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Kansas City to give strong test to San Diego’s… |
The Kansas City Chiefs are displaying a defending champion’s resilience. The San Diego Chargers are being labeled as weak-minded, lacking intestinal fortitude and — yes — soft. Sure, the Chargers are 4-2 and possess a one-game lead over the Chiefs (3-3) in the AFC West, but as quarterback Philip Rivers leads his team into always-tough Arrowhead Stadium for a Monday night game, rallying Kansas City is ready to push back. The change in momentum actually started Sept. 25, as the Chiefs crossed midfield attempting to upset the host Chargers, only to have quarterback Matt Cassell force an ill-advised pass that Chargers safety Eric Weddle intercepted to preserve a 20-17 victory. The Chiefs fell to 0-3 that day, yet they have found since how to adapt to season-ending injuries to key members of their 2010 division-title team: running back Jamaal Charles, tight end Tony Moeaki and defensive back Eric Berry. Running back Jackie Battle has stepped in to run for 119 yards in an Oct. 9 victory at Indianapolis, when the Chiefs trailed, 24-7, and won, 28-24. Cassell has found receiver Dwayne Bowe for 496 yards and four touchdowns. And the Chiefs’ defense forced six turnovers last week in a 28-0 upset at division-rival Oakland (4-3). The Chiefs are 8-2 at home in their last 10 games there, and their upset of visiting San Diego in last year’s Monday night opener was the springboard to the title run. Now, the Chargers will work to pound running backs Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert at the league’s 25th-ranked run defense, while hoping Rivers stops his erratic ways with seven touchdowns and nine passes for interceptions thrown thus far. In last week’s blown 11-point lost lead at the New York Jets [team stats], Rivers was 16 of 32 and unorganized in the final two minutes. Worse, the secondary gave up three touchdown passes to the same person, Plaxico Burress — a painful defeat that did nothing to calm thoughts that Coach Norv Turner doesn’t properly emphasize mental toughness. With the West lead on the line, the theory gets tested again by the Chiefs. ___ Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com (c)2011 the Los Angeles Times. Distributed by MCT Information Services Leave any suggestions in the comment box. Posted in chiefs-news | Comments Off
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Chargers, Chiefs brace for AFC West collision |
The San Diego Chargers are sitting alone atop the AFC West, but don’t believe they’re playing their best football. The Kansas City Chiefs feel like they’re finally starting to come around after an embarrassing start, but they haven’t really been tested lately. The Chargers look to bounce back from a disappointing loss Monday night when they visit the Chiefs, who are trying to win their fourth in a row and claim a share of first place in the division. San Diego (4-2), which had its run of division titles end at four as Kansas City captured the crown last season, was in position to extend its winning streak to four last Sunday, leading the New York Jets 21-10 at halftime. The Chargers failed to score after the break, however, and quarterback Philip Rivers threw two fourth-quarter interceptions that led to the Jets’ last 10 points in a 27-21 road loss. “We just need to play better and put a complete game together,” said Rivers, who finished with a season-low 179 passing yards. “We still haven’t put one together and we’re 4-2. You can look at that two ways: Obviously, we’re not playing as good as we can and we’ve won four games or we better put it together or we’re not going to get done what we want to get done.” Rivers has clearly not been playing up to his potential. The three-time Pro Bowler has seven touchdown passes to nine interceptions — four fewer than he had all of last season. He had no touchdowns and two interceptions in a 20-17 win over Kansas City on Sept. 25, a victory that started the Chargers’ three-game winning streak. That loss was the Chiefs’ third straight to start the season, but they’ve rebounded by winning their last three. No team has started 0-3 and won its next four games since Pittsburgh in 2000. Kansas City’s wins haven’t come against the NFL’s top competition, however. The Chiefs (3-3) have defeated last-place teams Minnesota and Indianapolis and beat an Oakland squad last Sunday that was unsettled at quarterback. They intercepted both Kyle Boller and Carson Palmer three times in a 28-0 victory. It was the franchise’s first six-interception game since 1984 against Seattle and first road shutout since beating San Diego in 1973. “The great part about what this team has done is we just continue to grind and take it one game at a time,” Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel said. “You can see us get better from the start of the season until now. “Hopefully, we’ll just continue to make progress. We know it’s a one-game season every week.” Cassel had two interceptions against the Raiders — his first picks since throwing one to Eric Weddle at