The Kansas City Chiefs found a way to lose a playoff game at home which they had no business losing, stop me if you’ve heard that one before. We have seen it time and time again Chiefs Kingdom. Our team has a great regular season, some all time memorable games, leaves us with some unforgettable moments…only to see it come crashing down in glorious fashion in their first (and only) playoff game of the year. Now, I’ll be the first to admit, I thought the Pittsburgh Steelers were a better football team than the Chiefs were going into that game; truth be told, I felt that way all year. However, with the way that game developed, there is absolutely no reason the Chiefs should have lost that game. If you would have told me the Chiefs scored multiple touchdowns and the Steelers failed to reach the endzone even once, I would have told you the Chiefs won that game every time! Well, not this time. I’ve now had a night to sleep on it and have a few takes on this game.
- Travis Kelce – After the game, Travis was very animated. At one point dropping an F-Bomb and saying “they shouldn’t even be able to work at Foot Locker” in reference to the officials (view Travis’ whole rant here). Kelce plays with passion, he’s an intense player that sometimes lets his emotions run wild and not always in a good way. My thoughts on Kelce’s outburst? Grow up man, you’re blaming the officials, really? First off, your guy Eric Fisher (who I’ll get to in a minute) DID in fact hold on that play. Second off, did the officials drop a perfectly thrown pass that would have been a sure touchdown? Did the officials lose their cool 2 plays later and shove a Steelers player well after the whistle was blown? Take some responsibility for your actions Travis! Your under performance in that game was far more detrimental to the team than the officiating was.
- Eric Fisher – The much maligned former number 1 overall pick in the 2013 draft actually had a pretty decent year in 2016. Fish seemed to have turned the corner and was starting to come into his own as a solid starting LT in the NFL. Then a 38 year old James Harrison over aggressively beat him on the edge. Alex Smith felt the pressure coming and stepped up to deliver a perfect pass to tie the game on a two point conversion. Then, a flag came out. That flag was for holding, and it was against Eric Fisher. Was it a hold? Absolutely it was. Is that a hold that’s usually called in that situation? No it’s not usually called, but calling it is perfectly justifiable. Bottom line, there was no need to hold! Harrison over ran the play, Fisher could have just kept pushing him wide, Alex felt the pressure, stepped up, and delivered the pass to Harris. The hold didn’t effect the play in any way. That’s on Fisher, not on the official, not on anyone else. That 2 point conversion fiasco falls squarely on his shoulders.
- Receivers as a whole – I mentioned Kelce’s drop already, and the subsequent meltdown he had costing the team 15 yards. There was another drop by Spencer Ware in the first half that would have given the Chiefs a first down. There was Jeremy Maclin turning the wrong way on a perfect throw by Smith where, had Maclin turned to the outside instead of into his defender, it would have dropped perfectly into his hands for a TD. There was the Charcandrick West fumble at the end of the first half costing us a chance at 3 points. Alex Smith didn’t have his best game, but he did better than anyone will give him credit for. His receivers let him down in this one.
Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that the Chiefs can’t seem to get out of their own way in the playoffs. I can’t explain it, I really can’t. I just know it hurts. Every time we get to the post season, the Chiefs find ways to lose that you don’t see coming. Whether it’s a kicker missing 3 field goals under 40 yards, whether it’s choosing a bad QB over a good one, whether it’s not forcing a single punt for 4 quarters, or whether it’s this year. When the Chiefs became the first team in NFL history to lose a game in which they scored multiple TDs and didn’t allow a single TD. I’ll never understand it, I’ll never get it. We as fans deserve better. We as fans deserve a winning football team. We deserve a freaking championship. Ultimately, this Chiefs season comes out as a total failure. The Chiefs were good enough to compete for and possibly even win the Super Bowl. They didn’t, they failed. As fans, we need to hold them to a higher standard and demand more. We deserve better. Hopefully, we’ll get better soon. Those are my basic thoughts on the game and the season. I’ll continue to check in with Sloan on V100 throughout the offseason when big things happen, and I’ll keep you updated here on all of the offseason news with our Kansas City Chiefs. Until next time.
Go Chiefs!!!!
-McLuckie
