Improvement But Still Defeat as Chiefs Fall to Jets
From the Meadowlands in New Jersey
In what was their best performance as a team in over a month, the Chiefs chased victory right into the final moments of the game against Brett Favre and the New York Jets. But Favre being Favre, he and the Jets pulled out a 28-24 victory at Giants Stadium.
After the game, Herm Edwards told his team that what they had done was shown the world what they are and what they can become. There’s no question there was improved play, especially on the offensive side of the football. Making the second NFL start of his life, Tyler Thigpen outplayed the great Favre.
But in money time, Favre answered as he’s done so many times before. His 15-yard pass to Lavernaues Coles provided the winning points.
“We saw him do that to us last year,” said LB Donnie Edwards of Favre. Edwards returned to the playing field for the first time in a month. “We knew what he could do. We didn’t stop him and that hurts.”
That the Jets were in that precarious position was due to the play of the Chiefs secondary and the performance of Thigpen. Running most of the time out of a shotgun/no huddle offense, Thigpen produced two touchdowns, 330 yards and did not have a turnover. The Chiefs defense picked off Favre three times and returned one for a touchdown, as CB Brandon Flowers went 91 yards on an interception return for a touchdown.
But again, the Chiefs defense had problems giving up a big play in the running game and they continued to have problems tackling.
The Jets go the ball first and Favre promptly moved his offense 73 yards on 10 plays that ended up with an 18-yard touchdown pass to RB Leon Washington for the score. Favre was six of seven in the drive, hitting WR Jerricho Cotchery for 21 yards and WR Chansi Stuckey for 14 yards in the drive. The PAT kick by K Jay Feely gave New York and early 7-0 lead.
When the Chiefs got the ball for the first time, they were able to get an early first down, thanks to a 17-yard completion from Thigpen to TE Tony Gonzalez. The catch extended Gonzalez streak of consecutive games with at least one catch to 122 games. But the drive stalled and P Steve Weatherford, filling in for the injured Dustin Colquitt, punted the ball away.
Favre took the Jets back into scoring territory, but the Chiefs defense stiffened and forced an attempted field goal. But Feely missed the 36-yard FG try wide left.
The Jets had the ball back as the first quarter was nearing an end, but Flowers picked off a Favre pass intended for Cotchery and returned the interception 27 yards to the Jets 38-yard line. Favre was pressured on the play by DE Tamba Hali.
The Chiefs got on the board early in the second quarter on a pretty 19-yard touchdown pass from Thigpen to Gonzalez. It capped a four-play, 38-yard drive after Flowers interception. K Connor Barth scored his first NFL point with the PAT kick. A 13 minutes, 51 seconds to play in the period, the score was tied 7-7.
The teams traded possessions for the rest of the quarter and neither one mounted much of a scoring threat until the final moments of the first half. Thigpen continued his hot hand, completing his first 10 passes before throwing an incompletion with 3:59 to play in the period. One of those completions was a nice 36-yard throw and run to WR Dwayne Bowe.
Defensively, the Chiefs picked off another Favre pass, as S Jarrad Page pulled down the interception. Favre was pressured on the play by both Hali and DT Tank Tyler.
The Jets got a touchdown before the end of the quarter, hitting the Chiefs with a familiar roundhouse punch: the long scoring run. On a draw play, Washington took the handoff from Favre and ran 60 yards untouched for his second TD of the day. Feely’s PAT kick made the score 14-7 in favor of the Jets.
The Chiefs came right back and moved the ball into scoring position, thanks to a 30-yard run by RB Jamaal Charles and a 21-yard Thigpen to Gonzalez completion. The Chiefs got their second touchdown of the half, as Thigpen hit WR Mark Bradley in the end zone for the score. The play was originally ruled incomplete as the official said Bradley did not get both feet down inbounds. But a replay review changed the call and the Chiefs had six points. Barth’s PAT kick tied the score a 14-14 as the half ended.
