Yesterday's loss to the Buffalo Bills was demoralizing, disappointing and downright ugly on the offensive side of the ball. Jamaal Charles' 76-yard TD run was one of the few bright spots in a now rather dismal stretch of games for the Chiefs.
Nevertheless, I was able to find five really good stats that should make you feel better about yesterday's game. We're talking about:
- 3rd down efficiency
- Rushing yards
- Tamba Hali
- Tyson Jackson
- Forcing turnovers
It's all there, after the jump.
Third down efficiency, on both sides of the ball
The Chiefs were a ridiculous 7/18 on third downs yesterday. That isn't an especially impressive percentage (39%) but a high number of conversions is great for this team. Coming into this game, the Chiefs were on pace to have the worst 3rd down efficiency in NFL history. I hope those 7 conversions puts them out of the woods on that stat.
The Chiefs held the Bills to only a 25% third down efficiency. They were 3/12. One of those conversions was a 1-yard run; another was the touchdown pass to Terrell Owens; and the last one was an 8-yard scramble by Ryan Fitzpatrick on 3rd and 4. Not exactly strong plays, aside from the TD.
Seven third down conversions is the best on the season for the Chiefs, topping the six we had against Pittsburgh.
152 yards rushing
Jamaal Charles had 143 of those yards and 76 of his came on on one one, beautiful run. Tim Castille added 9 yards on 4 carries.
152 total yards rushing is the best performance since Week 2 against the Raiders when the Chiefs rushed for 173 yards.
More from Tamba Hali
It was another great day from Tamba Hali. He had a sack and two QB hits. If you watched the game, you also noticed Hali getting plenty of pressure on Fitzpatrick off that right side throughout the game.
Is this defense coming together?
Three turnovers forced
Even though the Chiefs weren't able to capitalize on their three turnovers, that doesn't mean the defense didn't do a good job.
Mike Vrabel forced a Ryan Fitzpatrick fumble. Brandon Carr stripped Bills WR Shawn Nelson and recovered the fumble. And Brandon Flowers had a pick in the end zone. It was a great effort by the Chiefs' D.
The defense did a lot to help win this game. The Chiefs' offense did not get it done.
Tyson Jackson's best game?
The Chiefs' first round pick had 8 tackles yesterday, his highest total of the season. His second best game was 7 tackles and that was Week 9 against Jacksonville. Jackson's next highest tackle total is 3 and he has 4 games this year without a tackle.
I'm not saying tackle stats are the end all be a evaluation of Tyson Jackson. But when you see his tackle numbers jump like that, something's clicking for the #3 overall pick.
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Without stretching it too much, you definitely have some bright statistics in this game. Anything else stand out to you?