One More Try

That was our last home win against KC.  12-29-13.  The game we needed to win against their backups to get into the playoffs.  Even I wouldn’t have remembered it had been that long.  Ladarius Green, wow.  If Everett can’t go maybe he’s still available.  It’s been almost a full week since the Niners game.  It still stings.  Like you, FAITHFUL READER, I wasn’t expecting to celebrate until it was over.  We all knew they couldn’t possibly be as bad in San Francisco as everyone assumed.  Even Chris Simms, who has been bashing the offense routinely, felt that we’d come out with something different.  We did, but it wasn’t enough.  Of course, you can point to McKitty’s drop, though Carter got them near the goal line.  That ended up being a field goal, as did the drive to end the half.  It’s a miracle Herbert didn’t get knocked out.  They did say they would be activating his legs since he has seemed healthier since the first KC game.  Herbert laid out on that drive.  At least we got a field goal, I thought.

The second half?  The offense got stagnant, or ran out of players.  Fred Warner’s comments made it seem like we didn’t change but they did the same thing.  In other words, Ryans started the game with some “designer packages” as Staley said after being told of the comments by Daniel Popper.  Whatever the reason, they didn’t score at all the rest of the way.  Clearly Palmer was the only guy (maybe Carter) who could get open.  Bandy couldn’t get any separation and McKitty, after that awful drop, couldn’t block anyone.

The third and longs were killer.  Staley talked about the innovative front to try to stop the run.  It definitely worked but once Covington and Otto went down it was tough.  I kept waiting for Jimmy G to throw that pick that would get us back into the game.  Sadly, that never happened.  We were leading by three going into the fourth but no one really felt like we were on track to win unless we stepped it up in the fourth, right?

I still can’t believe this was the last time we beat KC at home.  There’s T’eo when we had too many people on the field for the missed field goal.  Remember how pissed Steelers fans were?  Of course the first KC game that year was the Tutu Hail Mary.  It’s great that Williams will be back tomorrow.  He’s had some huge games against the Chiefs.  We’d have won that game in Mexico in 2019 if Phil didn’t throw that pick in the end zone.  I know we won’t be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs with a loss, but it’s a must-have game for sure.  The AFC is wide open and yes everyone but Guyton, Jackson, and the two DLinemen from last week could conceivably return if we made the playoffs…

But that’s not happening with a second straight loss, especially to this team.  Last week ended up being a winnable game and didn’t finish the job.  Keenan has gotten a lot of criticism for not being able to play, but let’s be honest…We’re just frustrated.  The fact that he and Williams haven’t been on the field for more than a few quarters is crazy.  The first KC game was a little like last week in that we started out strong.

But at least we scored points in the second half of that one before Herbert got hurt.  Williams had yet another huge touchdown.  It’s about 24 hours to kickoff and there’s not a hell of a lot more to say.  We win and become relevant or come up short in the end and are an afterthought.

Better Bolt Up.

#BTFU

JIC,

RLW