KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)—A person familiar with the situation tells The
Associated Press that the Kansas City Chiefs and cornerback Stanford Routt have
agreed to terms on a $19.6 million, three-year deal.

The person, speaking on condition of anonymity Monday because the team had
not announced the deal, said the agreement includes a $4 million signing bonus
and $6 million the first season.

Routt is still owed $5 million next month from the Raiders, who released him
after the first year of a $54.4 million, five-year deal. Routt chose the Chiefs
over competing offers from Buffalo, Cincinnati, Houston, New Orleans, Minnesota
and Tennessee.

Routt will likely take over for Brandon Carr, who will become a free agent.
Signing Routt means the Chiefs are more likely to use the franchise tag on wide
receiver Dwayne Bowe instead of Carr.

———

AP Sports Writer Josh Dubow contributed to this report.

Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe drops a potential touchdown pass in the end zone against the Raiders during the first half of last Sunday’s game at Arrowhead Stadium. (Peter Aiken, Getty Images North America )

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs’ first three trips inside Green Bay’s 20 two weeks ago netted them a pair of field goals. So did their first three trips against Oakland last Sunday.

Suffice to say, Kansas City’s red-zone offense has interim coach Romeo Crennel seeing red.

There is little rhyme or reason to the Chiefs’ ability to move the ball downfield, then have everything come undone when they’re on the doorstep of scoring touchdowns. But their inability to come away with seven points instead of just three might be the biggest reason they’re playing for pride, rather than the AFC West title, when they visit Denver on Sunday.

“It’s never one guy in this business. It’s always part of a team effort,” Crennel said. “We’ve been able to get down to the red zone, we just haven’t been able to produce.”

It proved especially costly in an overtime loss to the Raiders.

Kansas City marched to the Oakland 12 late in the first quarter before a short pass completion and a pair of runs by Jackie Battle and Thomas Jones gained just 7 yards. Ryan Succop came on for what amounted to an extra-point try, though the Chiefs would have preferred that to be the case.

At least they got three points out of that trip.

Their next one was even uglier.

Kansas City had second-and-1 at the 8 when Jones was called for a false start. Now with a more substantial distance for a first down, Kyle Orton was forced to throw. His first pass was dropped by Dwayne Bowe in the end zone, and the next was intercepted by Matt Giordano, the second time in two weeks the Chiefs’ didn’t score any points on a drive inside the red zone.

Late in the third quarter, the Chiefs faced first-and-goal at the 6 and managed another field goal, leaving them in a 10-6 hole rather than a tie game.

“If we were able to get that touchdown, just a score sometimes changes the mentality on your team for that particular game. Instead of guys saying, ‘Here

we go again,’ guys say, ‘OK, we made it happen,’” Crennel said. “Getting down there is encouraging, so now what we have to do is refine some things so we can get points on the board rather than coming away with nothing.”

It’s unlikely the Chiefs will solve their red-zone woes before facing Denver on Sunday. After all, it’s hard to figure out exactly who or what is to blame.

Besides, the problems have existed all season.

Kansas City has scored a touchdown on red-zone trips just 33 percent of the time; the league-leading Jets have doubled that rate. By comparison, the Chiefs scored touchdowns on 59.62 percent of their trips last year, when they went 10-6 and won the division.

Inexplicably, the Chiefs are even worse at home, where they don’t have to deal with hostile crowd noise. They’ve scored TDs on only 23.81 percent of their red-zone trips at Arrowhead Stadium.

Going deeper inside the numbers, Kansas City ranks 25th in the league in red-zone attempts at 2.4 per game. That’s roughly half the number of trips of the league-leading Saints.

No wonder the Chiefs’ are 31st in the league in scoring.

“We’ve done a lot of good things,” Orton said, “but we have a lot to improve on.”

It’s easy to blame the play-calling of new offensive coordinator Bill Muir, or the direction of former head coach Todd Haley, who was fired a few weeks ago. It’s also easy to blame general manager Scott Pioli for not building enough depth to deal with season-ending injuries to Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Cassel, All-Pro running back Jamaal Charles and starting tight end Tony Moeaki.

