Kansas City Chiefs at Seattle Seahawks recap: Chiefs run away with a road win
It isn't often in the parity of today's NFL that you see final game stats like these: Rushing Yards 270 to 20. Time of Possession 41 minutes to 19. First Downs 28 to 13. Total Yards 503 to 288. Third Down Conversions: 11 of 17 compared to 3 of 12. Perhaps this might put it into perspective: the Chiefs already led 7-0 on a touchdown pass from Matt Cassel to Dwayne Bowe when Jamaal Charles rushed for 27 yards on his first carry of the game with 9:40 left in the first quarter. That gain proved to be more yardage than the Seahawks could muster on the ground all game long. The final score Kansas City 42 Seattle 24 was not even as close as that.
Seattle's only real bright spots occurred when they blocked a field goal on the Chiefs second possession, then when Earl Thomas returned a blocked punt ten yards for a touchdown to tie the score 7-7 late in the first quarter. That play rocked the house & brought Qwest Field to life which can be a deafening experience for visitors playing in Seattle. So how did the Chiefs respond? Well, they took the ensuing kickoff & drove 74 yards on 15 plays capped off by a one yard touchdown plunge by Defensive End Shaun Smith to take a 14-7 lead. Then the defense forced the Seahawks to punt & the offense responded with another scoring drive, this one consisting of six plays that covered 80 yards, the final 36 of which were Dwayne Bowe's second touchdown catch of the first half. Seattle mustered a late second quarter field goal to slice the halftime deficit to 10-21.
Seahawks Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck hit wideout Ben Obomanu with a 51 yard bomb on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter followed by a 13 yard touchdown pass to Tight End Chris Baker to cut the Chiefs lead to 21-17 & bring Qwest to life again. Following an exchange of three punts, two by Seattle, Kansas City setup shop on their own 29 yard line & embarked upon an 11 play, 71 yard scoring march of which 57 were on the ground of which 45 were Jamaal Charles on five carries including a three yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter to stake the Chiefs to a 28-17 bulge.
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Any chances of the Seahawks getting close again were squelched on the ensuing possession when Chiefs Linebacker Derrick Johnson made like the late great Derrick Thomas sacking Hasselbeck & forcing a fumble which was recovered by Tamba Hali. It took Kansas City three plays to score again on yet another Dwayne Bowe touchdown, his third of the game to make it 35-17. Hasselback did recover to hook up with Obomanu on an 87 yard bomb with ten minutes remaining in the game to bring Seattle within 35-24 & place the onus on the Seahawks defense to slow down the Chiefs rushing attack. They just couldn't do it though as KC went 80 yards on ten plays, 49 of it on the ground, & Cassel threw his career best tying fourth touchdown of the game. This one went to Tight End Tony Moeaki, who made his only catch of his first game back from a concussion in the end zone. You know you are beaten soundly when you have your quarterback take two kneel downs to run out the clock & end the game as Seattle did.
Gardner's Grades:
Offense: A Kansas City's offense scored six touchdowns on 13 possessions. Jamaal Charles had a monster game with 173 yards rushing on 22 carries for a 7.9 yard average & one touchdown. Dwayne Bowe was magical again with 13 catches for 170 yards & three touchdowns. Matt Cassel went 22 of 32 for 233 yards with four touchdown passes & no interceptions. They did lose one fumble.
Defense: B The Chiefs defense forced four punts & three turnovers & stopped the Seahawks twice on fourth down. The propensity of the Chiefs secondary to give up long bombs to speedy wideouts like Ben Obomanu & the Raiders Jacoby Ford is troublesome for its playoff chances as well as its win-loss record. Outside of two passes to Obomanu that went for 138 yards though Seattle could only generate 150 yards of other offense against this unit.
Special Teams: D Having a field goal blocked & a punt blocked & returned for a touchdown in the same game can be a disaster. Had the Chiefs been playing a stronger opponent than Seattle it could have spelled the difference in the game. This phase of the Chiefs game clearly needs some attention.
Looking ahead:
The Chiefs now go home to take on the Broncos who embarrassed them in Denver just three short weeks ago 49-29. You would think the Chiefs would be totally focused on avenging that loss. However, this reporter can't help but wonder if KC might even be looking ahead to the following week when they travel to take on the surging Chargers in San Diego. My advice? Focus on the next game. Period. I'm hoping to see the game at sea!
By Allan Gardner
ProFootball-fans.com Kansas City Chiefs Correspondent