ChiefsPlanet - Chiefs Chiefs' Timid, Depleted Offense Needs to Wake Up Ahead of Divisional Round

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...visional-round

n paper, the results from their Saturday Wild Card victory over the Houston Texans indicate that the Kansas City Chiefs are a force to be reckoned with entering the NFL's Divisional playoffs.

The Chiefs, after all, are coming off a 30-0 first-round win, extending their winning streak to 11. On the road against a division winner, that sure looks impressive.

Most lopsided road playoff wins
Year Game
1940 Bears 73, Redskins 0
1968 Colts 34, Browns 0
1987 Vikings 44, Saints 10
2015 Chiefs 30, Texans 0
1975 Cowboys 37, Rams 7
1978 Cowboys 28, Rams 0
1943 Redskins 28, Giants 0
Pro Football Reference

But don't be fooled, because this was the type of game in which the real winners were the rest of Kansas City's competition in the AFC.

The Chiefs were actually extremely lucky that the Texans didn't show up on Saturday.

Houston's best defensive player, J.J. Watt, wasn't a factor even before leaving with a groin injury, the Texans turned the ball over five times, and the Kansas City offense was buoyed by a way-too-easy 106-yard kickoff return to start the game.

Quarterback Alex Smith didn't have to break a sweat.

Against the Denver Broncos or New England Patriots, he won't be so lucky.

The Chiefs offense—which scored two touchdowns against a toothless Texans defense in the second half but went out of its way to keep Houston hanging around before that—lacked energy before and after losing star wide receiver Jeremy Maclin to a knee injury in the third quarter.

That injury looked serious, which means Andy Reid's team—already without stud running back Jamaal Charles and starting center Mitch Morse—may not have its regular-season touchdown leader the rest of the way.

They're not out of hope. Kansas City's opportunistic defense—which ranked third in football in terms of points allowed in the regular season—still had to unwrap the gifts Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer was throwing their way.

According to the ESPN broadcast, this was the first shutout we've had in the playoffs in a decade and the third-most-lopsided playoff road shutout win in NFL history.

Worst home playoff passer ratings this century
Quarterback Year Rating Result
Brian Hoyer 2015 15.9 Lost to Chiefs
Shane Matthews 2001 17.9 Lost to Eagles
Donovan Mcnabb 2003 19.3 Lost to Panthers
Matt Cassel 2010 20.4 Lost to Ravens
Rich Gannon 2000 22.0 Lost to Ravens
Pro Football Reference

But Smith will have to do more next Saturday, and he'll likely have to do it without his only receiver who had more than two touchdowns this season.

Against Houston, especially in the first half, we saw far too many of those overly-conservative, short-of-the-sticks third-down plays the Chiefs have become famous for. And it was a flawed performance beyond that.

Smith missed on a wide-open deep ball that should have been a first-half touchdown and had an uncharacteristic interception in the first quarter, and they also settled for long field goals rather than gambling on 4th-and-1 twice, which actually defies logic and precedents and can cripple an offense under more difficult circumstances.

Next week, they'll undoubtedly face more difficult circumstances.

You'd be crazy to argue that a team that hasn't lost since the middle of October can't rise to that occasion, but Saturday's performance wasn't nearly as impressive as the final score might indicate.

"Confidence and momentum are real", Smith told Evan Washburn on CBS Sports following the game. And on Saturday, confidence and momentum were enough to beat a Texans team that did everything in its power to lose.

The Patriots will likely have more than 112 net passing yards next week, and it's been seven years since New England has turned the ball over as often as Houston did Saturday.

Denver's dominant defense will likely feast on an offense lacking its best two players, and the Broncos have lost just three home playoff games since 1997.

Pick your poison.

Hate to rain on a parade 22 years in the making, but if the depleted Chiefs want to keep rolling and resisting the law of averages, they'll have to be much better in the Divisional Playoffs.