The Chiefs had the ball first in the third quarter and Thigpen got right back to moving the ball down the field. Operating out of a no-huddle, shotgun scheme, the offense moved 66 yards on 12 plays. Thigpen completed passes to five different receivers in the drive, moving the ball to the Jets nine-yard line with a first-and-goal. But the New York defense was able to finally slow Thigpen down and on fourth down, Barth kicked his first NFL field goal, this one from 30 yards and the Chiefs had a 17-14 lead.
Late in the quarter, the Jets put together their best drive since early in the game. Favre moved the team 72-yards on 13 plays that ended on a one-yard TD run by RB Thomas Jones. New York converted a pair of third down plays to keep the drive alive. Feely’s PAT kick gave the Jets the lead back, 21-17 as the third quarter came to a close.
But the Chiefs got the lead back midway through the fourth quarter on the second interception of the game by Flowers. He grabbed a pass intended for Stuckey and returned the interception 91 yards for a touchdown. Barth’s PAT kick gave the Chiefs a 24-21 lead with 7:48 to play in the game. Flowers return was the fifth longest INT return in club history.
The Chiefs had a chance to salt away the victory, but couldn’t get a first down and a nice punt return by Washington gave the Jets possession at the Chiefs 46-yard line. In six plays, Favre had New York in the end zone, throwing the TD pass to Coles. Feely’s PAT kick set the final score.
great game by the CHIEFS should have used a rollout to get the fisrt at the end of the game as tyler ran the roll consistantly for + yards all day jets were playing the run all the way but thats why im on the couch watching I wanted the w for the CHIEFS its coming
3 strait runs to the left, Impressive play calling!
Especially when your QB has a hot hand through out the game and your record is 1&5 and on the road?
And your playing against the most prolific QB in the history of the league, and your Defense has been suspect ALL SEASON!!
GREAT CALL! I ask again who is responsible?
its called conservative if LJ would have been the back maybe a good choice or as john says tyler had the hot hand
I agree, John. I was really disappointed in that sequence. Kolby hadn’t really run well all game up to that point.
Impovement…yes. They should have won that game. The tackling was awfull, and let’s face it fans, the Jets did not play well at all. Favre had an off day and still managed his usual.
I hope next week gets better.
JohnNDallas, let me be the first to eat a piece of crow pie on Thigpen. I’m still not sold on this guy as a QBOTF, but he played a HELL OF A GAME, with little run support, on the road. He planted his feet when he threw the ball and made some nice reads. I didn’t think him capable of such play. I’m an opinionated fellow, but I will be the first to admit when I’m wrong and Thigpen proved me wrong for today at least, and you have been his biggest supporter so props to you today sir!
Great game by Flowers. Hali looked better back on the left side; let’s keep him there. Cottam and Bradley stepped up and provided some weapons in the passing game. Bowe and Gonzalez continue to be effective as well. I hate to bring it up, but the officials were not on our side today. There was absolutely pass interference on that 4th down throw to Franklin at the end of the game and Thigpen has every right to be furious over it. The taunting call on Pollard seemed pretty bogus too. There’s taunting EVERY play. Why call it on us? Maybe Bob knows a little more on that and what Pollard did that was penalty-worthy. I thought it was bogus. The league wants Favre’s Jets to be in the playoff hunt.
Too bad we lost because the Raiders and Chargers lost today as well. We could have put ourselves in a position to make a run at winning this stinko division. At least we saw a competitive football team today. That may be the best we can hope for this season.
why not roll thigpen out on that third down and see if there is a quick open man, or let him run.
but kolby smith to the left 3 times? disgusting
but tyler thigpen played outstanding! better game than croyle ever had.
jamaal charles was outstanding for the short time being.
dwayne bowe and bradley were nice today. as was gonzo.
brandon flowers and brandon carr continue to impress.
where was dorsey?
It’s crazy ILChiefsFan!
To me, Whom Ever Is Calling the plays in situations like that……Well it’s just a SMACK DOWN to this Team and the confidence Gailey/Edwards?? have in them.
