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The Kansas City Chiefs 2011 season is over as far as the playoffs are concerned. The Oakland Raiders beat the Chiefs, 16-13, in overtime on Christmas Eve at Arrowhead Stadium after Sebastian Janikowski's game-winner sealed it.
What a terrible feeling as a Chiefs fan. To know that the playoffs are no longer an option...ugh. I'm officially depressed.
Here are all my notes on the game, if you can stomach it right now.
Chiefs lose on special teams early. The Raiders take the opening kickoff back 91 yards for a first and goal. Kudos to the Chiefs defense for holding them to a field goal but you can't lose on special teams against the Raiders. You can already tell it's going to be one of those days with a lot of highs and a lot of lows.
Derrick Johnson is awesome. Do I need to even mention that? It wasn't a big play but on a second and 7 DJ broke through the line and tackled the running back behind the line of scrimmage on a pitch to the right. He's so fast and might be the best athlete on the field. And I typed this right before the play below...
DJ gets the first interception of the day. But Tamba Hali should get half credit for the turnover. Carson Palmer dropped back to pass and Hali came around the corner forcing Palmer to move up in the pocket. Palmer was hit by a pile of Chiefs as he threw the ball and DJ ended up picking off the errant throw.. Great team defense right there. Palmer had three picks earlier this year against the Chiefs so this is four this season.
Uh-oh: Brandon Albert is injured. Trainers were working on his leg and he was replaced by Barry Richardson (who was replaced on the right side by Steve Maneri). Albert came back in at the start of the second quarter. He has started every game in his career so we really don't know what life without Albert is like.
The Chiefs' field goal after DJ's interception gives them 20 points off turnovers on the season. Which is the fewest in the NFL.
K Ryan Succop makes his 22nd consecutive field goal attempt, which is the longest active streak in the league and ties Pete Stoyanovich's franchise record.
Javier Arenas' penalty overturns a turnover. Arenas picked off a Palmer pass and had a nice return but flags came down ruling Arenas was holding. The interception was off and Oakland was given a first down. That's a killer play because it wasn't a great pass to begin with.
First Quarter Score: Tied, 3-3
The Raiders are the Raiders, even with fake field goals. Just a LOL at Oakland right now. They had a terrific punt that resulted in a touchdown but...it was called a delay of game. Perhaps the most Raider penalty ever. Classic Raiders.
Can you block a field goal near the uprights? If you noticed on Sebastian Janikowski's field goal attempt (after the fake that was called back), Brandon Flowers jumped up and tried to knock the ball away. I never thought about blocking it that way. (Update: Kevin Harlan later explains that you actually can not block the field goal like that. Flowers never touched it. Apparently, R.C. Owens is a player who was with San Francisco in the 1960s and used to do that. MIke Pereira of FOXSports.com later tweeted that it looked like it hit the crossbar first, which means no violation by Flowers.)
More classic Raider penalties. Dwayne Bowe caught a pass and quickly fumbled -- actually it was ruled that it wasn't a catch thus it wasn't a fumble -- and the Raiders LaMarr Houston picked it up and started running it back before the officials blew their whistle saying the play was dead. Houston got made and spiked the ball resulting in a penalty. Such a Raider penalty.
Kyle Orton throws his first pick as a Chief. Orton was looking for Bowe streaking across the back of the end zone but didn't see Matt Giordano, who picked it off and returned it to the Chiefs' 41-yard line. The Chiefs have now scored one TD on their last seven trips to the red zone.
Javier Arenas gets his interception. Earlier in the game Arenas picked off a pass but he was flagged for holding but late in the second quarter he snagged a Palmer pass -- with no penalties. It's Arenas' second interception of the season and gives the Chiefs the ball back after Orton threw a red zone pick.
Dwayne Bowe hits 1,000 yards on the season. Kudos to Bowe who has turned his career around after that ugly 2009 season.
Raiders have 10 penalties before halftime. !!!!! That's insane.
Raiders block the Chiefs field goal attempt before halftime. Ryan Succop has a 49-yard attempt ahead of him but Oakland blocked it. That sounds about right considering how this half has gone.
The blocked kick also means Succop's streak is over. He was leading the league with 22 consecutive field goals, a number that had also tied Pete Stoyanovich for the franchise record.
Halftime Score: Tied, 3-3.
The little things that get you beat (/Haleyism): Barry Richardson committing a holding penalty when the Chiefs had a 21-yard conversion on third down.
And the same applies to the Raiders. Oakland's Michael Bush had a 19-yard gain called back due to holding.
Carson Palmer finally hits on a bomb. And it's a big one. Denarious Moore caught a 61-yard bomb from Palmer for six points. It looked like Reshard Langford didn't get over there in time and allowed Moore to slip through. 10-3, Raiders.
Kyle Orton responds with a 43-yarder to Terrance Copper. Yes, that's Terrance Copper. Orton had all kinds of time on a play action fake and found Copper streaking across the right side of the field. The CBS announcers were gushing about how comfortable Orton looked after that play.
Third Quarter Score: Raiders lead, 10-6
Kyle Orton's second mistake. The Chiefs QB threw his second pick of the game when the Chiefs had just gotten into field goal range. That's a tough pick to swallow in the fourth quarter.
Jackie Battle stuffed on fourth down. The Chiefs got the ball back after Orton's last pick and faced a fourth and inches their own 41-yard line. Orton handed it off to Battle up the middle but he was stopped short by the Raiders defense. Oakland regains possession with just under eight minutes left in the game.
Sebastian Janikowski extends Raiders lead to seven points with three minutes remaining. The Chiefs have a comeback situation with Orton. They're down seven points with about three minutes remaining and KC's playoff hopes on the line.
Dexter McCluster! Dexter McCluster! Wow McCluster goes 49 yards on a screen to bring the ball inside the five yard line. This led to....
Touchdown, Dwayne Bowe! Just an incredible series for the Chiefs there as they tie the game, 13-13.
Chiefs game winning attempt blocked again. Incredible, we're headed to overtime.
53-yard pass to Darrius Heyward-Bey ends it. The dream is dead. Oakland kicked the game winning field goal which means the Chiefs are officially eliminated from the playoffs. Another long offseason....
Final Score: Raiders win, 16-13