The Killer Return
From Arrowhead Stadium
The Chiefs had a remarkable 24-3 lead on the first-half scoreboard. Connor Barth banged through a 39-yard field goal and two minutes, 13 seconds remained in the half.
This was territory foreign to the Chiefs. How unusual:
-The last time they scored 24 points in a half was on September 30, 2007 when they scored 24 in the second half at San Diego in a victory over the Chargers. It was one of four wins they had last year.
They last time they had a 21-point lead at half-time … well that’s not important now because over the last 133 seconds of the half, Tampa Bay scored 10 points and changed the entire tenor of the game. It got the Bucs back into the action and put some doubt in the mind of the Chiefs.
An overtime game has many turning points, but the big U-turn in momentum on this sunny Sunday was the 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Bucs rookie Clifton Smith.
Barth’s kickoff hung in the air for just a shade over four seconds and landed at the three-yard line. Smith took the ball, the Tampa Bay wedge set for a left return and he went straight up the field. On the right side of the Chiefs coverage unit, from Barth to the sidelines were Maurice Leggett, DaJuan Morgan, Erik Walden, Tyron Brackenridge and Devard Darling.
Not one of them touched Smith. Demorrio Williams came from the left side and made a diving attempt to tackle him. The only Chiefs coverage guy with a chance was Jon McGraw, but he chased him for 20 yards and then missed a diving tackle from behind at the 30-yard line.
Smith chugged into the end zone. It was only the second kickoff return for a touchdown in Tampa Bay history. The Bucs came into the league in 1976, so that’s two kickoff returns in 33 seasons.
The Bucs came into the game ranked No. 21 in the NFL in kickoff returns with an average return of 21.5 yards and a long return of 45 yards. The Chiefs came in as No. 15 in kick coverage, allowing an average return of 22.5 yards with a 51-yard long return.
But the score became the first kickoff TD the Chiefs have allowed since November of 2005.
“It happened so fast, I’m not sure what went wrong,” said Barth. “It was a big play, there’s no doubt about that, but we had time to recover from it. We have to put something like that behind us quickly, because once it happens it’s gone. I take the blame. I probably should have kicked it into the end zone.”
Unfortunately, it was more than just one play. It pumped a breath of air into the Bucs, something Jon Gruden acknowledged.
“It gave us a chance,” Gruden said. “Right then we were struggling. It was a hot day, it was not going well. Clifton gave us a chance, gave u s some life and energy. There were four or five big plays we made today that allowed this to happen.”
Because of the offensive TD explosion in the first half, the Chiefs were busy on kickoff coverage and they were not impressive. Overall, the Bucs had seven returns for an average of 36.3 yards. Take the 97-yarder out of the equation and the Bucs averaged 26.2 yards a return. Over a season, that average would rank among the league’s worst coverage.
Sunday’s game was just the second of Smith’s career. The 5-8, 190-pound running back out of Fresno State was on the Bucs practice squad until October 25th when he was added to the active roster. He returned kicks and punts last week against Dallas, replacing rookie WR Dexter Jackson who was inactive.
Smith made a place for himself with the Bucs with the TD return. He certainly fired a dart at the heart of the Chiefs.
i really dont get it. Barth’s kickoffs have been more deep than Novak’s and the hangtime is decent, yet the coverage unit has struggled more with Barth’s kickoffs than with Novak’s.
This wouldnt be an issue if we had someone who could consistently kick it into the endzone.
Priefer has got to be the worst special teams coach we’ve had here. We sit Upper deck 2nd row on the 40yd line right above our sideline. Preifer runs around like a chicken with his head cut off. He just doesn’t seem to have a handle on things.