The Chiefs will need to wait another week or maybe another point in time in the exhibition schedule before getting the fresh start they are looking for.

However it might not ever come, judging by how some of their starters played on Friday during their preseason opener where the Falcons defeated them 20-10 in the Georgia Dome.  By the time the Chiefs starters left the game during the second quarter they were trailing 3-0.

Todd Haley, Chiefs head coach said, clearly we have lots of work that needs to be done in many different areas.

After the reserves came in the Chiefs were able to tie the score 3-3 by halftime.

Early second quarter Atlanta took control of the game.  Shann Schillinger intercepted a pass from Brodie Croyle, Chiefs backup quarterback, early third quarter.

Schillinger returned the ball 29 yards, giving the Falcons possession on the 14 yard line of the Chiefs.  Dimitri Nance, five plays later, scored from 2 yards out to give the Falcons the lead for good.

Early fourth quarter Nance scored another running touchdown from one yard out to give the Falcons a lead of 17-3.

The Chiefs for most of the first two quarters looked much like last year where they went 4-12.  The Falcons easily solved their run defense during the opening possession of the game.

The Falcons gained 44 yards before Matt Bryant kicked a field goal of 30 yards to give Atlanta a 3-0 lead.  The drive was ended when Mike Vrabel, Chiefs linebacker, tackled Jason Snelling, Falcons running back, on third down for no gain.

From there, the starting defense did tighten and allowed no additional points during the other two possessions for Atlanta.  However, the starting offense wasn’t able to generate during their four possessions.

The first time the Chiefs had the ball they ran three plays before punting.  During the next possession they turned over the ball when Matt Cassel got sacked and then fumbled.

Then Dexter McCluster and Jamaal Charles provided a spark.  They combined for 62 yards rushing, with the Chiefs being able to work they way into range for a field goal twice.

However Ryan Succop each time missed 53 yard field goals.  The first came after Cassel got sacked on a third down play.  On the first field goal attempt the ball hit the upright on the left, his second try was wide on the right side.

Cassel said, it’s work in progress always this time of the season.  During a first preseason game, lots of new stuff is being tried and you are working with personnel changes.  You want like starting a game, obviously, with three downs and out.  We got ourselves into a situation of no huddle.  That was positive for us definitely.

During the fourth quarter the Chiefs also missed out on a touchdown when a kickoff return of 99 yards from Javier Arenas was erased due to a Justin Cole holding penalty.

Haley said, we can’t take sacks that places the field goal attempt in an area that isn’t a high percentage area for kicking.  We can’t have penalties on kickoff returns.

There were lots of things we could have done better, things we can control, that would have been helpful for us.  A few of the early runs looked like we weren’t blocking anyone.  Then it seemed we did come back and get some people blocked.

There were some positives I think.  The offense placed our defense in some very tight spots.  The defense I think showed good signs from a group that is attempt to become a much better defense.

During the first half Atlanta missed two field goal attempts from 50 or more yards as well.

The only points for the Chiefs during the first half came on a field goal of 20 yards from Succop on the last play of the half.  On the first possession for Croyle, the backup quarterback, the Chiefs were able to drive 78 yards in less than 4 minutes on multiple short gain plays.

On the drive the longest play was a 19 yard pass from Croyle to Kestahn Moore to bring the Chiefs to Atlanta’s two yard line.  The Chiefs, at the point, only had  enough time to get the field goal.

During the fourth quarter, after Tyler Palko replaced Croyle, things disintegrated even more for the Chiefs.  Chevis Jackson intercepted a pass from Palko.

Jackson returned the ball to the 9 yard line of the Chiefs, setting up a field goal of 37 yards from Steve Hauschka to give the Falcons a 20-3 lead.

The only touchdown scored by the Chiefs came on a run of one yard from Palko with 18 seconds remaining in the game.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Not many Jacksonville people caught it, but on Sunday the Jaguars defeated the Chiefs. Jack Del Rio, head coach of the Jaguars, sees the victory as a sign that the team really is ready for making a move to contend for the playoffs during the season’s second half.