midfield with 55 seconds left in San Diego last month. In that meeting, the Chiefs were playing their first game since all-pro running back Jamaal Charles was put on injured reserve with a torn left ACL. Kansas City’s ground game was in flux and finished with a season-low 81 yards. It has since found some consistency behind Jackie Battle and is averaging 145.3 rushing yards during the winning streak. Battle, who has run for 195 yards on 35 attempts in the last two games, will be facing a San Diego defence that has yielded 162 rushing yards in each of its last two contests. Kansas City’s defence has also been susceptible against the run, ranking 25th in the league with 125.5 yards allowed per game. The Chargers’ Ryan Mathews rushed for 98 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries in last month’s matchup. The Chiefs, 8-2 at home since the start of last season, have lost seven of eight to the Chargers, with the lone victory coming in a Monday night game at Arrowhead Stadium to open last season. “We just have to keep believing,” Kansas City cornerback Brandon Flowers said. “We never bowed our head and thought the season was done like some people did. “We just knew if we kept pushing, things would turn around for us. It’s going to be a great showdown.” That’s all the news for today. Posted in chiefs-news | Comments Off
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Chiefs recall last win over Chargers |
Kansas City, Mo. It was the season opener at the renovated Arrowhead Stadium, a marquee Monday night showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers. Played through driving wind and rain, the Chiefs hit San Diego with two long touchdown strikes and then stopped Philip Rivers in the shadow of the goal line four times in the final minute to preserve a 21-14 victory — one that spurred Kansas City to the AFC West title. One that played a big role in ending the Chargers’ four-year reign atop the division. “I think it gave us a lot of momentum and a lot of confidence going into the season,” recalls Chiefs cornerback Brandon Carr. “We knew going into that game last year that it was a great team we were going to face, a high-powered offense. “They’d been running the AFC West for a long time,” Carr said earlier this week. “To go out there and play as hard as we did, and come up with a victory and have the crowd behind us the whole way, it was a confidence boost for us for the season.” The Chiefs hope another Monday night showdown against San Diego, this time on Halloween night, will give them a similar boost the rest of the season. “I think we’re taking steps in the right direction. I think everybody in there is excited about the opportunity we have in front of us on Monday night,” quarterback Matt Cassel said. “We’re up for the challenge and we’re excited about the opportunity again.” Much has changed since that Monday night matchup last season. The Chiefs are playing without Jamaal Charles, their All-Pro running back, who had a 56-yard touchdown run against the Chargers. He tore the ACL in his left knee and is out for the year. But perhaps the biggest difference is the feeling in the Kansas City locker room. The Chiefs had won 10 games total over the previous three years, but won 10 last season alone, and they enter this year’s matchup riding a modest three-game winning streak after a horrendous start. “It was huge for us,” Chiefs coach Todd Haley said of last year’s game against San Diego. “Now, last year was last year and this year is this year, but when you start a season and you’re coming off a difficult season and you’re able to play a division opponent at home, on Monday night, on national television, and get off to a good start, it definitely gave us a boost.” Such an admission is rare from Haley. Under normal circumstances, the third-year coach would never put more emphasis on any one game over any other. He views the season in four-game quarters, each as important as the next. “It was one game in a series of four that we like to stay focused on,” Haley said. “Now this is one game in a series of four that we’re really focused on, and we know that last year has nothing to do with this year. We’ve got to go out there and play our best football.” Norv Turner said the same thing, nearly word for word, about the Chargers playing their best. The Chargers coach said last season’s opener, in some ways, set the tone for their season. They wound up losing five of their first seven games, and although they turned things around quickly enough to finish 9-7, it wasn’t enough to overtake Kansas City in the division. “Well, we went through a lot of things early in the year that were apparent in that game,” Turner said. “You see no Vincent Jackson, no Marcus McNeill, and we had some other issues. We had a lot of things going on for the first 4-5 weeks. But that was an unbelievable evening. “You start the game and it was a very nice evening and midway through the second quarter or whenever it started, the temperature dropped, the wind, the rain,” Turner recalled. “It was like you went from August or early September to late November