Kansas City Chiefs Rewatch: 2010 Week 17 vs Raiders
With one game remaining in the 2010 season, there was a lot on the line for the Kansas City Chiefs including a division title and a chance to host a home playoff game. They’d finish their regular season against the Oakland Raiders.
The Kansas City Chiefs definitely improved in 2010 and they did so with a nice turnaround from Matt Cassel and the offense, thanks to offensive coordinator Charlie Weis. The defense – led by defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel – helped pave the way for a nice reboot there.
All the Chiefs had to do to win their first AFC West title since 2003 was win this game against the Oakland Raiders, who they’d get at Arrowhead in the final game of the regular season.
The Chargers were breathing down Kansas City’s neck in the division and it was crucial that the Chiefs win this game. Would they be able to knock off the Raiders in the final regular season game on the 2010 schedule?
Must Read. Chiefs Rewatch: Week 16 vs Titans. light
WEEK 17 VS OAKLAND RAIDERS: JANUARY 2ND, 2011
In their first game of 2011, the Kansas City Chiefs got off to a promising start, as their defense forced a fumble on Oakland’s first possession and that in turn led to the Chiefs knocking through a field goal to go up 3-0 early. Fans were amped at this point because this game was CRUCIAL.
Oakland took a 7-3 lead a few minutes later and didn’t have any problems moving the ball against the Chiefs defense on that drive. This was a close game at half time with the Raiders holding a 10-3 lead and Chiefs fans were hoping to see the offense that appeared during the first half against the Titans reemerge when the teams came out of the locker room for the second half.
Unfortunately, things went south.
The Chiefs only scored one touchdown while the Raiders scored three and ran away with a 31-10 victory. The win made things tricky for the Chiefs when it came to winning the division, but fortunately for them, a few other things went their way and they were still crowned the champions of the AFC West – the first time that could be said for them in seven years.
Matt Cassel was terrible in this game, completing just 11 of 33 passes for 115 yards while throwing two interceptions including one that was taken the other way for six Raider points. It’s tough to win games when your quarterback only completes 11 passes for 115 yards, but his offensive line did him no favors, allowing him to be sacked five times.
The run game was good, but there’s only so much they can do when the team is playing from behind. Jamaal Charles rushed for 87 yards and had the lone Chiefs touchdown while Thomas Jones – who started the year off so great only to peter off midseason – had ten carries for 17 yards.
The defense once again was led by Tamba Hali, who had 2.5 sacks. Hali was fantastic in 2010 and I honestly forgot how great he was during his prime years, so that was fun reliving his glory days.
With this loss, the Chiefs ended year number two under Todd Haley with a 10-6 record, but they won the division and made it to the playoffs for the first time since the 2006 season. Meanwhile Oakland managed to go 6-0 in the AFC West, but finished the season at 8-8, meaning they won just two games against the rest of the teams on their schedule. They sure gave Kansas City all they had in 2010 and it was frustrating.
REMEMBER THAT GUY?
- Tyler Palko got into the game, completing two of three passes for 27 yards and he was sacked twice.
- Michael Bush had 137 rushing yards and a touchdown against the Chiefs defense.
- Stanford Routt had the Cassel pick six late in the game.
- Kamerion Wimley had three sacks on the Chiefs quarterbacks.
- Jason Campbell – Oakland’s quarterback – threw just 15 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown.
- Kyle Boller – former first round pick by the Ravens in 2003 – briefly played when Campbell was injured and on the sidelines.
This was a disappointing end to what had been a fun regular season for Chiefs fans, but at least they were still AFC West champs and playoff bound even after this disaster of a game.
After a miserable 2009 campaign, the Kansas City Chiefs improved mightily in 2010. While both sides of the ball had shown flashes, we also saw how at times this team could have been labeled as a fraud. They were not nearly as good as their 10-6 record indicated. Fans truly discovered that in the following game.
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