It is time to surge, Del Rio said after the game. We have lots of work we need to do. I think as we keep going through the year we will continue to improve. At 4-4 we are still alive with everything still ahead of us.

On local television the game got blacked out, as all of this season’s home games for the Jaguars have been, with an announced attendance of only 45,546. The few fans who did turn out were able to see some of the reasons why Del Rio may just be right about his team being on track. However, they also witnessed lots of reasons for thinking the Jaguar are a mere mediocre team that beat up on a weaker team.

The good news was the performance of David Garrard, Jaguars quarterback, who went 18 for 27 for a total of 264 yards, with one touchdown without any interceptions. The favorite receiver for Garrard on Sunday was Mike Sims-Walker who had six catches for a total of 147 yards, including a touchdown of 61 yards.

Sims-Walker said, the offense had a big day. Every man tried to just find holes in the zone. Whoever Garrard threw to made the play. And today it happened to be me.

More good news was some good rookie contributions. Early first quarter Rashad Jennings, running back, had a touchdown from 28 yards to give Jacksonville a 7-0 lead. Jarett Dillard, rookie receiver, had a catch of 33 yards on a third down and 14 play, and Mike Thomas, another rookie receiver, gained 18 yards on the end around play. Del Rio stated that the rookie players had contributed just as they had been expected to.

Del Rio said, this team’s had a lot of turnover and we have lots of young players who are playing right now. We go out expecting to win. We are not settling.

However, the Jaguars were not always able to get the offense going. Maurice Jones-Drew, running back, scored a touchdown during the fourth quarter from 10 yards. However, it was his longest run for the game. He never did break out on any highlight play long runs that he is becoming known for.

Jones-Drew had 97 rushing yards in 29 carries for the game, averaging only 3.3 yards per carry, a far cry from his 177 yards gained on only eight carries last week versus Tennessee. It also raises the question why Jacksonville gave Jones-Drew the football a lot more versus Kansas City in a game where he was struggling than the Tennessee game when he was on a roll.

Part of the explanation is that Jacksonville trailed during most of the Titans game and against the Chiefs were protecting a lead for the majority of the game. On Sunday, though, the Jaguars didn’t really do a good job protecting their lead.

With just four minutes left to play in the game the Jaguars led 24-6. It appeared they would coast into an easy win. However Matt Cassel, Chiefs quarterback, and Chris Chambers, receiver who had just been claimed off of waivers, started to come alive. Cassel connected with Chambers on a touchdown of 54 yards with 2:32 left to play in the game. Then Ryan Succup, Chiefs kicker, recovered his very own onside kick that bounced off Atiyyah Ellison, the 322 pound Jaguars defensive lineman.

Following the game, Ellison explained he was surprised at the football coming to him. What was even a bigger surprise was the Jaguars putting a defensive lineman weighing 322 pounds on the field during an obvious onside kick scenario.

Cassel then led Kansas City down field and connected with Chambers on a score from five yards, making the Jaguars start to sweat. It was only after Jacksonville recovered the following onside kick that the few Jaguars fans could start celebrating.

Cassel said, we had our backs against the wall. We need to start earlier.

For the Chiefs, it was too little and too late, like everything they do during the season’s second half will be. With a 1-7 record Todd Haley, Chiefs coach, will have to spend the remainder of the season attempting to shape the team into a team he wants for 2010. That is what the release of Larry Johnson was all about.

The Jaguars don’t have a chance of catching up to the Colts for the AFC South. The claims of Del Rio that they are still in contention with their 4-4 record would hold a lot more weight if their four wins had been against teams that are better than the Texans, Titans, Rams and Chiefs.

Realistically speaking, the Jaguars aren’t really a playoff team. It isn’t surprising the fans have them tuned out.

Popularity: 46% [?]

The Chiefs still were feeling pretty good about themselves. Then reality hit. It wasn’t their winning streak coming to an end as much as how it happened.

On Sunday in their 37-7 loss to the Chargers at Arrowhead they reverted to their form from early in the season. That type of loss, one week after the great win in Washington, blindsided all who were wearing the Dallas Texans throwback uniforms.

