Yesterday, about five o'clock or so, I was standing in my brother's apartment watching Damon Huard being interviewed after the Chiefs' loss yesterday. It was then that for the first time, I felt sorry for Damon Huard. He looked like a man who had just been beaten physically and emotionally. He was on the verge of tears. Here was some reporter, asking Huard about turnovers, while I looked on at a man who may have just seen his eleven-year career end on a day when he was booed by thousands of fans who had cheered him on so many times before. There will be no sentimental attachment to Damon Huard. Welcome to the Brodie Croyle era.

Before the Game

The football gods blessed us with a fantastic day to watch football. We arrived at Arrowhead Stadium around 9:30 AM, food and chairs in tow. Compared to the other tailgating veterans, our set up was paltry. But we made the best of it and had a great time. After some chili, a few handful of chips and about three trips to the bathroom, we were ready to enter the stadium.

As I walked in, I couldn't help but notice how many Bronco fans were sporting Ed McCaffrey jerseys. You think that has anything to do with the fact that he's a white receiver? My mind went off on a few random tangents about how race at particular positions can drive jersey sales but it quickly returned to the stadium as the gate attendant gave me the the post-9/11 pat down.

After grabbing a couple of beers, we made our way to our seats, which were in section 136. Basically, they were on the field level, right around the 35-yard line and almost all the way up the aisle. We were right under the beginning of the overhang. Great seats.

During the pre-game ceremony stuff, a group of soldiers were sworn in as official soldiers in front of the entire crowd. Oddly, Jason Elam did not stop practicing during this time. He gave one clap that I noticed out of respect for the newly minted soldiers but I found it odd that he didn't show more deference to America's military, especially since Monday Night Jihad is going to launch his second career as an author. Oh well.

One B-2 bomber fly by and one chilling boom of "Home of the Chiefs!" later and it was game time.

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The First Half

The first half of yesterday's game was another example of the ineptitude of the Kansas City Chiefs' offense. Damon Huard completed six of twelve passes for 83 yards. He only completed passes to Dwayne Bowe and Tony Gonzalez, which you should keep in mind as I get to my second half recap. In contrast, Jay Cutler completed passes to five different receivers in the first half. Bowe was phenomenal in the first half, catching five of Huard's six completions for 73 yards.

After a Derrick Johnson interception halfway through the first quarter gave the Chiefs great field position, Damon Huard made one great pass to Dwayne Bowe for sixteen yards to eventually set up a Dave Rayner field goal. That field goal notched the score at three a piece, after Jason Elam kicked a 44-yard field goal on the Bronco's first possession.

After a five play Denver drive that only netted twenty yards, the Chiefs' offense returned to the field. Two plays later, Damon Huard lofted about a 40-yard pass to Eddie Kennison that was intercepted on the goal line by Denver's Karl Paymah. While the interception wasn't entirely Huard's fault (it was tipped and caught) the "Brodie" chants could be heard loud and clear at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs responded in a huge way to the Huard INT by forcing the Broncos to go three and out on the next possession. And when Todd Sauerbrun punted the ball on fourth down, Bernard Pollard twisted his way past the Bronco defender and blocked the punt into the end zone for a Chiefs safety. The crowd erupts and the Chiefs are up by two, in a pathetically low scoring first half.

The Chiefs and Broncos exchanged field goals after that to bring the score to 8 to 6 to end the scoring in the first half.

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I have to put my plug in for Priest Holmes here. The guy carried the ball twenty times (about 10 times more than I thought he would be able to) for only 65 yards on a horrible Bronco run defense. But Holmes looked faster and fought harder than I've seen Larry Johnson try to do all season. I really do think that Priest Holmes is a much, much better fit for this offensive line than Larry Johnson.

Despite holding the Broncos to only six first half points, the Kansas City Chiefs defense didn't fare as well as that score would indicate.

On the Bronco's first drive of the game, the Chiefs' defense gave up a 34-yard run to Denver RB Selvin Young, which ultimately set up a Jason Elam field goal. On the Broncos first two drives, the Chiefs allowed plays of 34-yards and 38-yards. Patrick Surtain alone was responsible for allowing a number of pass plays that were big for the Broncos. He seemed confused and slow to react to the Bronco's offense.

The defense did what it does best in the first half -- stiffen up in the red zone. Despite giving up some big plays, the defense held the Broncos each time as they neared the goal line. The Broncos never really were a threat to score a TD in the first half and much of that credit needs to go to LB Derrick Johnson, who had seven tackles in and one INT in the first half.

Soundbite: The Chiefs' defense held the Broncos to field goals but much like the Bronco offense, the Chiefs were unable to find the end zone themselves in a back and forth first half.

The Second Half

Let's get right to the nitty gritty of this half of football. After receiving the second half kickoff, Damon Huard missed two passes to Eddie Kennison. On third and ten, Huard again tried to pass to Kennison but it was intercepted by Hamzah Abdulla, who returned the ball to the KC 31-yard line. Three plays later, Selvin Young rushed the ball in from twenty yards out for the touchdown. 13 to 8, Broncos with just over a minute gone by in the second half.

After a Todd Sauerbrun touch back on the following kickoff, Damon Huard dropped back to pass on first down, was hit by Elvis Dumeril and promptly lost the football. Nate Webster for the Broncos picked up the ball and returned in 17-yards for the touchdown.

In one minute and 37 seconds, the Chiefs went from up by two points to down by twelve points. It was crushing, demoralizing. And it was the last straw for Herm Edwards and his career back-up quarterback.

Brodie Croyle came in the game and completed 17 of 30 passes for 162 yards. Was it an amazing performance? Nope. Croyle even threw a horrible, what-was-he-thinking interception halfway through the fourth quarter.

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After yesterday's performance, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone in Kansas City at this moment who thinks that Brodie Croyle is not better than Damon Huard. My brother and I kept saying to each other, "Damon can't make that pass", as Brodie zipped the ball into spots tighter than anything Huard had ever done.

Damon Huard completed passes to exactly two receivers in his half of football. And here is the thing I already like about Brodie Croyle. He completed passes to eight different receivers. And only two of those were to Tony Gonzalez.

Once Croyle entered the game, the Chiefs had second half drives of 13, 11 and 12 plays. I leaned over to my brother during game and repeatedly said excitedly, "The Chiefs are driving the ball down the field!" It was a site to see, even if the only points in the second half came on Croyle's first drive that resulted in a Rayner field goal.

I could delve into drive charts and stats for the second half but I'm not. The game completely changed when the Broncos scored those two touchdowns back to back. The important thing to look at is the development of our young quarterback and forget about this dismal divisional loss. The Chiefs and Broncos are tied for second place now, following the Chargers' near loss in to Indianapolis last night.

Soundbite: The Chiefs were unable to overcome a dramatic sequence of events that resulted in two Bronco touchdowns in just over a minute. In a game as low scoring as this was, fourteen points proved to be insurmountable for the offense now manned by Brodie Croyle.

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I'm angry the Chiefs lost but I'm also excited about our future. Brodie Croyle will help this offense turn over a new leaf. The combination of Priest Holmes and Brodie Croyle is much greater than Damon Huard and Larry Johnson. Larry Johnson doesn't need to hurry back. Priest Holmes is holding his spot just fine.

It finally happened Chiefs fans. We will be starting and developing a quarterback this organization drafted. Not a retread. Not an aging veteran. A second-year guy with a cannon for an arm and a lot of hope for the future.