But there’s still enough blame left over for the guys actually on the field.

The Chiefs’ running game, which led the league last season, has produced only four TDs rushing all year, and one of them was by defensive back Javier Arenas out of the wildcat formation. There are 37 players in the NFL with at least four touchdowns rushing, four of them quarterbacks.

Kansas City’s ground game averages 4.02 yards per carry outside the red zone, but that mark dips to 3.0 yards once the Chiefs cross the opponents’ 20. Jones is averaging just 2.3 yards on a team-high 19 carries inside the red zone, well below his career mark of 4.0.

The struggles aren’t limited to the running game.

Orton is completing 47.2 percent of his passes inside the red zone. Bowe has only seven catches for 49 yards and three scores after piling up an NFL-best 15 touchdown catches last season, and free-agent acquisition Steve Breaston has four catches for 30 yards in prime scoring territory.

“Guys have to look in the mirror and know they’re giving their best effort,” Crennel said. “Like I said, it’s never one guy. It’s not always players. Coaches have to do some things better, put guys in better position, better technique. All those things come into play.”

12/29/2011

By DAVE SKRETTA

Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs’ first three trips inside Green Bay’s 20-yard line two weeks ago netted them a pair of field goals. So did their first three trips against Oakland last Sunday.

Suffice to say, Kansas City’s red zone offense has interim coach Romeo Crennel seeing red.

There is little rhyme or reason to the Chiefs’ ability to move the ball downfield, then have everything come undone when they’re on the doorstep of scoring touchdowns. But their inability to come away with seven points instead of just three might be the biggest reason they’re playing for pride, rather than an AFC West title, when they visit Denver on Sunday.

“It’s never one guy in this business. It’s always part of a team effort,” Crennel said. “We’ve been able to get down to the red zone, we just haven’t been able to produce.”

It proved especially costly in an overtime loss to the Raiders.

Kansas City marched to the Oakland 12 late in the first quarter before a short pass completion and a pair of runs by Jackie Battle and Thomas Jones gained just 7 yards. Ryan Succop came on for what amounted to an extra-point try, though the Chiefs would have preferred that to be the case.

At least they got three points out of that trip.

Their next one was even uglier.

Kansas City had second-and-1 at the Raiders 8 when Jones was called for a false start. Now with a more substantial distance for a first down, Kyle Orton was forced to throw. His first pass was dropped by Dwayne Bowe in the end zone, and his next was intercepted by Matt Giordano, the second time in two weeks the Chiefs’ didn’t score any points on a drive inside the red zone.

Late in the third quarter, the Chiefs faced first-and-goal at the Raiders 6 and managed another field goal, leaving them in a 10-6 hole rather than a tie game.

“If we were able to get that touchdown, just a score sometimes changes the mentality on your team for that particular game. Instead of guys saying, `Here we go again,’ guys say, `OK, we made it happen,”’ Crennel said. “Getting down there is encouraging, so now what we have to do is refine some things so we can get points on the board rather than coming away with nothing.”

It’s unlikely the Chiefs will solve their red zone woes before facing Denver on Sunday. After all, it’s hard to figure out exactly who or what is to blame.

Besides, the problems have existed all season.

Kansas City has scored a touchdown on red zone trips just 33 percent of the time; the league-leading Jets have doubled that rate. By comparison, the Chiefs scored touchdowns on 59.62 percent of their trips last year, when they went 10-6 and won the division.

Inexplicably, the Chiefs are even worse at home, where they don’t have to deal with hostile crowd noise. They’ve scored TDs on only 23.81 percent of their red zone trips at Arrowhead Stadium.

Going deeper inside the numbers, Kansas City ranks 25th in the league in red zone attempts at 2.4 per game. That’s roughly half the number of trips of the league-leading Saints.

No wonder the Chiefs’ are 31st in the league in scoring.

“We’ve done a lot of good things,” Orton said, “but we have a lot to improve on.”

It’s easy to blame the play-calling of new offensive coordinator Bill Muir, or the direction of former head coach Todd Haley, who was fired a few weeks ago. It’s also easy to blame general manager Scott Pioli for not building enough depth to deal with season-ending injuries to Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Cassel, All-Pro running back Jamaal Charles and starting tight end Tony Moeaki.