Larry Johnson, running back, said at that time I don’t really know what went through our heads. Maybe it was some kind of false happiness or maybe thinking San Diego would just lie down after playing a Monday night game. Not sure what it was.

Kansas City wanted desperately to believe their win over Washington represented true progress, a sign the team was coming around to the vision of head coach Todd Haley. However versus San Diego, Kansas City gave up over 50 yards on three different pass plays and over 20 yards on two running plays.

Once again they weren’t able to protect Matt Cassel, their quarterback, who got sacked four times. Cassel also wasn’t able to handle the constant pressure. On three second half possessions in a row he threw interceptions. It ended his streak of throwing 150 passes without being intercepted.

Kansas City didn’t see it coming.

Haley said, we didn’t expect it. All of us were excited about the game. It probably made things worse. Last week we were able to win a tough road game. We had a great week of practice. We had a day of practice in the rain. It started out ugly but I thought our team came together. It was probably our best practice all year on Friday. I was very excited about the game.

I was thinking we really had the chance to compete. The Chiefs do have experience having to deal with lopsided losses. In consecutive games the Eagles and Giants really handled them.

However those games didn’t come after a rare Chiefs win. Those games didn’t snatch their vision away that things were improving.

Their latest loss indicates that the Chiefs gave back all the ground they had gained in the game against Washington and more.

Glenn Dorsey, defensive lineman, said a loss is always a loss, whether you lose by three or thirty points. After every loss I feel exactly the same way. It’s not acceptable, not how we want things.

Previously Cassel had been the Chiefs’ rock, staying strong even while very little else around was really working. Kansas City wasn’t able to protect him and wasn’t able to get a consistent running game going to help him out or get big plays from their receivers.

This was the first loss where Cassel appeared to crack under all the pressure. To start the second half he led the Chiefs on a scoring drive, capped off by a fourth down touchdown pass of seven yards to Dwayne Bowe.

Other than that, the game seemed to be a step backwards for Cassel as well. His first intercepted pass was deflected by Sean Ryan, tight end, to a Charger defender, the second one occurred when he and Bobby Wade crossed wires.

Regardless of who as at fault, the interceptions from Cassel killed any chances of a comeback for the Chiefs.

Cassel said, you don’t ever want to lose this way. We definitely didn’t want to play this way. We will have to deal with this as a team. We need to fix lots of things.

It’s a week off for the Chiefs, so players in the locker room were all promising that they would find solutions to the problems. Everything seemed very clear following this loss.

Johnson said, we come back to our locker room. We just have to deal, in or lose. I think maybe we wanted a win to keeping building from what we were able to do last week.

Popularity: 50% [?]

The game wasn’t pretty. However the aftermath was quite compelling.

The Chiefs (0-5) were able to somehow reverse their 2-28 slump by traveling to Washington and conquering the Redskins.

A 3-0 lead by Kansas City at halftime resulted in Redskins coach Jim Zorn pulling Jason Campbell from the quarterback position and replacing him with Todd Collins, who promptly connected on a deep pass with Santana Moss.

The Redskins took the lead at 6-3.

Kansas City would not go away. On the fly they adjusted to Collins and shut down the Redskins for the remainder of the game and scored points. Ryan Succop, rookie kicker who was the last player drafted in this year’s draft, had four field goals. The Chiefs also had a safety late in the game to give them an eight point victory.

Neither side really had any standout performances. If Dwayne Bowe, receiver, really is on the trading block, he showed plenty of leg with his 109 yards. Larry Johnson, running back, didn’t have a spectacular game but was solid with his 83 yards on 23 carries. For the Redskins, Clinton Portis did have over 100 rushing yards.

But things really got interesting after the game ended. Vinny Cerrato, Executive Vice President of football operations, who is also believed to be on the hot seat along with Jim Zorn, took away Zorn’s play calling responsibilities. Surprisingly, Zorn agreed with the decision.

Tony Dungy from NBC disagreed. I went through that situation in Tampa, said Dungy during the show Football Night In America. It is not good. I made that mistake of agreeing to it. If you are Jim Zorn you need to say I am the one in charge of the team that’s on the field. It’s either that or fire me.