in about a half an hour.” This time, the two teams will be meeting on the doorstep of November. The stakes are perhaps even higher. San Diego (4-2) has a half-game lead in the AFC West, but the Chiefs can forge a three-way tie with the Oakland Raiders if they win tonight. In doing so, they can become the first team since the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2000 to start a season 0-3 and then win its next four games. “They haven’t lost since we played them last,” Rivers said. “This game is obviously big for both teams. Division games are huge. They almost count as a game and a half. It’s one of the loudest stadiums you ever play in. You’ve got to manage that.” Rivers remembers just how difficult it was to manage last year. “You watch that tape and it doesn’t quite show the conditions and how crazy it was. That was for both teams,” Rivers said. “Certainly, weather was a factor for both teams and they handled it better than we did. The thing I remember is we had some false starts and delay of games that hurt us. I’ve got to do a better job of that. And four downs inside the 5 at the end with a chance to tie it up.” A chance the Chargers frittered away on an electric Monday night. Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. If you like reading our blog, remember to bookmark it. Posted in chiefs-news | Comments Off
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Tale of the tape: San Diego Chargers at Kansas… |
If you’re new to our Tale of the Tape pieces, we use them to dig into stand-alone games throughout the season. They’re stat heavy, hard-hitting, and quick, so that you’ll be able to rip through them and still have time to put a bet in while you’re stocking the fridge with beer.
San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs (3, 44.5) Offense Everybody’s flipping out about Philip Rivers’ 11 turnovers but San Diego’s total offense ranks eighth in the league and the passing attack ranks seventh. The problem is the Chargers average only 23.5 points per game and they have a minus-five turnover ratio. Running back Mike Tolbert is doubtful, but Ryan Mathews should be able to handle the rushing load himself. He averages 4.6 yards per carry and is also a receiving threat out of the backfield with 24 catches. Kansas City continues to run the heck out of the ball because they don’t really have much choice. The Chiefs rank seventh in rushing yards (129 yards per game) but sit 30th in passing yards (173.7 yards per game) while managing only 17.5 points per contest. Running back Jackie Battle gets the start this week and leads the team with 232 rushing yards. The Chiefs sit in the middle of the pack in most defensive categories, but they do rank third with 11 interceptions. They’re hoping Tamba Hali turns it up a bit. He led the AFC with 14.5 sacks last season, but the entire team has just six sacks this season. However, stopping the run is their biggest problem as they allow more than 125 rushing yards per game. San Diego’s total defense ranks fifth in the league and the Chargers own the third best passing defense in the league, but they also struggle to stop the run allowing almost 122 yards per game. San Diego is looking to get a better pass rush as well. The Chargers have just 10 sacks on the season. Part of the problem is that injuries have left the team with just six of its defensive starters that began the season. Edge: San Diego Special teams Kansas City’s special teams could play a major role in this one. Punter Dustin Colquitt is one of the best in the business with a net average of 41.6 yards and he pinned the Raiders inside the 20 three times in last week’s 28-0 blowout. Ryan Succop has hit seven of his 10 field goal attempts and the Chiefs boast a couple dangerous kick returners in Dexter McCluster and Javier Arenas, both of whom are averaging better than 23 yards per kick return. The Chargers felt this year was going to be different for their special teams but so far it’s been the same old story. They sit 27th in kick return coverage and 30th in punt return defense and after letting Darren Sproles walk to New Orleans they sit 25th in punt returns and 24th in kick returns. The only good news is that they haven’t missed a field goal yet. Edge: Chiefs “Three weeks ago everybody would’ve thought they could circle (the second Chiefs game) as another win. Not anybody in this room did. We’ve been that 1-3 team and now these Chiefs have bounced right back and haven’t lost since they were here. This is going to be all you’d expect in a division game, teams fighting for first place.” – San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers. “I think we’re taking steps in the right direction. I think everybody in there is excited about the opportunity we have in front of us on Monday night. We’re up for the challenge and we’re excited about the opportunity again.” – Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel. Kansas City 20, San Diego 17 Leave your comments on the news below. Posted in chiefs-news | Comments Off
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Chiefs recall Monday night win over Chargers as… |
