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| ATL at GB | BUF at ARI | CHI at DET | CIN at DAL | IND at HOU | KC at CAR | MIN at NO | NE at SF |
| PIT at JAX | SD at MIA | SEA at NYG | TB at DEN | TEN at BAL | WAS at PHI | ||
Week 5 Game Recap: Kansas City Chiefs 0, Carolina Panthers 34
What you need to know
| Kansas City Chiefs |
What you really need to know is how very little there is to say about the Chiefs in this game that is positive. It was quite simply among the worst offensive efforts seen in quite some time. The Chiefs did not get a first down until their final possession of the first half; they barely eclipsed 100 yards passing, and even so, it was only in the final minutes that they were moving the chains at all, when the Panthers were playing a soft prevent defense.
Damon Huard is not the answer. Tyler Thigpen is not the answer. This team needs a QB.
Larry Johnson had seven carries for two yards. Yes, you read that correctly. 7-2-0. He was benched for most of the second half. The Chiefs had no use for the running game at that point, since they were playing from far behind all day. Dwayne Bowe and Tony Gonzalez caught the good ones thrown their way, but those were few and far between.
| Carolina Panthers |
At a certain point, the Panthers offense was basically toying with the Chiefs defense. Ahead by a comfortable margin, QB Jake Delhomme kept going for the deep pass to WR Steve Smith. Since the defense couldn't stop Smith, he kept throwing it his way, all day long. Delhomme made only one questionable throw the whole game, to Smith, that was intercepted at the back of the end zone.
Despite the three TDs going to DeAngelo Williams, the rushing load was shared evenly with Jonathan Stewart. Williams found some open field to run in more often, which resulted in the TD's, but both backs looked good.
Steve Smith was the first option among receivers by a huge margin. He was targeted thirteen times, while Muhsin Muhammad was targeted only four times. Smith was also the main red zone target and deep threat.
The Panthers defense is probably not as good as the Chiefs made them look. But they are very, very good. It was a dominating performance as they gave up nothing, while intercepting Huard twice, adding three sacks, and two fumble forces.
What you ought to know
| QB Damon Huard, Pass: 10 - 21 - 86 - 0 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0 |
Huard was bad as can be. It was a miracle they left him in as long as they did. He was hesitant, his throws were inaccurate, he had a classic oops fumble moment, and he failed to lead his team to even one first down until the last drive of the first half. His second half began with a fumble, and when they got the ball back again, he threw an awful interception. It's hard to imagine him being much worse.
| QB Tyler Thigpen, Pass: 5 - 10 - 37 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 4 - 16 - 0 |
Thigpen relieved Huard in the fourth quarter. On a positive note, he was decisive -- in sharp contrast to Huard; unfortunately, his decision making was not always sound. He managed to avoid being intercepted, but also spent a lot of time scrambling away from a maddening Panthers pass rush. Oh, and by the way, he was two yards shy of being the Chiefs leading rusher in the game.
| QB Brodie Croyle |
Croyle was inactive due to a separated shoulder.
| RB Jamaal Charles, Rush: 4 - 18 - 0, Rec: 4 - 22 - 0 (6 targets) |
Charles took over the starting tailback duties early in the second half. He was the preferred back for the Chiefs in passing situations, which meant most of this game. His 18 yards on the ground sadly led the way for the Chiefs, and he added four catches.
| RB Larry Johnson, Rush: 7 - 2 - 0 |
The Chiefs gave up early on Johnson, replacing him early in the third quarter with Jamaal Charles. He had no room to run, and clearly do not like using him as a receiver out of the backfield. One can only guess that they were protecting him from unnecessary injury (with the game out of reach), but still, he was benched before Huard was, and he did not play that badly.
| RB Dantrell Savage, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0 |
Savage had one carry for no yards. He is primarily used as a returner.
| WR Dwayne Bowe, Rec: 5 - 57 - 0 (10 targets) |
Bowe had the best day of anyone on the Chiefs offense. Despite his low catch total, he is clearly the most reliable option for the Chiefs. Huard tried to hit him deep, but couldn't seem to actually throw the ball anywhere near him.