The firing is still a possibility after Sherm Lewis has his dress rehearsal calling plays next Monday night. It is a function he never had while working under Mike Holmgren with the Packers. Zorn could potentially be let go if the Redskins end up losing to the Eagles.

The question would then be whether or not Cerrato gets shown the door with Zorn, or whether he will stick around until the season ends before he is replaced.

Popularity: 48% [?]

Miles Austin, making the first start of his career, didn’t look anything like a backup.

Filling in at wide receiver for injured Roy Williams, Austin had 10 catches, set the franchise record with his 250 yards, and scored on the winning touchdown during overtime as the Cowboys defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 26-20 on Sunday.

The Chiefs are winless this season and have lost 28 of their last 30 games. Austin broke the previous 246 yard record that was set nearly 39 years ago by “Bullet” Bob Hayes, Hall of Famer, versus Washington.

It’s an unbelievable feeling, Austin said, It is amazing. I didn’t see it coming. I was ready, but you never expect to have such a huge game.

Austin broke a tackle on a catch-and-run 59 yard play, giving the Cowboys the lead at 20-13 with 2:16 left in the game. Matt Cassel then connected on a 16 yard touchdown pass with Dwayne Bowe to tie the game at 20-20 with just 24 seconds left to play. On the second possession for Dallas in overtime, Austin was able to get free on his 60 yard scoring play.

On each play he was able to break the tackle from Maurice Leggett, Chiefs cornerback.

Leggett said it was very frustrating. But we need to focus on the big stuff to get better every day. Don’t try to take big jumps. Just focus every day on getting two percent better.

Kansas City (0-5) have gone winless for a total of 315 days. They have also lost eight games in a row at home at Arrowhead Stadium. During the 1990s the Chiefs were almost invincible there.

Todd Haley, Chiefs head coach said, I felt the guys did fight had in all of the phases of the game. I know that the guys are really hurting.

When Roy Williams is healthy Austin in the third receiver for the Cowboys. However against the Chiefs he was unstoppable. The Chiefs led for a majority of the game but were unable to take advantage of all the opportunities that the Cowboys kept giving them.

Austin said, I just wanted to be able show people that I am ready to play. I just wanted to be able to show my teammates how I want to contribute as much as I possibly can. I did that.

Dallas (3-2) had 13 penalties for 90 yards. Romo overthrew several of his open receivers. There were also several dropped passes. Dallas also missed a punt and field goal attempt.

Wade Phillips, head coach of the Cowboys said, the whole game our guys fought hard, but we didn’t really do all the things right. We have things to work on. Bottom line is winning. Our guys are coming through.

Has Austin played his way into the starting lineup?

Phillips said, we will try to keep playing him. No doubt about it.

Late fourth quarter, Austin grabbed a Romo pass and then broke loose from attempted tackles from Legget as well as safety Mike Brown, before speeding down 59 yards and providing the Cowboys with their first lead in the game.

Cassel then lead the Chiefs downfield. On fourth down and 7 he hit Bowe with a pass in the end zone. Earlier in the game a Ryan Succop 53 yard attempt for a field goal had been blocked by Jay Ratliff just before the last Dallas touchdown during regulation. However, Succop was able to hit the extra point to tie the game.

Romo went 20 for 34 with a total of 351 yards and two touchdown. Cassel, who is still winless since he was traded from the Patriots, went 23 for 41 for a total of 263 yards.

Tony Romo said he noticed during the last play that the Chiefs defensive back was playing Miles really tight. He tried jumping it. I had to keep the ball outside a bit more than normally I would want to. However Miles was able to do a good job of coming back. When a corner takes a chance, there is a possibility. I was happy seeing Miles take off. That was rewarding and really exciting.

During the second quarter after Brown was able to recover the fumble from Romo on the 16 yard line for Dallas, Mike Vrabel, who is a thirteen year veteran linebacker, was able to catch a one yard touchdown pass. He has 11 touchdowns in his 11 career catches.

In overtime the Chiefs won on the coin toss and got the ball. However they were not able to get within field goal range.

Tank Tyler, defensive lineman for the Chief said, you fight for so long for the win. It comes down like that to the wire and then you wind up losing. That just kills everything.

