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The Kansas City Chiefs entered this home game against the Oakland Raiders knowing that if they wanted to keep their playoff dreams alive, a victory against this 2-win team would be a necessity.  Brodie Croyle was coming off a solid first NFL start against the defending champions and expected to improve against the Raiders.  Kolby Smith, a rookie from Louisville, was the featured back.  Certainly a question mark before the game, testing an unknown Kolby Smith was necessary to determining his worth as an NFL back-up.

Brodie Croyle was also bit by the Big XII bug on the first series of the game when Michael Huff from Texas made an incredibly athletic play
to intercept the 2nd year QB.  Yes, it was a rookie mistake, he has to get that ball higher but Huff also made an outstanding play on the ball.  This is an example of the rookie-like mistakes we'll have to live with.  Culpepper promptly moved the Raiders inside the 10 yard line where the defense was able to hold thanks to a Tyron Brackenridge sack. Janikowski punched it through the goalposts to put the bad guys on top by 3.

The next Chiefs possession saw Croyle start with a handoff to Kolby Smith for a handful of yards. Then, per usual, Croyle to Bowe netted the first down.  At this point, Croyle began walking very gingerly on the field as if he was favoring one side of his body.  Chiefs fans can already tell the difference between Huard and Croyle when the younger QB evaded the rush, even with him hurting, and was able to throw the ball away.  Kolby Smith then gave Chiefs fans reason for hope when he took a hand off, and after he was stuffed at the line, bounced back out for a 9 yard gain.  Herm Edwards veered away from his conservative philosophy two plays later after Kolby Smith was stuffed at the line of scrimmage short of the first down when he went for it on 4th down. Smith turned that 4th and inches into a 20+ yard run.  

After Croyle missed Bowe deep, Kolby again took the handoff and bounced outside for a first down.  At this point, Kolby looks legitimate.  He confirmed my thoughts of him by running over a couple of Oakland Raiders in his very own Welcome to the NFL moment.  At this point, Kolby had 8 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown.  Certainly numbers KC backs aren't used to seeing this year.  Anyone could tell on this second KC drive that Kolby Smith has the adrenaline pumping.  Kolby is showing that sometimes change is good, as he has a much more shifty and slashing running style than LJ. Running back controversy?  Stay tuned.

The Raiders again continue to move the ball and manufacture first downs.  Oakland came into this game with one of the best rushing attacks in the league, yet it's Culpepper's arm that is moving the ball for them at this point in the first quarter.  Yet, this drive featured Justin Fargas garnering several first downs.  Culpepper then pulled a page out of the Broncos playbook and pulled the naked bootleg and hit the TE for 5 yards.  Chiefs players have to bite on this play, it actually might be part of their contract.  The following play showed Culpepper going to Ronald Curry on a WR screen.  Curry caught the ball and was immediately hit by Ty Law and fumbled. However, the play was ruled dead as Curry did not make a "football move" after establishing possession.  Oakland lines up on the subsequent 2nd down and has to call a time out as Culpepper doesn't like what he sees. After the time out, Curry has another problem catching the ball before he is popped by Bernard 'the bone crusher' Pollard. Shane Lechler, who, statistically is the best punter in the NFL by the way, comes out and boots it back to the Chiefs.

We failed on our first try, were successful on our second, now the Chiefs have another go at it with their 3rd possession.  Kolby had another 8 yard gain that was called back because of a rare holding penalty on TG.  The next play shows Brodie selling the pump fake (You listening Huard?) and giving it to Kolby again.  After the first quarter, Chiefs fans come away thoroughly impressed with Kolby Smith. He ends with 9 carries in the first for 66 yards.  Brodie ends the first quarter 1/4 for 8 yards and an interception.  Bowe has Brodie's lone completion for 8 yards (and a first down).  After the holding call, and a short run by Kolby, the Chiefs are faced with a 3rd and 15.  Off-tackle, to the left hand side to Kolby.  Granted, we were deep in our own territory, but what's the point of bringing Croyle in if we're not going to utilize his arm?  I know the conservative approach, but we have to take a shot in that situation.  All the Herm detractors just got a bit louder.  Colquitt punts it off as the return man makes a diving grab at Colquitt's punt.  You gotta love that rotation.

