Kansas City Chiefs Rewatch: 2010 Week 11 vs Cardinals

The Kansas City Chiefs had dropped their last two games in very different ways and were hoping to get back in the win column against a three-win Cardinals team.

After a two-game losing streak with both games taking place away from Arrowhead Stadium, the Kansas City Chiefs returned home for a date with the Arizona Cardinals.

The Chiefs were 5-4 at this point and needed a win to get back on track in the AFC West. The Cardinals, meanwhile, had just three wins on the year and a loss to the Chiefs in week 11 would probably end their season.

How did this week 11 match-up go between the Chiefs and the Cardinals?

WEEK 11 VS ARIZONA CARDINALS: NOVEMBER 21ST, 2010

The Cardinals didn’t look like a three-win football team to start, marching down the field with ease, but having to kick a field goal. The Chiefs couldn’t match the points on their first drive and fans might have had flashbacks to the previous game where they were trounced by a two-win team in the first quarter.

Tamba Hali was a monster early on, forcing pressure on the quarterback and making key third down stops. Hali truly was one of a kind during his prime years and rewatching these games reminded me of that.

The crowd was raucous and that led to the commentators explaining just how loud Arrowhead can get. The fans had helped back the Cardinals up near their own end zone and they’d eventually punt it back to the Chiefs, who got the ball in Arizona territory and one play later were at first and goal on the Cardinals one-yard line.

As the second quarter began, so did the Chiefs offensive production, as Matt Cassel connected with Dwayne Bowe to make it a 7-3 ball game. From there, the Chiefs offense continued to roll, scoring again minutes later on a Thomas Jone touchdown run to make it 14-3.

Any time the Cardinals were on offense, there was a man shouting that was clearly audible for those of us watching the broadcast. Good for him for doing his due diligence as a fan. He was shouting throughout the entire game.

While I doubt that man was to thank for the Cardinals’ offensive woes, maybe in his mind what he was doing worked, as Arizona failed to get much going all afternoon long. It was 14-3 at the half and the Chiefs made it 21-3 midway through the third quarter on yet another touchdown run by Thomas Jones.

It took until the final seconds of the game for the Cardinals to find the end zone, but by then the game was already out of reach for the Birds. It was 31-13 when the final whistle blew and that moved the Kansas City Chiefs to 6-4 on the year and dropped  the Arizona Cardinals to 3-7.

Dwayne Bowe had another spectacular performance, grabbing six receptions for 109 yards and two touchdowns. The run game did their part, with Jamaal Charles rushing for 88 yards and Jones totaling 71 yards and two touchdowns.

The defense did well, limiting the Cardinals to just 13 points and really held them to just six, as it took until 0:00 for Arizona to get into the end zone. It was an all around good performance by Kansas City and proved that they were a whole different team at Arrowhead in front of their faithful fans.

REMEMBER THAT GUY?

• Derek Anderson was the Cardinals quarterback and his tenure there did not go well. He missed easy throws in this game that could have led to some points, but his stats didn’t look bad: 25 of 46 for 295 yards and a touchdown.
• Future Chief Steve Breaston caught five passes for 92 yards.
• Legend Larry Fitzgerald had six catches for 90 yards and the lone Cardinals touchdown.
• Remember Early Doucet? He was in this game!
• Jake O’Connell was filling in for an injured Tony Moeaki and had two catches for 24 yards.
• Javier Arenas and Demorrio Williams had the  two sacks on Anderson.

This was a much better game than the previous two for one obvious reason: The Kansas City Chiefs won! It’s always more fun to watch a win than a loss, especially when the Chiefs offense moves the ball well and also limits the opposing offense from moving the ball.

There was something about Arrowhead Stadium that brought out the best in this 2010 Chiefs team and we saw that be the case once again. They moved to 5-0 at home and were 1-4 on the road at this point, so obviously winning the division and getting a home playoff game was crucial.

Next up: Week 12 vs Seahawks (5-5)