Notes
Neither quarterback in the game threw an interception. Bill Schuster, the umpire, had to leave the game for several plays during the first half. While standing near the pile, Tambra Hali, Chiefs linebacker, rolled up on Schuster from behind and knocked him flat. Cassel has had a touchdown pass four games in a row and hasn’t had an interception in 100 throws.

Popularity: 55% [?]

Miracle plays, surprise, creativity and power the old fashion way. None of these worked for the Chiefs today.

They tried all of them. However the talented and polished New York Giants pummeled Kansas City and then held off a Chiefs’ late rally to win the game 27-16 at Arrowhead Stadium in front of 69,238 fans.

The defense for Kansas City did make some progress while facing one of the most talented teams in the NFC. However the offense for the Chiefs was unable to make a significant contribution. Matt Cassel, KC’s quarterback, was off and the new look offense for the Chiefs was unable to protect Cassel. They also weren’t able to create any rushing lanes for the running backs. The unseen and unexpected were needed just to keep it fairly close.

They tried Mike Vrabel, linebacker, as a receiver in the red zone. An onside kick was attempted to open the second half. They tried the Wildcat offense too. The defenders for the Giants were too fast and strong and Cassel didn’t have enough to overcome the mistakes of Kansas City.

The problems began on the opening kickoff. Jamaal Charles, Chiefs running back, has yet to show that he has solved his past fumbling problem. Just after he received the kickoff he fumbled. The Giants capitalized on the mistake, scoring a touchdown. Later Jarrad Page, Chiefs free safety, was flagged for a 15 yard personal foul. On the replays it looked like a clean hit. The penalty provided the Giants with another opportunity. Eli Manning hit Steve Smith on a 26 yard pass for a touchdown.

Kansas City tried everything. Todd Haley, head coach for the Chiefs, tried the game plan from last week which was to establish the running game and create some yardage. Larry Johnson, running back, was able to contribute his part, running for 53 yards in 18 carries. Haley then switched up the offense to a throw first offense even when they had goal line situations. During the fourth quarter with first down and goal at the one yard line Haley called four pass plays before Cassel was finally able to find Bobby Wade for the score.

This week’s focus on discipline by Haley didn’t seem to help either. Earlier in the week Haley had said that the Chiefs were returning to their training camp mode. Players who flinched during practice had to run. It was supposed to help cut penalties down following the 10 penalties the Chiefs were whistled for in their blowout loss to the Eagles. Today the Chiefs had 7 penalties for 55 yards.

Popularity: 51% [?]

Kevin Kolb had two touchdown passes and 327 passing yards to lead the Philadelphia Eagles to a 34-14 victory over the Kansas City Chief, overshadowing the return of Michael Vick.

Kolb also had a rushing touchdown in his second start in a row, filling in for an injured Donovan McNabb. He was 24 for 34 passing without an interception for the 2-1 Eagles. It was the first game that Michael Vick suited up for Philadelphia.

Kolb said that in terms of how the win affected his mentality that it was just the confidence that he could get the job done at that level. You already believed it before but you never know for sure. With young players there is doubt. I want to keep getting better.

Vick didn’t have a big role in the game. He only appeared in a few plays, mainly in the Wildcat formation. He returned after serving his two week regular season suspension. Vick rushed for seven yards on one carry and went 0-2 on his pass attempts. It was Vick’s first action in a regular season game since December 31, 2006 while a member of the Atlanta Falcons playing in Philadelphia.

Andy Reid, head coach of the Eagles, said they wanted to get Vick back into playing at game speed to knock some rust off. I think we did that. Brian Westbrook, Eagles running back, missed the game due to an injured ankle. LeSean McCoy, a rookie, filled in quite nicely, rushing for a total of 84 yards on 20 carries and scoring a touchdown. DeSean Jackson caught 6 passes for 149 yards, a career high, along with a score of 64 yards. Brent Celek caught 8 passes for a total of 104 yards along with a touchdown in the Eagle’s decisive win.