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The Raiders are certainly the beneficiaries of Culpepper's mobility as he has been able to avoid the determined pass rush of KC.  Culpepper moves around in the pocket and creates plays, like he did with Curry on this possession to sneak past the first down.  But, Culpepper couldn't avoid the rush all day, and was eaten alive by Tamba Hali. The Raiders had a double team on Hali but he just overpowered both to get to Culpepper.  This brought up a 3rd and 10 for the Raiders. Culpepper threw a beauty to Jerry Porter, and just outside the stretched arms of Ty Law for the completeincomplete pass.  The call on the field was first ruled incomplete.  Then the referees huddled and ruled it a completion.  The ball bad obviously popped out but the only question was whether or not he had possession or not before it did. Herm tossed the challenge flag to overturn the play and change the ruling to an incomplete pass.  After the challenge, it put the Raiders in a 4th down situation so Janikowski came and subsequently drilled a 55 yard FG with plenty of room on the back end.  Just a monster kick that, at least from the TV angle, could be seen cutting through the wind pretty hard and would have been good from 65.

The Chiefs got the ball back in the second quarter and on the first play Kolby dropped a pass to made his first NFL mistake.  All was good, Bowe made up for it on the next play.  Bowe caught the ball at the first down marker, then just ran over the safety Schweigert to add 15 yards onto the catch.  I certainly wouldn't want to be on the wrong end of one of his stiff arms.  The next play marked the return of Eddie Kennison as he tip toed amongst defenders near the sideline to haul in an 18 yard first down.  Brodie is beginning to integrate himself into the offense and finding different receivers.  Kolby's shifty running style continues to benefit the Chiefs on this drive as no one can get a clean hit on the young back.  

Gilbert Harris, the recently signed back who came in to spell Kolby Smith, dropped a pass on the next play that would have been for a 1st down.  On that same play, Bowe was sitting in the end zone on the other side of the field with no one within 15 yards of him.  Gilbert Harris reared his head again when he fumbled the ball out of bounds on a 1 yard gain.  Croyle again shows the benefits of starting him over Huard when he ran up the middle for 4 yards on 3rd down.  We didn't get the first down but Croyle shows signs of mobility, which is something we never would have gotten from Huard.

This brought up fourth down in the red zone.  And, as Herm would have it no other way, we settled for a FG to increase our lead to 10-6. With 5:25 left in the first half, the Raiders start off at the 23 yard line.  Derrick Johnson has been making his case for the Pro Bowl, stuffing Justin Fargas behind the line of scrimmage on the first play of the series.  The rest of the defense hasn't been dropping the slack either, as the line collapsed on Culpepper the next play, causing an incompletion.  Third down, Culpepper hits the TE out in the flat, who is then  mauled by 3 Chiefs, one of whom was Donnie Edwards who punched the ball out causing a fumble.  Sapp came in to pick it up.  Turnovers are the breath of life for this team.

Welbourn starts us off with a holding penalty on the first play of the drive. After an incompletion, Kolby Smith drops another pass, this time on a screen.  3rd down proved to be even worse for Kolby Smith.  He dropped another pass out in the flats.  Team MVP Dustin Colquitt does his job and pins them down on the 5 yard line.  We have begun to see Kolby's weakness.  As The DBowe Show stated in the open thread, "he can't catch a cold".

On the first play Fargas gets them some breathing room, but due to a holding call on the Raiders, it comes back and moves them even deeper into their own territory.  2 running plays by Fargas nets them 12 yards and brings up a 3rd and short situation, which Fargas converted with an off tackle run.  The Raiders then showcase Lamont Jordan for the first time as they continue to dig their way out of their own territory.  After a 3rd and long stop, Lechler comes out and punts it away.

The Chiefs, at least for this game, have gotten rid of their problem they call Drummond (inactive) and have Kennison back deep.  After the fair catch, and a holding penalty, the Chiefs start with 33 seconds left on the clock.  Croyle makes the hearts of 80,000 people stop when he gets sacked holding the ball out like a loaf of bread.  After a Kolby Smith run, Croyle downs the ball to send the team up 10-6 at halftime.  Kolby Smith ends the half with 16 carries for 94 yards. Croyle struggled big time going 3/10 for 50 yards and an interception. Bowe was his favorite target with two receptions.  After the first half, the Chiefs are beginning to wonder about Kolby Smith.  Okay, he's done well in one half of one game.  Now do it again, kid.