I know that KC is at the bottom of the barrell this year. But, the zebra’s helped the jets a lot. I saw at least 4 pass interference calls that weren’t called. Tony G. got an offensive pass interference called against him that should have went against the defender. Those refs stunk really bad. How do we get a hold of the NFL and tell them to play fair? Our offense was so much better today than they have been all year. I am still not sold that Thigpen should be the QB. He did really well though. They got smart and put Tamba back where he should have been all year. But, they let another running back get us again. Bob any answer on what should be done with this defense?
For what it’s worth… I think that Herm actually didn’t mind that the the team didn’t get the first down, but rather wanted to put the game on the shoulders his suspect defense. He can’t accept the fact that they are bad and he wanted them to hold-off Favre and ’seal’ the victory. You might think that’s crazy, but Herm is a defensive coach and I’m sure in his heart, deep down, he wanted the defense to show-up… good thinking Herm.
*** of his suspect defense
Thanks colby, gotta mention how accurate he threw the ball TODAY*
I Understand, One game dose not a QB make, But I say he is still the best on our roster right now.
I just wonder how much further along he would be if he had gotten all of Huards snaps?
great effort!! but a lost is a lost the chiefs , the two rookie staring corners played very well the safeties were spotty . can anybody tell me when will mr conservative goes for the kill i mean three runs in a row . that was brutal! i will say it and i will say it again herm it’s not martyball anymore when comes in putting people away. ATTACK!ATTACK!ATTACK! very simple. and by the way the linebackers especially the middle is destroying the chiefs pat thomas ,demarrio williams. derrick johnson was ok and so far glen dorsey is starting to look a lot like ryan sims lets hope not because this really makes another blown number one pick by carl and his clique.
I think our receivers played well today, also. Bowe and Gonzales made some pretty tough catches, and Bradley looks like he could be a factor.
Brad Cottam played pretty well, but, Brad, you gotta jump for those balls in the end zone! Tony would have had that catch.
Dorsey’s not doing much, but it’s too early to call him Ryan Sims. He certainly doesn’t appear worthy of that top pick just yet and may have benefitted too much from the Mel Kiper/Todd McShay hype machine, but I for one want to see him play more before I make that distinction.
Also, I really like that spread offense work. Maybe it’s because we’re in Big 12 country and that’s the hot thing in college right now, but for Thigpen, it seems to work. He looked much calmer going out of the shotgun.
I agree on the receivers. It helped to have a second WR for a change. Glad to see Darling on the sideline. Bradley started his KC career nicely. Cottam will come, he can’t be TG yet.
Don’t understand why you would play to let your defense try to win the game. They didn’t stop the Jets all day. Favre stopped the Jets with wild throws. I can buy it if you are 5-1 and don’t want to make a mistake to lose a game, but c’mon, 1-5 and you play that conservative???? Just a little rollout with a safe throw or scramble. Typical Herm Edwards. Apparently, you play to not lose the game.
Need to be patient with Dorsey. Too early to call him a bust. Houston fans thought Mario Williams was a bust his rookie year. Now look. The problem is that he is double-teamed most plays because our DE’s are so bad they can be blocked with any one blocker. We need another stude at DE to take some attention away from Dorsey. Of course it doesn’t really matter when the tackling is that poor.
Good game for Thigpen. He looked poised and confident. Much different. It seemed that he had more passing lanes today which kept him from having to throw high over linemen. Makes a big difference.
Keep up the great work Coach Edwards. All of KC is behind you and we know that you will lead us back to glory very soon now.
AND NOW, Clark Hunt has affirmed Herm’s The Man!
^ I had heard that exact same quote on the star a yr ago but it was used in jest, and I am not so sure that is what you are doing.
I too have crow to eat about Thigpen. He made huge strides in this game compared to his Atlanta start.
The blame for this loss has to go to the coaches. Whoever called 3 straight running plays in the 4th with 2 minutes lost the game for the team. I think that was Herm’s influence.