But there’s still enough blame left over for the guys actually on the field.

The Chiefs’ running game, which led the league last season, has produced only four TDs rushing all year, and one of them was by defensive back Javier Arenas out of the wildcat formation. There are 37 players in the NFL with at least four touchdowns rushing, four of them quarterbacks.

Kansas City’s ground game averages 4.02 yards per carry outside the red zone, but that mark dips to 3.0 yards once the Chiefs cross the opponents’ 20. Jones is averaging just 2.3 yards on a team-high 19 carries inside the red zone, well below his career mark of 4.0 yards per attempt. The struggles aren’t limited to the running game.

Orton is completing 47.2 percent of his passes inside the red zone. Bowe has only seven catches for 49 yards and three scores after piling up an NFL-best 15 touchdown catches last season, and free agent acquisition Steve Breaston has four catches for 30 yards in prime scoring territory.

“Guys have to look in the mirror and know they’re giving their best effort,” Crennel said. “Like I said, it’s never one guy. It’s not always players. Coaches have to do some things better, put guys in better position, better technique. All those things come into play.”

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That doesn’t mean they don’t have something to play for in their finale.

The Chiefs might well be playing for the future of interim coach Romeo Crennel, who led them to a victory over the Green Bay Packers a couple weeks ago. The defensive coordinator has provided a calm, cool presence in the locker room after the firing of Todd Haley spun the team into turmoil.

Kyle Orton might also be auditioning for a job. The quarterback is a free agent after this season, and general manager Scott Pioli might try to sign him to create competition for Matt Cassel, who went down with a season-ending injury to his throwing hand earlier this season.

Crennel, who was 24-40 in four seasons as head coach in Cleveland, has said he wants the Kansas City job on a permanent basis, and Pioli has already indicated he will be formally interviewed for the position after the season ends next Sunday at Denver.

If it were up to the guys in the locker room, the formal interview would be a formality.

“He’s very motivating. He treats us like men,” star linebacker Tamba Hali said. “He does expect a lot from us, but he knows what it takes to work this business and how the body feels and we’re people, too. We love Romeo. If that’s the question you asked, then we love Romeo.”

Crennel isn’t the only one who could earn a job in the finale.

Orton has been solid, though somewhat inconsistent, in the two games he has started since being picked up off waivers from Denver. He threw for 299 yards without a turnover in the 19-14 victory over the Packers, and 300 yards and a touchdown against the Raiders, running the two-minute drill flawlessly to set up a potential winning field goal by Ryan Succop on Saturday.

The 49-yard attempt at the end of regulation got blocked.

Orton also threw two costly interceptions, though, reminding many fans why the Broncos waived him.

Orton downplayed next week’s matchup against Tim Tebow and the Broncos.

It was Tebow who supplanted him as the starting quarterback earlier this season, which ultimately resulted in Denver coach John Fox’s decision to waive him. Tebow has gone on to become the face of the franchise, helping the Broncos climb into playoff contention.

Chiefs up next

At Denver

3:15 p.m. Sunday

Fans of the Kansas City Chiefs can finally say “there’s always next year.” On the next-to-last week of the season, the Chiefs were officially knocked out of the playoffs by the Oakland Raiders in overtime by a score of 16-13. The Chiefs had numerous chances to put the game away Dec. 24 but failed to do so.

Because the Buffalo Bills throttled the Denver Broncos, the Chiefs would have had a showdown in Denver to win the AFC West. Coulda, shoulda woulda. There were so many little things that could have led the Kansas City Chiefs to keep their playoff chances alive.

* Penalties killed the Chiefs all game long. Perhaps the most critical was a five yarder that backed up the Chiefs from a 2nd-and-1 on the Oakland eight yard line and instead it turned into a 2nd-and-6 from the 13. Quarterback Kyle Orton passed twice after that, one of which was an interception in the end zone. The play right before that was a dropped touchdown pass by Dwayne Bowe.

* Ryan Succop tied a Chiefs’ franchise record by making his 22nd field goal in a row in the first quarter. Inexplicably, two later attempts were blocked. Succop had one at the end of the first half and the end of regulation that would have won the game for the Chiefs.