The 0-3 Chiefs did not have too much to be happy about. Matt Cassel went 14 of 18 with two touchdowns, but only had 90 total passing yards. For the game the Chiefs had only a total of 196 yards. Larry Johnson had 38 rushing yards on 19 carries, while Jamaal Charles had 34 yards receiving and 36 yards rushing.

Todd Haley, head coach for the Chiefs, said he had come into the game thinking they had an opportunity to win. We need to get better no doubt about it. If we play and coach the way we did today we won’t stand a chance. We need to do better.

Kansas City’s record fell to 2-26 for their last 28 games.

On the opening drive for the Eagles, Vick made his regular season debut for Philadelphia. On the second play he lined up in the I-formation at wide receiver. Vick came around in a fake handoff, but the Eagles went three downs and out on their first series.

Vick said he thought he played pretty well and that he made good decisions. I was focused on being smart and not turning the ball over, he added.

The first drive for the Chiefs ended with a punt. Philadelphia got the ball back and only needed to drive 48 yards for the first score of the game. McCoy, on the drive’s eighth play, took the snap and got the touchdown on a five yard run with about six minutes remaining in the first quarter. On the drive Vick had an incompletion and run of seven yards.

The Chiefs had another three and out series and the Eagles got the ball back on their 27 yard line following another Chiefs punt. Kolb connected with Jackson on a 10 yard and then 43 yard pass during the first two plays. Kolb then scored on a quarterback sneak from one yard out on the sixth play of the drive to make the score 14-0.

Reid said he thought that Kolb had a good day. He’s had two 300 yard games in a row. That’s a big compliment. The second game is always tougher because the opposing team has more of a chance to study you.

The Eagles went for it on 4th down and 1 from Kansas City’s 44 yard line in the early part of the second quarter but failed to convert. Kansas City capitalized, marching down the field and scoring on a 13 yard touchdown pass from Cassel to Mark Bradley.

The Eagles answered back with a 64 yard touchdown from Jackson on Philadelphia’s next play on offense. Jackson caught the ball on a short pass up the middle at around the fifty yard line, eluded several defenders, and then sprinted down the middle of the field to score the touchdown.

Right before halftime David Akers had a field goal from 29 yards to give Philadelphia a halftime lead of 24-7. Early in the third quarter Akers had another field goal from 38 yards out to give the Eagles a 20 point lead.

With 6:43 minutes left to go in the game, Celek scored a touchdown on a 35 yard pass to give the Eagles a 27 point advantage. With less than two minutes left in the game Bobby Wade caught a nine yard touchdown pass to make the final score 34-14.

Game Notes

Philadelphia leads Kansas City 4-2 in their all time series, winning the last three games. Dwayne Bowe had an injured hamstring and didn’t play for Kansas City. The Chiefs have lost seven games in a row which dates back to last season. Last week Kolb had 391 yards passing. On their third down conversions Kansas City was 0-11. The Eagles had a total of 420 yards for the game.

Popularity: 40% [?]

With just 2 1/2 minutes left to play in the game JaMarcus Russell shrugged a poor performance off and led the Oakland Raiders on a 69 yard drive. Darren McFadden found the end zone to give Oakland a 13-10 victory over Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium.

Russell only completed 7 of 24 pass attempts for a total of 109 yards. However he came up big on a 3rd and -15 play with just under two minutes remaining in the game, firing a pass up the middle for 28 yards to Todd Watkins. A couple of plays later McFadden came out of the backfield off the left tackle and gained five yards to score.

After the score the Chiefs still had 1:07 left on the clock. However on 3rd down and -1 Greg Ellis sacked Matt Cassel, who then threw an incomplete pass on fourth down.

The rest of the Raiders offense was provided by Sebastian Janikoswki who kicked field goals of 54 and 48 yards. Oakland now has a record of 1-1 after losing a 24-20 heart breaker last week to their arch rival, the San Diego Chargers. They won on Sunday despite having only 166 offensive yards.

Cassel looked rusty early in his first game with the Chiefs, but then connected with Dwayne Bowe on a 29 yard touchdown with only 2 1/2 minutes left in the game. At that point Kansas City seemed to be in control with the score at 10-6.

Cassel finished the game 24 for 39 with 241 yards along with two interceptions in his debut during the regular season for Kansas City after he sat out their season opener due to his knee which he injured during the preseason.

