KC - 28 IND - 24
This was the comeback we thought we were going to see two weeks ago against the Chargers. A second half offensive surge, a second half defensive stand. The Chiefs were down 17-0 early, then down 24-14 at halftime, and then rallied to win it 28 - 24.
Despite the win coming against an 0-4 team, a comeback win always feels good, especially when the offense looked so synced, and even more when it's the Chiefs first win in Indianapolis . . . ever. As always, I'll go over the points of the game.
What the Chiefs did well
- First and foremost, I want to begin with how well Jackie Battle did in this game. Battle has always been known as a preseason wonder, but fumble prone and ineffective in the regular season. And although we were going against an injury ravaged Colts front seven, Battle did what was asked of him and did it well. He had, by far, his best game as a professional, finishing with 119 yards on 19 carries, which is in the Jamaal Charles-esque 6.3 yards per carry. I had my fair share of reasons to doubt him, but today he proved me wrong and I hope he continues to prove me wrong the rest of the season. His effectiveness even opened Thomas Jones to so good runs later on in the game. With McCluster extremely ineffective in the run game, and McClain not being used, Battle has shown that he is refusing to squander this opportunity.
- Staying with the offense, how about Matt Cassel? I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with a post I wrote about Cassel following the San Diego game, but ever since then, Cassel has been playing like his 2010 self. In fact, he has 5 touchdowns and no interceptions since I wrote about him. As much as I would like to claim it has something to do with my post, I think I'll credit the playcalling instead. In the first few games of the season, the playcalling was dismal, and so was Cassel's performance. Since they've opened up the playbook a bit, Cassel has been thriving and making good decisions. He finished this afternoon 21/29 (72%) for 257 yards and 4 TDs.
- A huge part of Cassel's success has come from his receiving corps. With Dwayne Bowe (extend this guy now!) making plays like this, and Steve Breaston making plays like this, Cassel day looks pretty good. Bowe would finish the day with 7 rec, 128 yards and 2 TDs; Breaston finished with 4 rec for 50 yards and 2 TDs. And because I'm sure nobody else will mention him, Keary Colbert had a couple of big catches for first downs that kept us going in the second half.
- Although the Chiefs defense gave up a lot of points early in the game, they pitched a shutout in the second half and allowed the Chiefs offense to come back and win. They held Painter to just 40 yards passing, and forced two 3-and-outs in the second half as well.
What the Chiefs could have done better
- The defense gave up 17 points in the first 20 minutes of the game. It appeared that none of our corners could cover, with Brandon Carr, Brandon Flowers, and Javier Arenas all giving up passes at will it seemed to Curtis Painter. Remember Pierre Garcon's wide open touchdown pass? I do.
- The Chiefs continue to get off to slow starts. They can't rely on being able to come back and win the game like they did today. If they want to keep this momentum going, they need to learn how to score quicker or just get their defense to hold them longer.
- Until Jackie Battle started being used in the run game today, our running backs couldn't do a thing. McCluster can't break arm tackles (or finger tackles), and Thomas Jones looked as old as ever in the first half. I know it's a hard task to try to replace Jamaal Charles, but we need to get something going from all of our backs if we want to be able to have sustained success.
- Once again, since it's a win, I'll leave it at that.
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