* Special teams gave up a fake field goal touchdown at one point. Luckily, there was a delay of game penalty on the Raiders that brought the play back.

* The anemic red zone offense failed Kansas City once again. Four times the Chiefs made it inside the 20 yard line. The Chiefs only came away with 13 points—a touchdown, two field goals and then the costly interception.

* At one point, the Chiefs went for it on 4th-and-1 inside their own territory in the fourth quarter. Kansas City had started on their own 10 yard line and had some decent running plays until the drive stalled. Oakland stopped Jackie Battle on fourth and short and got the ball back on the 43 yard line. Sebastian Janikowski promptly kicked a field goal to put the Raiders up 13-6 with 2:57 left in the game.

* The secondary gave up two big pass plays. One was a 61-yard touchdown and the other was a 53-yard pass that led to the game-winning field goal in overtime.

* The opening kickoff wasn’t great either. The Raiders had a 91-yard kickoff return before quarterback Carson Palmer took a snap.

Several lapses of discipline on the part of the Chiefs knocked them out of the playoffs. Interim head coach Romeo Crennel still did a decent job, with the exception of the fourth down call that failed to convert.

The game was still heart-wrenching to watch. Kansas City had so many opportunities to put the game away but couldn’t get it done.

There’s always next year.

William Browning is a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs after latching on to the team during the lean years of St. Louis football. Born in the gateway city, he is also a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan. He currently resides in Branson, Mo.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Carson Palmer and the Oakland Raiders are still alive in the AFC West.

It came at the expense of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 36-yard field goal 2:13 into overtime Saturday, giving the Raiders a 16-13 victory that kept alive their playoff hopes and eliminated Kansas City from contention.

Carson Palmer threw for 237 yards and a touchdown for the Raiders (8-7). His perfectly thrown 53-yard pass to Darrius Heyward-Bey in overtime set up Janikowski’s winning kick, which allowed Oakland to avoid a second straight late-game meltdown.

Kyle Orton threw for 300 yards for Kansas City, including a 49-yard toss to Dexter McCluster that set up a short TD toss to Dwayne Bowe with 1:02 left in regulation to tie the game.

The Raiders went three-and-out in short order, giving Kansas City the ball back with only enough time to get into field-goal range. Orton hit Bowe for 25 yards and Terrance Copper for 11 more to set up Ryan Succop, whose 49-yard try was blocked by Trevor Scott as time ran out.

It was the second field goal that Succop had blocked.”We take one step forward, we take a couple steps back, it seemed like, the whole game,” Orton said. “Pick up a first down, holding call, a bad ball, a drop. … It just wasn’t as crisp last week.”

The Chiefs (6-9) struggled to take advantage of drives one week after piling up a season-best 438 yards of offense in a 19-14 victory over previously unbeaten Green Bay. That was their first game with Orton under center and interim coach Romeo Crennel calling the shots from the sideline.

Orton threw a pair of interceptions against Oakland, one of them in the end zone in the second quarter and the other as the Chiefs were driving in the fourth quarter.

The Raiders, who blew a 13-point lead in the final five minutes to Detroit last week, have won five straight games at Kansas City. Perhaps none was important as this one, with all four teams in the division beginning the day with a chance of squeaking into the playoffs.

The first half amounted to a cacophony of errors that ended in a 3-3 tie.

The Raiders, the most penalized team in the NFL and on pace to set a single-season record, were flagged 10 times for 57 yards, while the Chiefs were flagged eight times for 53 yards.

It wasn’t just the quantity of penalties, either. It was the quality.

Javier Arenas had an interception of Palmer wiped out by defensive holding in the first quarter, a turnover that would have given Kansas City prime field position.

The Raiders returned the favor on their next possession. Facing fourth-and-2 at the Chiefs 36, they pulled off an audacious faked field goal in which punter Shane Lechler, the holder on the play, threw a shovel pass to tight end Brandon Myers, and he ran untouched around end for the touchdown.

The play was called back by a delay of game penalty, and Janikowski’s 58-yard try hit the crossbar.

