The Kansas City Chiefs dominated the day in a 10-3 win over the San Diego Chargers. It got a little tight at the end of the game as Philip Rivers and the Chargers came back to nearly force overtime.
The Chiefs held San Diego to three points three weeks ago and they do the same here and move to 8-5 on the season with their SEVENTH straight win. The Chiefs hold the fifth spot in the AFC playoff picture, which is the top Wild Card team. The Chiefs visit the Ravens next week.
I just can't believe that we're seeing this. Only one team has started 1-5 and come back to go to the playoffs.
What we learned....
More: Chiefs win streak keeps climbing record books | Rivers throws a little tantrum
Dee Ford has a career day
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Whew boy, it's fun when Dee Ford has a sack. Ford, who was starting in place of an injured Justin Houston for the second consecutive week, had three sacks on the day and two of them came on third down. This was easily the best game of his career.
He made a few plays that caught my eye:
He tackled Rivers before he was able to scramble to the first down marker.
His first sack came on third and 20 where he just beat the tackle around the edge. It was clearly his speed that did it.
The second sack was also all speed. Rivers didn't even complete his dropback before Ford, who was halfway to the quarterback before the tackle got out of his stance, made the sack.
No one ever questioned Dee Ford's get off speed... https://t.co/Te5bHyqQjt
— Laurie Horesh (@LaurieHoresh) December 13, 2015
The third sack was chasing Rivers. Credit the Chiefs coverage unit for some help there.
He was in coverage on the final play of the game when the Chiefs stopped the Chargers.
There are still some things to work on but his first step is so good that he'll get his chances using a speed rush only. It worked out today.
Running game balance is great
Spencer Ware left the game with injured ribs but did return for some work. The Chiefs did a nice job splitting the carries between the two backs. You can also count Alex Smith as a positive in the Chiefs running game.
Three players had 40-plus yards rushing.
Charcandrick West: 10 carries, 54 yards
Spencer Ware: 8 carries, 52 yards
Alex Smith: 5 carries, 40 yards
This is why the Chargers are bad
Malcom Floyd's drop says it all. With the Chiefs leading 10-3, Chargers WR Malcom Floyd got wide open down the field. Philip Rivers wound up and threw it deep to Floyd who had it WIDE OPEN ... but he dropped it.
It was a likely touchdown in the fourth quarter to tie the game but Floyd dropped it. It was his first drop of the season that changed the course of the game. Ouch.
(Of course, credit Floyd for making a huge catch late in the game that gave the Chargers a chance.)
Field goal team needs work
The Chiefs missed a field goal for the second straight week. It appears that it was due to either a bad snap or a bad hold. Whatever happened, the entire operation is out of sync. The snaps haven't looked very good but I'm not sure how much the holder Dustin Colquitt is supposed to make up for it. The Chiefs need to figure this out because they can't be having bad snaps when the field conditions aren't great in December and January.
Not Travis Kelce's best day
He can't throw the ball to himself but Kelce didn't do a whole lot today. He had a penalty that called back a Charcandrick West touchdown and he also dropped a third down pass that he probably should have caught.
Chiefs remaining schedule
Week 15: @ Baltimore Ravens (Dec. 20, 12 p.m., CBS)
Week 16: Cleveland Browns (Dec. 27, 12 p.m., CBS)
Week 17: Oakland Raiders (Jan. 3, 12 p.m., CBS)