transformed to East Kansas City as the Chiefs won the Governor's Cup 27-13 in front of all their fans who stayed until the very end. By that time the Rams fans were long gone. Then again the Chiefs have been playing out of Kansas City since 1963 while the Rams have been in St. Louis only since 1995. That might help explain the difference in the depth of passion from the teams respective fan bases. Who knows, I may have even converted my little brother, who is an admitted Rams fan, into rooting for the Chiefs a little too!
The game began all Rams as they kicked two field goals to take a 6-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. Meanwhile the Chiefs rolled up all of 29 yards of offense on their first three possessions that ended with two punts & an interception thrown by Matt Cassel. That may be understandable given that Cassel played in this NFL games barely ten days after laying on an operating table in the hospital enduring an emergency appendectomy.
Once the tide turned early in the second quarter it was pretty much all Chiefs the rest of the way. In that quarter, KC put together back to back drives of nine plays each. The first went for 61 yards & culminated with a two yard touchdown toss from Cassel to Tight End Leonard Pope. The second went 59 yards & was punctuated by a two yard scoring blast by Jamaal Charles. The two scores provided KC with a 14-6 halftime lead that they would never relinquish.
In the meantime the Chiefs defense was putting together an overwhelming mash down of the Rams offense. In the entirety of the 2nd & 3rd quarter, half an NFL game, the Rams gained only 22 yards in total on the Chiefs defense. They were forced to punt on eight consecutive possessions. By the time that string of offensive futility & defensive brilliance came to a stop the Chiefs had tacked on a couple of field goals for a commanding 20-6 lead.
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The Rams put together their best drive of the game midway through the fourth quarter as they went 72 yards on 12 plays & scored a touchdown on a five yard bolt by Steven Jackson to pull within seven at 20-13. They shunned the offsides kick & KC took possession at their own 18 with four minutes remaining. St. Louis crowded the box to try & force the Chiefs into a three & out so they could get the ball back with a chance to tie. KC had other ideas though as a nice play fake provided a little misdirection for Jamaal Charles who burst into the open field for an 80 yard sprint to the Rams two before being hauled down by Rams Cornerback Ron Bartell. Thomas Jones then banged it into the endzone to provide the final score.
Gardner's Grades:
Offense: B After a slow start the offense cranked it up & never looked back. Jamaal Charles led the way with 126 yards rushing on 11 carries & a touchdown. Thomas Jones added 62 yards & a touchdown to become only the twenty fifth player to rush for over 10,000 yards in an NFL career, & the first to do so with five different teams. Matt Cassel turned in an average performance going 15 of 29 for 184 yards with one touchdown & one interception, which is quite remarkable given where he was just ten days ago. KC rolled up 383 total yards of offense, 210 of that on the ground.
Defense: A This may have been this units most dominant effort of the season. Granted they had help from a Rams offense that committed penalties & dropped a few passes. In any event the pressure on Rams rookie sensation Sam Bradford was consistent & relentless during the last three quarters. They held the Rams to 224 yards of total offense & only 69 of that came in the all important ground game.
Special Teams: B Dexter McCluster nearly broke a punt return for a score but he crashed into one of his own teammates after bursting through a seam & tumbled to the turf. Ryan Succop made both of his field goal attempts from 53 & 38 yards. Dustin Colquitt hit six punts for an average of 47.5 yards & more importantly pinned the Rams inside the 20 three times.
Coaching: B Charlie Weis stuck to the offensive gameplan & it provided for a very slow start to the offense. Once they got it going they pretty much moved the ball at will. Sam Bradford & the Rams offense had success early on against the Chiefs defense. Then Romeo Crennel made a few in-game adjustments & the defense dominated the day. Todd Haley went for it again on 4th & one & converted it. He made one ill fated challenge on a Matt Cassel scramble that should have been saved for later in the game.
Looking ahead:
Kansas City now travels home to host the Tennessee Titans who beat the Houston Texans yesterday 31-17 led by Chris Johnson, Kerry Collins & Kenny Britt. They have no margin for error in this one, in my opinion, as it seems highly unlikely that the Chargers will lose to the Bengals. The Chiefs best, & probably only, chance of making the playoffs is to win their last two games at home. A loss in either game opens the door for San Diego to win the division. Odds are very solid that the Ravens & Jets will earn the AFC wildcard spots so that leaves only one spot for the AFC West. KC is favored next Sunday. Now let's see if this team on the rise can get it done in crunch time against a very dangerous opponent.
By Allan Gardner
ProFootball-fans.com Kansas City Chiefs Correspondent