Bowe dropped an easy touchdown catch on the Chiefs’ ensuing possession, and one play later Orton was picked off by Matt Giordano. Palmer gave the gift right back when Arenas intercepted him.

It was the fifth pick Palmer had thrown against Kansas City this season.

The Chiefs promptly wasted another scoring opportunity with a staggering string of penalties: intentional grounding, a delay of game and a false start, all in succession. That made Succop’s try at the end of the half much more difficult than it needed to be, and Richard Seymour managed to get his hands on the try. The blocked attempt was Succop’s first miss since Sept. 25 at Buffalo.

Oakland still led 13-6 when Kansas City took over late in the fourth quarter.

Orton hit McCluster heading toward the sideline, and he cut up field behind blocks from Casey Wiegmann and Ryan Lilja for a 49-yard gain. He was finally tackled at the 3-yard line, and Orton hit Bowe on a short TD pass to make it 13-all with 1:02 left.

Orton and Bowe gave the Chiefs an opportunity to win the game in regulation.

Oakland ultimately won it in overtime.

“I haven’t been here that long,” Orton said, “but these guys fight, and it’s just an honor to play with them, and the competitive spirit everyone has in that locker room is a great thing.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Carson Palmer and the Oakland Raiders are still alive in the AFC West.

It came at the expense of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 36-yard field goal 2:13 into overtime Saturday, giving the Raiders a 16-13 victory that kept alive their playoff hopes and eliminated Kansas City from contention.

Carson Palmer threw for 237 yards and a touchdown for the Raiders (8-7). His perfectly thrown 53-yard pass to Darrius Heyward-Bey in overtime set up Janikowski’s winning kick, which allowed Oakland to avoid a second straight late-game meltdown.

Kyle Orton threw for 300 yards for Kansas City, including a 49-yard toss to Dexter McCluster that set up a short TD toss to Dwayne Bowe with 1:02 left in regulation to tie the game.

The Raiders went three-and-out in short order, giving Kansas City the ball back with only enough time to get into field-goal range. Orton hit Bowe for 25 yards and Terrance Copper for 11 more to set up Ryan Succop, whose 49-yard try was blocked by Trevor Scott as time ran out.

It was the second field goal that Succop had blocked.

“We take one step forward, we take a couple steps back, it seemed like, the whole game,” Orton said. “Pick up a first down, holding call, a bad ball, a drop. … It just wasn’t as crisp last week.”

The Chiefs (6-9) struggled to take advantage of drives one week after piling up a season-best 438 yards of offense in a 19-14 victory over previously unbeaten Green Bay. That was their first game with Orton under center and interim coach Romeo Crennel calling the shots from the sideline.

Orton threw a pair of interceptions against Oakland, one of them in the end zone in the second quarter and the other as the Chiefs were driving in the fourth quarter.

The Raiders, who blew a 13-point lead in the final five minutes to Detroit last week, have won five straight games at Kansas City. Perhaps none was important as this one, with all four teams in the division beginning the day with a chance of squeaking into the playoffs.

The first half amounted to a cacophony of errors that ended in a 3-3 tie.

The Raiders, the most penalized team in the NFL and on pace to set a single-season record, were flagged 10 times for 57 yards, while the Chiefs were flagged eight times for 53 yards.

It wasn’t just the quantity of penalties, either. It was the quality.

Javier Arenas had an interception of Palmer wiped out by defensive holding in the first quarter, a turnover that would have given Kansas City prime field position.

The Raiders returned the favor on their next possession. Facing fourth-and-2 at the Chiefs 36, they pulled off an audacious faked field goal in which punter Shane Lechler, the holder on the play, threw a shovel pass to tight end Brandon Myers, and he ran untouched around end for the touchdown.

The play was called back by a delay of game penalty, and Janikowski’s 58-yard try hit the crossbar.

Bowe dropped an easy touchdown catch on the Chiefs’ ensuing possession, and one play later Orton was picked off by Matt Giordano. Palmer gave the gift right back when Arenas intercepted him.

It was the fifth pick Palmer had thrown against Kansas City this season.

