Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Diego Chargers Ten In-Depth Observations
Dec 28, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Justin Houston (50) celebrates after a sack against the San Diego Chargers in the first half at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
The Kansas City Chiefs did everything they could to lock up a playoff spot, but the Baltimore Ravens (and Houston Texans) took care of business in the face of inferior competition to eliminate the Chiefs. That said, they finished the season on a high note, completely neutralizing Philip Rivers in the 19-7 victory, though it’s fair to question the San Diego Chargers gameplan yesterday. Rivers barely threw the ball against a defense whose biggest weakness lies in the secondary, and he didn’t even target Antonio Gates until both started rolling in the third quarter. The story of the game, of course, was the Chiefs elite pass rush, as they battered an injured Rivers and embarrassed his beat-up, paper-thin offensive line.
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1. It’s hard not to feel bad for Rivers, because he was not put in a position to succeed. Not only was he dealing with a back injury (you could see him limping around at times), but he didn’t receive enough help from the players around him. It’s one thing to allow pressure, but it’s another thing to consistently allow pressure from all sides, particularly unblocked sacks.
Rivers was sacked seven times, and his receivers also dropped a few passes that they should have held onto. Eddie Royal, Dontrelle Inman, and Gates are all nice route-runners who are capable pass-catchers, but he clearly lacked a difference-maker in the passing game without Keenan Allen. Rivers didn’t play his best game, but he looked accurate and hit his usual timing routes despite the pressure he faced throughout the game. We’ve certainly seen better from him, but I don’t think he played as poorly as the stats indicate.
2. Honestly, instead of harping on Rivers, it’s best to praise the Chiefs defense for playing an incredibly good football game in find of an obviously fired-up crowd at Arrowhead. Justin Houston ripped through everyone the Chargers put in front of him, and he absolutely embarrassed Chargers backup right tackle Willie Smith, who came in when D.J. Fluker briefly exited with an injury, on a third-and-9 sack near the two-minute warning in the second quarter. Houston had four sacks in total, and the Chargers simply had no answer for him. Josh Mauga was, as usual, active, and Dontari Poe had a particularly jarring sack in which he blew by some downright dreadful blocking from the center.
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