Packers Vs. Chiefs: The Best And The Worst

That was a beatdown of biblical proportions.

Don't let the final score fool you, folks. The Chiefs dominated all facets of the game except one (red zone offense), against what could might be the best team in NFL history. The score could've just as easily been 34-14 if the Chiefs had been able to convert inside the five yard line.

Let that sink in for a bit...

Best part about the Chiefs victory - After hearing the exhausting rhetoric of the Chiefs not beating any good teams over and over (and, perhaps, deservedly so), they go out and beat the previously undefeated, defending Super Bowl Champions (this generation's version of the Montana-led 49ers, eh Todd?) led by the soon-to-be MVP of the league who we saw during every commercial break of the game.

A few questions to ponder...

Did the Chiefs just provide the blueprint on how to beat the Green Bay Packers (KC dared them to run and they wouldn't do it), who had gone 364 days without tasting defeat?

Are we now supposed to cheer for the Packers to finish the season off right - 18-1 and another Super Bowl championship? Hey, the Chiefs would go down in history alongside the 1985 Miami Dolphins.

Lets thwap this like Jalil Brown...

The Best and Worst w/ His Dirkness

Best team the Chiefs have beaten since - The 1997 San Francisco 49ers. This was a historical victory, and not just for the franchise, but for the league. Most pundits had conceded the fact the Packers would finish the regular season 16-0 and take their shot at history in the playoffs (PLAYOFFS?!?). The Chiefs downed the defending champ Steelers in 2009 (two of the last three now), but they weren't the same team really. The victory over the 6-0 Rams in 2000 (Faulk puke) is probably the most comparable to yesterday. The Chiefs walloped the Packers in their Super Bowl year of 1996 (Sean LaChapelle, baby). But slaughtering the 13-1 49ers 44-9 at home takes the cake (led by Rich Gannon - who makes this game even funner with comparisons to Kyle Orton).

Best moment of the season - The exuberance of Chiefs players giving ol' Papa Bear, Romeo Crennel, the Gatorade bath he so desperately needed. And not because he was wearing dirty clothes and the city mandated a public dousing, but because his players seem to genuinely love him. There's something about this team when they are all on the same page playing as one. If they can find a way to play like that consistently then Kansas City may have something special.

Best D-Bowe quote - "That's my quarterback. That's my teammate." Oh, that wasn't him? Well, the message stays the same. Kyle Orton is the Chiefs quarterback until further notice. No more, no less. However, the preconceived misconception that Orton is the second coming of Matt Cassel is misguided (shouldn't we see how he does in a Chiefs uniform before lumping him in a category with Mattiocre?). Orton's first game second snap in a different offense with all new personnel was better than all but how many games of Cassel's career with the Chiefs? Two? Three? Not to mention Orton making reads and actual, real life, PROGRESSIONS - you know, the type of stuff Ron Jaworski dreams about. Yes, Chiefs Nation, that's what those look like. Kinda neat, huh?

Best way history could repeat itself - A former Purdue Boilermaker quarterback finding a home in Kansas City after being castoff from multiple teams to begin his NFL career. Yep, I just compared Kyle Orton to Lenny Dawson. Not convinced? Well, what if I told you both of their middle names were Ray? Yeahhhhh buddy.

Worst thing the Chiefs can do now - Rush to judgment. I don't believe Scott Pioli is the type to do so, so this may be more of a message to the fans than the front office. But let's wait for these next two games to play out before concluding any decisions on what to move forward with next year. Bill Muir's offense looked greatly superior to Todd's with reverses, sluggo's, and even successful screen passes (my god, seems like it's been since the Vermeil days) aplenty. However, it was an all new offense that the Packers had no film on whatsoever. I'm not saying we shouldn't be excited with all of the Chiefs' new assets, but lets wait and see how they perform against Oakland and Denver before we start handing out full time gigs.