The Chiefs promptly wasted another scoring opportunity with a staggering string of penalties: intentional grounding, a delay of game and a false start, all in succession. That made Succop’s try at the end of the half much more difficult than it needed to be, and Richard Seymour managed to get his hands on the try. The blocked attempt was Succop’s first miss since Sept. 25 at Buffalo.

Oakland still led 13-6 when Kansas City took over late in the fourth quarter.

Orton hit McCluster heading toward the sideline, and he cut up field behind blocks from Casey Wiegmann and Ryan Lilja for a 49-yard gain. He was finally tackled at the 3-yard line, and Orton hit Bowe on a short TD pass to make it 13-all with 1:02 left.

Orton and Bowe gave the Chiefs an opportunity to win the game in regulation.

Oakland ultimately won it in overtime.

“I haven’t been here that long,” Orton said, “but these guys fight, and it’s just an honor to play with them, and the competitive spirit everyone has in that locker room is a great thing.”

Carson Palmer and the Oakland Raiders are still alive in the AFC West.

It came at the expense of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Sebastian Janikowski kicked
a 36-yard field goal 2:13 into overtime Saturday, giving the Raiders a
16-13 victory that kept alive their playoff hopes and eliminated Kansas
City from contention.

Carson Palmer threw for 237
yards and a touchdown for the Raiders (8-7). His perfectly thrown
53-yard pass to Darrius Heyward-Bey in overtime set up Janikowski’s
winning kick, which allowed Oakland to avoid a second straight late-game
meltdown.

Kyle Orton threw for 300
yards for Kansas City, including a 49-yard toss to Dexter McCluster that
set up a short TD toss to Dwayne Bowe with 1:02 left in regulation to
tie the game.

The Raiders went
three-and-out in short order, giving Kansas City the ball back with only
enough time to get into field-goal range. Orton hit Bowe for 25 yards
and Terrance Copper for 11 more to set up Ryan Succop, whose 49-yard try
was blocked by Trevor Scott as time ran out.

It was the second field goal that Succop had blocked.

“We take one step forward,
we take a couple steps back, it seemed like, the whole game,” Orton
said. “Pick up a first down, holding call, a bad ball, a drop. … It
just wasn’t as crisp last week.”

The Chiefs (6-9) struggled
to take advantage of drives one week after piling up a season-best 438
yards of offense in a 19-14 victory over previously unbeaten Green Bay.
That was their first game with Orton under center and interim coach
Romeo Crennel calling the shots from the sideline.

Orton threw a pair of
interceptions against Oakland, one of them in the end zone in the second
quarter and the other as the Chiefs were driving in the fourth quarter.

The Raiders, who blew a
13-point lead in the final five minutes to Detroit last week, have won
five straight games at Kansas City. Perhaps none was important as this
one, with all four teams in the division beginning the day with a chance
of squeaking into the playoffs.

The first half amounted to a cacophony of errors that ended in a 3-3 tie.

The Raiders, the most
penalized team in the NFL and on pace to set a single-season record,
were flagged 10 times for 57 yards, while the Chiefs were flagged eight
times for 53 yards.

It wasn’t just the quantity of penalties, either. It was the quality.

Javier Arenas had an
interception of Palmer wiped out by defensive holding in the first
quarter, a turnover that would have given Kansas City prime field
position.

The Raiders returned the
favor on their next possession. Facing fourth-and-2 at the Chiefs 36,
they pulled off an audacious faked field goal in which punter Shane
Lechler, the holder on the play, threw a shovel pass to tight end
Brandon Myers, and he ran untouched around end for the touchdown.

The play was called back by a delay of game penalty, and Janikowski’s 58-yard try hit the crossbar.

Bowe dropped an easy
touchdown catch on the Chiefs’ ensuing possession, and one play later
Orton was picked off by Matt Giordano. Palmer gave the gift right back
when Arenas intercepted him.

It was the fifth pick Palmer had thrown against Kansas City this season.

The Chiefs promptly wasted
another scoring opportunity with a staggering string of penalties:
intentional grounding, a delay of game and a false start, all in
succession. That made Succop’s try at the end of the half much more
difficult than it needed to be, and Richard Seymour managed to get his
hands on the try. The blocked attempt was Succop’s first miss since
Sept. 25 at Buffalo.

