Reviewing the winners and losers after the KC Chiefs 29-28 win over the Falcons...
WINNERS
Eric Berry
Did ya hear he had a good game?
The depth, again
The Chiefs have depth. We talk about it all the time. Being able to rotate their pass rushers four or five deep and getting a couple dozen snaps out of your fifth and sixth defensive lineman means others on your team are going to be fresher than usual. The depth has been nice all season for all these Chiefs injuries. It’s about to become very nice as the Chiefs are on a short week in Oakland. That depth will come in handy late in the year, including Thursday night.
Alex Smith
Alex Smith has a 100-plus rating in 19 games as a Chief. He’s 18-1 in those games. Last time around against the Raiders, he was even better completing 19/22 passes. Another performance like that and the Chiefs are winning this game.
Travis Kelce
No Maclin? No problem. The Chiefs tight end has three straight games over 100 yards. He set a career high in yardage on Sunday in Atlanta. He could set his career high for yards in a season with a good game against the Raiders. If he is rolling, the Chiefs are tough to stop. I hope he continues to be Alex’s favorite receiver.
Albert Wilson
How about that? He seemed to disappear early in the season but not anymore. He had 48 yards receiving against the Falcons. You know about the 55-yard touchdown run on the fake punt. Also significant was his third down catch late in the game to keep the Chiefs drive alive and allow them to run out the clock.
The coaching staff
Andy Reid staying aggressive and going for it on fourth down twice and scoring twice. The co-offensive coordinators for a game plan that averaged over 10 yards per attempt. Defensive coordinator Bob Sutton for slowing down the league’s best offense. A special shoutout to special teams coach Dave Toub, who is a wizard. The Chiefs are not Super Bowl contenders without Dave Toub and I’m not kidding.
LOSERS
Spencer Ware
Need to get him going. 14 carries for 29 yards against the Falcons, who do not have a good defense. Thursday’s game could be the one to get him back on track. He had a season high 131 yards against the Raiders earlier this season.
Chris Conley
Two of Alex Smith’s four incompletions were targeted for Conley. The first one was a tough one but still catchable over the shoulder. The other one was a short pass from Alex that Conley got his hands on. Other than that ... crickets. He hasn’t more than 30 yards receiving in a game since October. Making that even worse is that Jeremy Maclin has been out.
BONUS WINNER
Football fans
Raiders. Chiefs. Arrowhead. Primetime. Game of the year.