| WR Devard Darling, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (3 targets) |
Darling was an afterthought. He hauled in his one pass from Huard early on.
| WR Jeff Webb, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (3 targets) |
Webb was targeted in the second half only, and caught the first one for a 13 yard first down.
| TE Tony Gonzalez, Rec: 3 - 17 - 0 (7 targets) |
Gonzalez still catches the tough ones in coverage, the problem is that the defense is able to key on him all day, making them all tough ones. The one positive for Gonzalez was that with his first catch, for six yards, he broke the all-time record for reception yards by a tight end. It was not much of a celebration, however, since the play was a third down and ten on one of the many three and outs for the Chiefs.
| PK Nick Novak 0 - 0 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 0 points |
Novak had no opportunities in this game.
| KC Rush Defense |
They allowed DeAngelo Williams not only to burst through the line, but gave him all kinds of room to run once through. They did a little better in stopping Jonathan Stewart, but he still managed positive yardage nearly every time.
| KC Pass Defense |
No sacks, and not enough pressure on Delhomme. The Panthers had a lot of time to throw. The interception was a nice grab in the end zone by Jarrad Page, but was more a product of an unwise throw than anything.
| QB Jake Delhomme, Pass: 14 - 22 - 236 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0 |
Delhomme looked like an all star. He toyed with the Chiefs secondary, throwing the ball where he wanted at will. He threw deep to Smith often, and found Muhammad when Smith was covered. Basically, he did what he wanted to and wasn't really tested.
| QB Josh McCown, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0 |
McCown took over for Delhomme with a little over ten minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Panthers were so far ahead that he did not even attempt a pass.
| RB DeAngelo Williams, Rush: 20 - 123 - 2, Rec: 1 - 25 - 1 (2 targets) |
Williams seemed to have a knack for finding open space. Since he was sharing the rushing duties (and therefore not always on the field), it did not look like the dominating performance that it was. He made it look quite easy, and had his three TDs before the first half was through. He only caught the one pass, but appeared to be the RB of choice on passing downs.
| RB Jonathan Stewart, Rush: 19 - 72 - 0, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 |
Stewart comprised half of the Panthers rushing attack, and since the team was ahead so early, that meant more work than usual. His 19 carries were mostly ho-hum, but he showed a good burst to the line and did break free for a 24 yard scamper late in the game. He fumbled early in the game, and the coaching staff had no problem calling his number on the very next play.
| RB Nick Goings, Rush: 7 - 10 - 0 |
Goings was inserted into the lineup strictly in garbage time. They basically pounded the ball with him running for a series of two to four yard gains.
| WR Steve Smith, Rec: 6 - 96 - 0 (13 targets) |
Smith had a merely good day by his standards, and given the score and the number of opportunities he had. Delhomme constantly went to him deep and in the end zone, and on several occasions was just a hair away from another big catch. If a few of those broke his way, his line would be closer to the 200 yard/multi-TD variety.
| WR Muhsin Muhammad, Rec: 3 - 71 - 1 (4 targets) |
Muhammad caught Delhomme's first pass attempt of the day, and then was promptly ignored in favor of Steve Smith for most of the day. He was ready when called on though, and turned a short catch into a 47 yard touchdown in the third quarter.
| WR Mark Jones, Rec: 1 - 19 - 0 (1 targets) |
Jones became the third wideout when Hackett went down. He caught his only targeted throw for a first down.
| WR D.J. Hackett |
Hackett injured his knee on the opening kickoff and did not return.
| TE Jeff King, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (2 targets) |
King was a factor early in the game, catching a couple of short passes, one for a first down.
| PK John Kasay 2 - 2 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 10 points |
Kasay was reliable as usual, kicking 32 and 43 yard field goals.
| CAR Rush Defense |
They shut down the KC rush early and Larry Johnson in particular. It was a very impressive outing for the defense.
| CAR Pass Defense |
The entire defense had a game to remember. The pass rush started out fierce and only got better as the game went on. The secondary's coverage was tight, forcing Huard and Thigpen to thread the needle for each completion. A dominating outing.