Oakland still led 13-6 when Kansas City took over late in the fourth quarter.

Orton hit McCluster heading
toward the sideline, and he cut up field behind blocks from Casey
Wiegmann and Ryan Lilja for a 49-yard gain. He was finally tackled at
the 3-yard line, and Orton hit Bowe on a short TD pass to make it 13-all
with 1:02 left.

Orton and Bowe gave the Chiefs an opportunity to win the game in regulation.

Oakland ultimately won it in overtime.

“I haven’t been here that
long,” Orton said, “but these guys fight, and it’s just an honor to play
with them, and the competitive spirit everyone has in that locker room
is a great thing.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read More: Jon McGraw (S – KAN), Casey Wiegmann (C – KAN), Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs have the slimmest of playoff hopes entering Week 16. They need to topple the Oakland Raiders and have the Denver Broncos lose to stay alive in the AFC West, and don’t control their own destiny. Fortunately, though, their injury situation is at least relatively quiet.

The Chiefs have just two players listed on the Week 16 injury report: safety Jon McGraw, who is out, and center Casey Wiegmann, probable with a calf injury. Every other player on Kansas City’s active roster is at least healthy enough to escape being listed before Saturday’s game.

Of course, season-ending injuries to players like Jamaal Charles, Eric Berry, and Matt Cassel aren’t reflected in the injury report, as all three players have been placed on injured reserve.

Here’s the rest of the Chiefs injury report for Week 16:

OUT: S Jon McGraw (ankle).

DOUBTFUL: none.

QUESTIONABLE: none.

PROBABLE: C Casey Wiegmann (calf).

For more on the Chiefs, head to Arrowhead Pride; for more on the Raiders, visit Silver and Black Pride.

Here we go. Just a day before the Oakland Raiders face the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. I have a feeling this game should have a warning that reads, “People with heart problems should not ride.” This will more than likely be a high scoring game and come down to a battle between the quarterbacks, and the Raiders’ defense will need to force the Chiefs into turnovers in addition to holding their penalties to a minimum.

Carson Palmer on the field before Broncos Raiders game Nov 6 2011
K.C. Dermody

As always, we don’t have a crystal ball to look into and see just exactly what will happen, and anything can happen. But what we can do is compare the two quarterbacks, Carson Palmer and Kyle Orton to get an idea of the possibilities in the Christmas Eve game.

Their previous match up in Oakland should be thrown out the window. Palmer had just arrived into town, and probably shouldn’t have even entered the equation. Orton was playing for the Denver Broncos when Tebow Mania hit and he was booted out.

The Raiders have faced Orton with Denver many times, and in this match up the Chiefs new quarterback is just 1-3 against Oakland. He’s barely over 50% in pass completions. One concerning fact is that Orton has thrown seven interceptions to Palmer’s 13 in 2011; however, three of those came in the infamous game against the Chiefs when he clearly wasn’t ready. Palmer is credited with ten touchdowns this year, compared to Orton’s eight.

Orton clearly went into Green Bay last week and had one of the best performances of his career, completing slightly over 74% of his passes, and threw no interceptions. But there’s a reason Bronco fans were crying for Tebow. Orton contributed to Denver’s four out of five game losses at the start of the season, leaving them with a record of 1-4 at the end of week five.

The last time Palmer faced the Chiefs with the Bengals, he led his team to victory, scoring two touchdowns and completing 17-for-25 passes back on December 27, 2009.

For both quarterbacks, consistency is an issue. There is no question that Orton did a great job against the Packers, but will he have two good performances in a row? I don’t think so.

This is a must win for both teams, but it’s time for the Raiders to show up and play up to the potential we know they’ve got and give the Raider Nation a Christmas present we would most like to have.

K.C. Dermody grew up in the Bay Area of California, and has been an Oakland Raiders fan from the time she could walk. She has continued her loyalty to the team through its many ups and downs over the decades, and has been privileged to meet several of her favorite players, including famed quarterback, Jim Plunkett . Follow her at www.facebook.com/KCDermodyWriter or on Twitter @kcdermody.