Best way to beat the Packers - Get after Aaron Rodgers. He's like any other QB, ladies and gents - doesn't perform well with 300 pound men in his face. Make no mistake, the defense won us that game. Tamba Hali was playing like he had an angel with him for 60 minutes, as his celebration indicates (yes, an Angels in the Outfield reference - come on, lets see a .jpeg of this people). But it wasn't that hard to believe that our best players were at their best. What amazed me was that the Chiefs shut down the Packers like no other team had this season with the likes of Travis Daniels, Piscitelli Primavera, Reshard Langford, and Jalil Brown playing atleast semi-significant roles on defense. Who's nuts Aaron Rodgers? Deez nuts.

"Best waiver wire pickup of all time" - Philip Rivers speaking on Jared Gaither. And now we get to Todd (you won't find me using his last name anytime soon). Do you realize that if Todd hadn't been losing games on purpose (see: Palko, Tyler) that the Chiefs would control their own destiny in the AFC West right now, and be a potential dangerous playoff team in a wide open AFC? I'm gonna spare Joel the fines by not saying what I really think of Todd, however If I saw him out walking today, I would probably kick his dog.

Best way for the Chiefs to make the playoffs - Seeing the entire AFC West go 8-8. How cool would that be? You couldn't say the division was weak, it'd be entirely average. I couldn't be rooting harder for this.

Worst stat of the day - Reggie Bush's 203 rushing yards. Why? Because the Chiefs need a Bills (the team who allowed the 200+ yards) victory over the Broncos (the #1 rushing team in the NFL) next week. Hey we've seen crazier things before (49ers over Broncos in 2006). Right?

Best play - 3rd and 14 swing pass to Le'Ron McClain for nine yards. Seemingly meaningless right? Lets take a closer look. Few things in football are as important as responding to your opponent's scores. The Packers had just taken the lead 7-6. It was paramount for the Chiefs offense to respond, which they were able to do because of this play, which directly preceded Ryan Succop's 46 yard field goal (hell of a job by Dustin Colquitt to get the high snap down). Game management baby!

Worst job in the world - Attempting to move BJ Raji's fat ass. Chiefs need them one of those. Also, the minute KC's playoff hopes are dashed, Rodney Hudson should replace Casey Wiegmann at center. It's time.

Worst job done did diddy done did - Steve Hoffman. How many special teams blunders can you have in one game? Roughing the punter (awful technique from Jeremy Horne), 12 men on field goal defense, 10 men out another time (burned timeout), and multiple penalties. I'll admit these added to the drama, but Hoffman almost Munsoned us out in the middle of nowhere.

Worst lay down - The Packers attempt to stop the Chiefs running game following the failed onside kick attempt. That. Was. Easy. It was like the Packers gave up. Seriously, go back and look at their defensive setup (not even eight in the box) and tell me you wouldn't be pissed if the Chiefs had done that.

Best fans - The Chiefs fans who filled Arrow(Cheese)head Stadium yesterday. My sources told me it was about 55-60% red, and (on TV at least) it sounded as loud as ever. Which means the other 40 percent doesn't account for that much noise apparently. I wish there was a fan grading system of sorts that would enable Arrowhead to unleash the best fans for the biggest games. If When I become an owner of a professional sports franchise, this will be my first order of business.

Best way to find success next season - Catch momentum at the end of the prior season. This is exactly the kind of win which can carry over into next season (remember 2010 was preceded by stomping the Broncos in the 2009 finale). Momentum is a crazy, immeasurable force that the Chiefs seem to have on their side right now. Retaining Romeo Crennel would keep it intact.

This is probably my longest post of the year, and believe me I could keep going on and on if need be. That's how pumped I am after yesterday's triumph. I was jumping on tables. I even tweeted this (sorry, Joel). I'm not sure if I really loved this team before yesterday, but I can tell you with 100 percent certainty that I do now. And that's the best Christmas present a Dirkness could ask for. Go Chiefs!

His Dirkness