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Questions that need to be answered entering the 2nd half: Can Kolby continue to do this (yes)?  Will Brodie rebound (no)?  Is our return game actually improving (yes)?  Where's TG (he'll be back)?

The Chiefs got the ball back at the beginning of the 2nd half and began to self destruct with a barrage of offensive penalties that killed the drive.  After a Colquitt punt, and a deep pass that was caught one handed by Porter, the Raiders faced a 3rd and 8 at the 42 yard line.  Culpepper was pressured but was able to dump the ball off to Fargas in the flat to keep the drive alive.  The Chiefs were again fooled on a misdirection play as Tim Dwight took a reverse 9 yards to set up a 2nd and short. Fargas then took an off tackle left down inside the ten.  2 plays later and Lamont Jordan scampers as much as a 250+ pound RB can scamper, right into the end zone.  6:04 left in the 3rd quarter and the Raiders took the reins back 13-10.

The Chiefs get the ball back and on the third play of the drive the Raiders show their true colors when Richardson pushes Brodie in the back when he was out of bounds.  15 yards and the next play later, Kolby Smith jukes a Raider defender out of his jock strap for another first down.  Lining up on 1st and 10, Brodie finds TG across the middle of the field on an absolute rocket.  22 yards down the field and we are at the 19 yard line.  Croyle has been getting pressured, but he has been avoiding the rush and moving around in the pocket.  Watching his feet, they're always moving.  He makes a lot of people look very good, which he did on this same drive when Samie Parker caught a 9 yard pass.  Kolby Smith converted the first down and then turned it into 6 for his second TD.  Admit it, as the third quarter winds down, and Kolby Smith sits here with 126 and 2 TDs with a quarter left to play, Chiefs fans begin to wonder 'Did we make the right decision with LJ?'

The Raiders got the ball back and subsequently went three and out. This series was highlighted by Ty Law making a good play on third down to force the punt.

Starting at the 38 yard line, Kolby Smith continued his clinic.  For his size, he is tough to tackle.  Combine that with actual moves and jukes, and he is a tough, tough player.  After another Kolby first down, Croyle dropped back to pass on 1st down, got flushed from the pocket, and threw another rocket to Bowe along the sideline.  Bowe caught the ball, barely getting his feet in bounds.  After a quick snap to ensure the Raiders couldn't see the replay, Croyle was put in a 3rd and long situation and on a play action fake overthrew TG. Rayner came in to knock 33 yard attempt through the uprights.  Except, he completely shanked it.  Not just a small miss, he missed it by at least 5 yards.  Unacceptable.  Make every kick inside 40 yards.  Period.

The Raiders got the ball back and immediately started driving down the field.  Culpepper went 28 yards to Zack Miller, Fargas took one down the right hand side for a first down then Culpepper went deep to Porter to bring them inside the red zone.  Porter caught the ball along the sideline and was nailed by Bernard Pollard.  2 plays later and the Raiders punched it in to take the lead 20-17 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Chiefs got the ball back and, after a false start penalty, go 11 yards to Bowe and then Kolby Smith got 5 for the first down.  Every time Croyle drops back to pass, he is going to show off his arm.  He threw another rocket to TG for another first down.  2 plays later, Croyle shows why a TE is a young QBs best friend and hits him with another laser for another first down.  After another first down, Croyle throws another rocket to Kolby Smith, and he actually caught it (anyone have any other adjectives or comparisons to describe Brodie's arm?).  

The next play provided some controversy. Kennison caught the ball between his knees and the Raiders defender, Carr, tried to grab it after the play was over.  The play was challenged but it was Herm who was questioning the spot of this ball.  So, Herm uses a time out and then challenges the play?  I don't understand it. Anyway, the 4th and 1 play saw Kolby Smith get stuffed before the line of scrimmage.

At this point, were just about dead.  If we could stop them, we could get the ball back in our own territory with less than a minute left.  At least a ray of hope at this point.  However, after stops on first and second down, Justin Fargas runs for 10+ to gather the final first down of the game.  Just pathetic.  

This team is better than the way they played today.  The Raiders had no business coming into Arrowhead and winning this ballgame.  The Chiefs have a lot bigger problems than their run defense though.  This game barely sold out leaving next week's game in question.  A blackout is a very real possibility at this point.  

Leave your votes for offensive and defensive MVP in the comments section.  Kolby Smith, obviously on offense and for me the always solid DJ on defense.  This might have done us in this season.  And the Raiders of all teams.