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – It was the season opener at the renovated Arrowhead Stadium, a marquee Monday night showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers. Played through driving wind and rain, the Chiefs hit San Diego with two long touchdown strikes and then stopped Philip Rivers in the shadow of the goal line four times in the final minute to preserve a 21-14 victory — one that spurred Kansas City to the AFC West title. One that played a big role in ending the Chargers’ four-year reign atop the division. “I think it gave us a lot of momentum and a lot of confidence going into the season,” recalls Chiefs cornerback Brandon Carr. “We knew going into that game last year that it was a great team we were going to face, a high-powered offence. “They’d been running the AFC West for a long time,” Carr said earlier this week. “To go out there and play as hard as we did, and come up with a victory and have the crowd behind us the whole way, it was a confidence boost for us for the season.” The Chiefs hope another Monday night showdown against San Diego, this time on Halloween night, will give them a similar boost the rest of the season. “I think we’re taking steps in the right direction. I think everybody in there is excited about the opportunity we have in front of us on Monday night,” quarterback Matt Cassel said. “We’re up for the challenge and we’re excited about the opportunity again.” Much has changed since that Monday night matchup last season. The Chiefs are playing without Jamaal Charles, their All-Pro running back, who had a 56-yard touchdown run against the Chargers. He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and is out for the year. But perhaps the biggest difference is the feeling in the Kansas City locker-room. The Chiefs had won 10 games total over the previous three years, but won 10 last season alone, and they enter this year’s matchup riding a modest three-game winning streak after a horrendous start. “It was huge for us,” Chiefs coach Todd Haley said of last year’s game against San Diego. “Now, last year was last year and this year is this year, but when you start a season and you’re coming off a difficult season and you’re able to play a division opponent at home, on Monday night, on national television, and get off to a good start, it definitely gave us a boost.” Such an admission is rare from Haley. Under normal circumstances, the third-year coach would never put more emphasis on any one game over any other. He views the season in four-game quarters, each as important as the next. “It was one game in a series of four that we like to stay focused on,” Haley said. “Now this is one game in a series of four that we’re really focused on, and we know that last year has nothing to do with this year. We’ve got to go out there and play our best football.” Norv Turner said the same thing, nearly word for word, about the Chargers playing their best. The Chargers coach said last season’s opener, in some ways, set the tone for their season. They wound up losing five of their first seven games, and although they turned things around quickly enough to finish 9-7, it wasn’t enough to overtake Kansas City in the division. “Well, we went through a lot of things early in the year that were apparent in that game,” Turner said. “You see no Vincent Jackson, no Marcus McNeill, and we had some other issues. We had a lot of things going on for the first 4-5 weeks. But that was an unbelievable evening. “You start the game and it was a very nice evening and midway through the second quarter or whenever it started, the temperature dropped, the wind, the rain,” Turner recalled. “It was like you went from August or early September to late November in about a half an hour.” This time, the two teams will be meeting on the doorstep of November. The stakes are perhaps even higher. San Diego (4-2) has a half-game lead in the AFC West, but the Chiefs can forge a three-way tie with the Oakland Raiders if they win Monday night. In doing so, they can become the first team since the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2000 to start a season 0-3 and then win its next four games. “They haven’t lost since we played them last,” Rivers said. “This game is obviously big for both teams. Division games are huge. They almost count as a game and a half. It’s one of the loudest stadiums you ever play in. You’ve got to manage that.” Rivers remembers just how difficult it was to manage last year. “You watch that tape and it doesn’t quite show the conditions and how crazy it was. That was for both teams,” Rivers said. “Certainly, weather was a factor for both teams and they handled it better than we did. The thing I remember is we had some false starts and delay of games that hurt us. I’ve got to do a better job of that. And four downs inside the 5 at the end with a chance to tie it up.” A chance the Chargers frittered away on an electric Monday night. What do you guys think about this. Posted in chiefs-news | Comments Off
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