Kansas City Chiefs Rewatch: 2009 week seven vs Chargers

After six games in 2009, the Kansas City Chiefs sat at 1-5 with their first victory of the season coming in week six against Washington. Would they be able to go on a winning streak?

Unfortunately, weeks five and six of the 2009 Kansas City Chiefs season weren’t available on NFL Game Pass, so I had to skip them. I could have written posts anyway, but decided not to cheat the system. The point is to rewatch games and write about what I see, so that means the next game on the agenda that was available was week seven against the San Diego Chargers.

The Chiefs and Chargers were in completely different spots by week seven of the 2009 season. The Chiefs had finally recorded their first win of the season the week prior by beating Washington, but were still just 1-5 on the year. The Chargers, meanwhile, were 3-3, but were far and away the better team when push came to shove.

Kansas City could have been 3-3 at this point, but heartbreaking losses to Oakland in week two and Dallas in week five (we didn’t cover it due to the game being unavailable, but it went to overtime and the Cowboys won) led them to this point. Would the Chiefs be able to make it two wins in a row when the Bolts came to Arrowhead?

WEEK 7 VS SAN DIEGO CHARGERS: OCTOBER 25TH, 2009

Both teams donned throwback uniforms in this one, with the Chiefs rocking their Dallas Texans helmets (the state of Texas on the helmet) while the Chargers wore white uniforms with powder blue numbering and black numbers on their white helmets. Even the officials got in on the fun, wearing red and white striped shirts rather than the usual black and white.

The throwbacks were fun, but the game was not. Out of the five games I’ve watched to this point, this was the worst by far. The Chargers put up two touchdowns in the first quarter and one of the analysts made the comment “You never see a receiver get this wide open” after San Diego found the end zone for the first time.

That was the theme of the game, as at one point in the second quarter the Chargers had 168 yards passing compared to Kansas City’s measly two yards. At that point it was 17-0 and while that doesn’t seem like that much of a point differential, for a Chiefs team that struggled to score throughout the season, it was astronomically big.

The Chiefs continued to make baffling decisions offensively too, opting to go for it on fourth down in their own territory. They didn’t convert of course, giving San Diego the ball back already in Chiefs territory.

Not only did they not convert, but the play call was absolute crap, as they opted to quarterback sneak it on fourth and one and didn’t come anywhere close to getting the first down. It was decisions like that that constantly held this team back. Well that and the fact that they were terrible.

It was 20-0 heading into the locker room at the half after Ryan Succop missed just his second field goal of the season. Somehow, it didn’t feel as though this game was going to get any better for the Chiefs, especially with the rain starting to fall in Kansas City.

Things looked like they might get better, as the Chiefs scored a touchdown on their first possession and then had a nice three and out by the defense. The Chiefs touchdown was made by Dwayne Bowe and was a gem along the sidelines of the end zone.

That ended up being KC’s lone score of the afternoon while San Diego scored two more touchdowns and added a field goal as well – making it a 37-7 final to hand Kansas City their sixth loss in seven games. The Chargers moved to 3-3 on the year.

It was yet another poor outing from Matt Cassel, who completed just ten passes for 97 yards while throwing one touchdown and three interceptions. He was sacked five times, proving that the offensive line was a big reason for his struggles.

REMEMBER THAT GUY?

• Lance Long – who the announcers said reminded them of Wes Welker – had two grabs for 12 yards, but should have had a touchdown at the end of the first half that was ruled incomplete. It was a hell of a catch – or non-catch rather. He got destroyed on a hard hit in the second half.
• Former K-State great Darren Sproles had himself a day, totaling 41 yards on the ground and 58 yards through the air while also grabbing a touchdown.
• Vincent Jackson absolutely decimated the Chiefs secondary, grabbing five passes for 142 yards and a touchdown
• Bobby Wade led the Chiefs in receiving yards with 66 off of four receptions.

This game was just gross from the beginning and it was clear that the Chiefs and Chargers were not on equal playing fields. San Diego was better offensively and defensively and it showed in this one. There isn’t a whole lot else to say on this one.

But hey – A bye week is on the horizon and then a date with the Jacksonville Jaguars!

Next up (hopefully if it’s available): Week 9 vs Jaguars (3-4)