More from this contributor:

Fan’s Look at the Heated Rivalry Between the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs

A Fan’s Favorite Sports Memory of 2011: Raiders Beat Texans in Honor of Al Davis

Oakland Raiders’ Punter Shane Lechler Named to All-Fundamentals Team: Fan Reaction

Oakland Raiders’ Kicker Sebastian Janikowski Named Special Teams Player of the Week: Fan Reaction

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Should quarterback Kyle Orton pull off a second straight week of smart passing, the Kansas City Chiefs will keep their playoff hopes alive. The Chiefs host the Oakland Raiders Dec. 24 in a game featuring two teams that have mimicked each other since last they met.

The Chiefs beat the Raiders 28-0 in Oakland after Jason Campbell went down with a season-ending collarbone break. Carson Palmer took over but hadn’t figured out the offense yet. Since that game, Kansas City should have improved but instead endured a four-game losing streak and a 3-5 record. Oakland has had similar woes. Palmer got better but the Raiders are currently in the middle of a three game losing streak and have gone 3-4 since the shutout loss.

Orton was picked up on waivers from the Denver Broncos after Matt Cassel’s hand injury ended his season. He played one game and knocked the Green Bay Packers from the ranks of the unbeaten. Orton’s efficiency was remarkable. He completed 23 of 31 passes for 299 yards for the Chiefs. Ironically, he had near-similar numbers on Oct. 2 when the Broncos lost to Green Bay when he was 22-for-32.

In 2010, Orton had six games with nearly the same efficiency in Denver. Of those, only two were victories. The difference with the Chiefs is the defense. Denver’s defense kept opposing offenses on the field too long and Orton wasn’t able to work to his potential in 2010. Kansas City’s vaunted secondary is another matter.

Given enough time on the field, Orton has shown he can perform just fine and keep an NFL team in the game. Plus he’s done better than both of his predecessors at quarterback this year.

Another thing to consider is the gaping hole in the Raiders’ defense. They are 29th in the NFL in points given up with 27.3 points per game. They also allow around 235 yards per game passing. Yet Orton’s passing number should eclipse that total if history serves. Only five games in 2010 did Orton have fewer than 235 yards passing.

Palmer has had good outings in 2011. Only twice has the thrown for under 200 yards (once against the Chiefs in his first game back). Yet the secondary, as well as pass rushing, has improved markedly for Kansas City in the past three games. Palmer will be under fire the entire game.

All things being equal, Orton’s performance on Christmas Eve may once again save the playoff chances for the Chiefs.

William Browning is a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs after latching on to the team during the lean years of St. Louis football. Born in the gateway city, he is also a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan. He currently resides in Branson, Mo.

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Read More: Jon McGraw (S – KAN), Kansas City Chiefs

For the Kansas City Chiefs, they have literally nothing to lose. All they have to do is win out and let the chips fall where they may in making the playoffs. Working on their third quarterback, their lead tailback out and a patchwork defense, Romeo Crennel has stepped in a situation where all he has to do is win his players over…

…and that’s exactly what he has done. As Tamba Hali has come out and said:

“Yeah, I think anybody on this team would agree with me,” Hali said when asked if the players want Romeo back. “If we can keep Romeo as our head coach here, it’d be great. We love what he does, his game plan. As you can see what happened on Sunday, he was able to control the clock, along with our quarterback. That’s something we haven’t been able to do here in a long time is control the clock. That will win you games.”

 

Plus, it doesn’t help to have a relatively healthy roster. Per Josh Looney on KCChiefs.com:

A high ankle sprain continues to slow safety Jon McGraw, who was inactive with the injury against Green Bay. Reshard Langford started in McGraw’s absence opposite free safety Kendrick Lewis and reserve safety Sabby Piscitelli also saw extensive action with McGraw sidelined.

Here is the full practice report for the Chiefs going into week 16 versus the Raiders:

LIMITED PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE:

Safety Jon McGraw (ankle)

Center Casey Wiegmann (calf)

For more on the Chiefs head over to Arrowhead Pride and make sure to check out Silver and Black Pride for everything about the Oakland Raiders.