Thoughts on the game Chiefs 56 Raiders 31
The GOOD:
56 points on that Oakland Coliseum scoreboard. Totally unprecedented.
Jamaal Charles. Enough said. We've all known his worth for some time, now. Especially when he's healthy.
Alex Smith continues to be a sturdy commander for the Chiefs at QB and a career day today going 17/20 for 287 yards and 5 TD passes. Dropped passes were obviously kept to a minimum today.
Great game-plan adjustment by the Offense to the Raiders blitz-pressure style Defense. The plan WAS to attack them with screens to Charles, as you saw on the very first play from scrimmage.
The O-Line play was better in this game for the Chiefs than what we saw in the 1st game with Oakland. Stephenson and Fisher both did not draw a single flag for the 2nd week in a row. Stephenson has stepped up big-time at LT and should keep the job the rest of this season, as he's a better player than Albert, plain and simple. It's no coincidence that the O-Line has improved since he took over LT. Fisher played well & it was on the play that he got hurt where the sack was given up. He simply needs to stay healthy and continue his improvement. An off-season program should benefit Fisher greatly, just like it did for Stephenson, and the Chiefs will have a pair of bookend Tackles that can compare with anybody for a long time to come --- finally.
Eric Berry getting his first game with multiple picks & both coming at the right time. Let's hope he repeats this feat in the post-season. Especially if they get a 3rd crack at Denver
5 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries totaling 7 takeaways.
The BAD:
Too many untimely penalties that helped keep the Raiders in the game. That Lewis blunder was inexcusable.
3rd down defense was awful & too many blown coverages.
No sacks by the Defense -- however the Raiders O-line was healthy this time and no Justin Houston, so that isn't a big surprise.
The UGLY:
31 points given up, which makes it the 3rd time this season the Chiefs have given up 31 or more to an AFC West opponent -- no Justin Houston for a full game in any of those games. Nobody outside the division, however, has scored more than 17 on the Chiefs thus far this year.
Please add your thoughts, as I'm sure I didn't cover all the bases.