Bowe had five catches for a total of 56 yards and Bobby Wade had six catches for 72 yards. The Chiefs are now 0-2 after losing in Baltimore 38-24 in their season opener.

Cassel said that he had felt good and that is why he was playing. He added that he was happy that he was able to move and wish he could have connected on a few more of his passes. I was a little rusty on some of them he said.

Kansas City was able to generate 409 offensive yards, but until the fourth quarter the game was one of field goals. With seven minutes remaining in the game Kansas City went on a 72 yard drive. Cassel completed 4 of 5 passes on the drive. He connected on a 12 yard pass with Wade on third down, moving the Chiefs into Raiders territory. He then scrambled nine yards before he hit Bowe who was running a fade route near the end zone’s left corner.

The Raiders were left with the difficult job of scoring with under 2 1/2 minutes left in the game on a day where their offense had been mediocre. However, the Raiders drove the ball from their 31 yard line and were able to score to win the game.

The Raiders were able to cross over midfield on a personal foul penalty and then Russell connected with McFadden on an 11 yard pass. Russell then had two incompletions along with a penalty for a false start. This made it 3rd down and -15. However Russell fired a pass over the middle to Watkins who made it to the 14 yard line. Russell then tossed a short pass over to McFadden setting up his five yard touchdown run.

Russell said he had stayed on an even keel. He knew they had left plays on prior drives and that they had to come up with something.

Oakland was only able to cross over the 50 yard line four times in the game. They came on their scoring drives as well as one series that followed a Kansas City unsuccessful onside kick towards the end of the first quarter.

During their second series in the game the Chiefs put a scoring drive together, but only came away with a 23 yard field goal from Ryan Succop following a 17 play 74 yard drive. Most of the quarter was used up by the long drive as Cassel was able to keep the chains moving with a 16 yard pass to Wade on third down. Jackie Battle had a three yard run on 4th down and -2 from Oakland’s 39. Cassel connected with Wade for 8 yards on 3rd down and -9 from the 13 yard line, and Kansas City settled for the three point field goal.

Oakland in the meantime had negative offensive yardage during the first quarter.

On their first series in the second quarter, an 18 yard pass down the middle to Darrius Heyward-Bey, a rookie, and a 17 yard completion and run from Michael Bush moved Oakland 58 yards on a 12 play drive. With just five minutes remaining in the second quarter Janikowski tied the game with a 48 yard field goal.

Kansas City was undermined by their poor management of the clock and squandered an opportunity to take the lead back before halftime. The Chiefs started at their own 29 yard line with 2 1/2 minutes to play in the half. With 19 seconds left they had 1st down and 10 at Oakland’s 19. Bowe caught a short pass, gaining nine yards. Kansas City then called their final timeout. However, they failed to score when a hand off to Dantrell Savage only gained one yard with the clock running out.

Michael Huff intercepted Cassel near the 50 yard line after the break. Oakland capitalized with a 54 yard field goal from Janikowski, despite Russell and Company’s shaky series.

The ineptitude on offense that characterized the first half continued into the third quarter. Heading into the fourth quarter the scored was still 6-3. Kansas City, however, had a promising drive starting at their 30 yard line.

Cassel connected with Wade on a 20 yard pass to move the Chiefs to midfield. However Huff then picked off Cassel again on a pass down the middle that was intended for Bowe.

Game Notes
The Raiders won their third game in a row at Arrowhead Stadium. It was the first time they had done so since 1999-2001. Last year each time lost its home game. The Chiefs lost 23-8 at home in Week 2, but beat Oakland 20-13 in Week 13 in Oakland. It was one of only two wins that the Chiefs managed all year in 2008. The road team has won six times in row for the series. Cassel’s starting record is now 10-6. Todd Haley, first year head coach for the Chiefs, has now notched two tough losses in a row. Robert Gallery, offensive lineman for the Raiders, broke his left fibula. Larry Johnson had 24 carries for 78 yards for the Chiefs. Lois Murphy led Oakland’s wideouts with just 26 yards on two catches. McFadden had 35 rushing yards and two catches for 20 yards.