Rin Tin Tin those couldn’t be truer words! Where were you earlier this season? Coby you (along with many others) will eat more crow soon when you take back everything that you ever said about the coaching staff. Just because it doesn’t make sense to you now doesn’t mean there isn’t future moves in mind. When you play chess every move is based on three moves into the future.
I completely disagree with the comments made about the last offensive series. Those making comments like that have obviously never been part of a football team. Herm was telling his team that he had the confidence in them to run those plays. Football ultimately is not about tricking the other team but imposing your will on the other team. Herm understands that and he will build a team with that mentality.
Great game today. We did get to see that this offensive is coming together and stability at QB is huge for continued growth. The play calling will become more and more creative as the QB position solidifies. Tyler made a statement today and took advantage of this opportunity. Hopefully we will never get a look at Gray.
The defensive line looked better with Hali back home at LDE. They have a long way to go however, did Dorsey even play? He was invisible most of the game. That young man has a long way to go. Tackling was not really improved especially among linebackers and safeties. The young corners continued to look good. You can point your fingers all you want but if DJ makes the interception he takes it to the house and this was a different game??
I highly doubt I’ll eat crow on Edwards. I stand firm in my opinion that he is one of the worst coaches in the history of our once proud franchise. Glad they played competitvely though. It hurts less than a shellacking.
Where? In the fray here and there. Remember TRG, there are ex-NFL GMs & Head Coaches among us in this blog- emphasis on ‘ex’ (secondary emphasis on ‘lax’, there’s.)
Any way, Thigpen looked S M O O T H today - he obviously took Rin’s advice to relax, settle in and develop some touch. Mission accomplished.
Today baby steps, hope for tomorrow…tomorrow?
Probably morw whining interspersed with two steps forward & one step back…as rebuilding entails.
And to them we say: to the we say - kiss Herm’s ‘gretz!’
heh heh heh
At least you could see there was a team there. Had no idea Thigpen had a game in him. Had no idea herm was willing to throw the ball. Heck even dick curl look effective.
Except for Dorsey the first improvement as a team since training camp, Denver game not withstanding.
I think this was a very nice showing for the young guys.
Still not sold on Herm.
I think Rin Tin & True Red are related to Herm.
Maybe even the same guy for that matter.
LOL it’s only been a few months since this team was gutted and rookies were drafted to play. Thigpen did what I expected today. He’s a gamer. Cottam was impressive and JC, well, just wait a few games and watch that guy. Rookie Cox is good. The “Brandons” did well too.
I think the “DJ factor” is dwindling. Maybe I’ll like him after the Chiefs find a MLB, but right now, I think he plays like crap.
Ok, I’m done. As you were, Herm-haters…. LOL
Baffling, as the announcers said, that the Jets decided to air the ball out most of the game.
Really… against the 32nd rank rush D? Come on. The only reason we were in the game was because their game plan was space cadet.
Like a couple of us said in a previous post, the Chiefs can win if Farve goes on an interception binge. He did — and we still lost it. Bleh.
Was fun to watch though
“I think Rin Tin & True Red are related to Herm.
Maybe even the same guy for that matter.”
- verily, I Rin Tin Tin am divine, no doubt about it, but…I’m not part of the Trinity.
October 26, 2008 - CP says:
Baffling, as the announcers said, that the Jets decided to air the ball out most of the game.
Really… against the 32nd rank rush D? Come on. The only reason we were in the game was because their game plan was space cadet.
I thought Herm left the Jets, no they fired him, no wait, they ran him out, no that is not it, I know, I know they traded him, but then why was their game plan so bad? Herm ran the ball too much, Mangini throws the ball too much, this is getting so complicated!
This is EXACTLY why they should have been playing Thigpen every snap that Croyle wasn’t able, instead of a bum with no future like Huard. Just another reason why Herm needs to be fired, his total mishandling of the QB position after Croyle went down the ast time. And the incompetent would still be playing Huard if he didn’t get hurt. You play young players with raw ability, and hope that they get over the nervousness, and start playing to that ability.
Now watch them mess this up by undercutting Tyler’s confidence by signing Culpepper, which would be another INSANE move.