Three Thoughts: Kansas City Chiefs Over The Buffalo Bills

Nov 3, 2013; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles (25) runs with the ball as Buffalo Bills free safety Aaron Williams (23) pursues. Chiefs beat the Bills 23-13. (Kevin Hoffman, USA TODAY Sports)

1. – Sean Smith Changed the Game

Chiefs fans usually spend the latter part of Sundays talking about the play of Alex Smith, but a different Smith will garner plenty of talk tonight. Sean Smith’s 100-yard pick-six could not have come at a better time. If the Bills had completed that drive by getting a touchdown, the score would be 17-3 early in the third quarter. That’s a whole different ballgame. If it was up to me, Smith (the defensive one) wins the game ball. And let me just say, it was good to see the number 27 on a Chiefs jersey scoring a touchdown. It brings back good memories.

2 – What Happened to the Defense?

I kept watching this game thinking that something was missing. Was it the passing game? No, that’s not it, they don’t normally have a deadly passing attack, but they could use to catch a few more passes. Jamaal Charles? Not really, he’s still in the game; he might not be doing much, but he’s still contributing. What are they missing? Well, let’s look at the stats. The amount of sacks for the Kansas City Chiefs, the team with the most sacks in the NFL: zero. Absolutely no sacks. For those of you who don’t already know, the Chiefs play the Broncos in two weeks, and, for those of you who don’t already know, Peyton Manning has a weakness to a good pass rush.

The defense didn’t play well in general. You may point out Smith’s pick-six or Tamba Hali’s fumble recovery for a touchdown, but honestly, as a whole, the Chiefs defense didn’t play as well as their normal 2013 selves.  The Bills’ average rush attempt earned 6.3 yards per play. That’s horrible. If there is going to be a chance to remain relevant over the last seven games, the defense cannot disappear. It’s been their strength so far this season and it can’t go away now.

Bonus Thought 1: Happy Birthday, Tamba Hali.

3 – It’s Going to Be a Lot More Challenging

Before today, the Chiefs’ opponents were a combined 23-46. For their next seven games the opponents are a combined 33-22. I could leave this thought alone and you would understand my point. The Chiefs play both Peyton Manning and Phillip Rivers twice. The passing stat QBR evaluates a quarterbacks performance based on a scale of 0-100. Manning and Rivers rank as the two best QBR’s in the league (84.17 and 77.41 respectively). Add in the Colts’ Andrew Luck (71.91) and the Chiefs will be facing three of the top five quarterbacks in the league. Value the undefeated streak while you can.

Bonus Thought 2: The team with the best set of white jerseys is Buffalo. That look is classic. Simple stripes of blue and red contrast so well with the white of the helmets, jerseys, and pants. The Chiefs wore red jerseys with white pants, a combination that is so great, the Chiefs’ organization hasn’t changed it in decades. This may be the best looking game all season.