Popularity: 36% [?]

The Baltimore Ravens managed to find another way to win a game and did it in record setting style.

The Ravens, who are well known for their relentless ground game and punishing defense, took to the air to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday 38-24.

Joe Flacco was 26 for 43 with 307 yards along with three touchdowns. These were all career high numbers for him. Flacco was the main point of attack as the Ravens racked up 501 yards, a franchise record, ruining Todd Haley’s NFL coaching debut.

Flacco, who is in his second season now, only threw 30 or more passes in four games all of last year. Each time the Ravens lost.

Flacco, who was given the chance from the very beginning to throw rather than hand off the ball, was delighted.

It was so fun, it was awesome, Flacco said. That is what you want when you are a quarterback.

This opportunity may not have been an isolated one.

John Harbaugh, coach for the Ravens, said they would throw more if that helped them win more football games. He added that he though they would be better able to throw the ball in more ways this year than they were last year. We have great players who can make the plays.

One of these player is Mark Clayton, who caught five passes for a total of 77 yards. This included a touchdown pass of 31 yards with just 2:06 minutes left in the game, which gave the Ravens a 31-24 lead.

With 31 seconds left in the game Willis McGahee scored a 1 yard touchdown, clinching the win for the Ravens. Another game aspect that was surprising was the ability of Kansas City to keep the game close, despite having to play without Matt Cassel. Cassel’s sprained left knee had not sufficiently healed in time to make his debut with the Chiefs.

The quarterback responsibilities fell to Tyler Thigpen and Brodie Croyle, who entering the game as NFL starters had a 1-18 career record. The Chiefs didn’t make a first down until the latter part of the second quarter. They utilized a long interception return and blocked punt to keep the game close until their offense was able to finally start rolling.

Croyle played in all except one series and finished the game 16 for 24 with 177 yards along with two touchdowns. When he was asked to rate his performance, Croyle stated, whether you play well or not, if you don’t get the win you still feel the same. That is where I am at.

Haley stated that he thought that Croyle had given them a chance to win and that was all he could ask his quarterback to do.

Chiefs running back Larry Johnson, who is the last player to have run for over 100 yards versus the Ravens (December 2006), finished the game with 11 carries for 20 yards.

That combined with the air show by the Ravens, contributed to Baltimore being able to nearly double the Chiefs’ time of possession.

Haley said he had to give Baltimore credit. They were a machine out there. They threw the ball a lot more than we had expected.

The Chiefs were unable to contain Clayton or Todd Heap, tight end, who caught six passes for a total of 74 yards. He scored one touchdown, made a total of four first downs, and really enjoyed being involved with an offense that seemed to be able to move at will.

Heap said it was fun. We really haven’t done that very many times around here. The Ravens, who last year led the AFC Conference in rushing, didn’t abandon their normal script entirely. Ray Rice rushed for 108 yards and another 44 yards were added by McGahee. The Ravens finished the game with 198 total yards rushing.

The Ravens, who trailed 14-10 near the end of the third quarter, took the lead on a 9 yard touchdown pass. Heap caught the pass at the 3rd yard line and bulled his way into the end zone.

Croyle then hit Mark Bradley on a 50 yard pass- which was the longest of Croyle’s career- setting up a 53 yard Ryan Succop field goal.

With 8:10 minutes remaining in the game the Ravens extended their lead to 24-17 on a 1 yard touchdown run from Le’Ron McClain. Croyle answered the call connecting with Sean Ryan for a touchdown.

Despite racking up a 215 to 56 total yard advantage, Baltimore only had a 10-7 lead at half time.

The first touchdown for the Chiefs came when Jon McGraw recovered a blocked punt in the end zone. In the third quarter Kansas City increased their lead to 14-10. Derrick Johnson had a 70 yard interception return, followed by a Croyle to Dwayne Bowe touchdown pass.

Notes
There was a moment of silence for Steve McNair, former quarterback for the Ravens, before singing the national anthem. Croyle has a 0-9 record as a starter, but the two passing touchdowns tied his career high. Jarret Johnson of Baltimore had two sacks, a career high.

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