So we lost, lets not start acting like we don't know how to lose, im not gonna sit here and lie to you that I was expecting the team to go 14-2. 10 wins sounded really good just a few months ago and now we have a chance to go 13-3. Lets move forward and think about the positives that came out from this game:
Our defense played undoubtedly their best game this year, they kept us in the game all night even with the injuries we had. None of the blame for the loss goes to the D tonight. Say what you want about KC's offense, our defense giving up 14 on the road, especially giving how they recovered after halftime is by far the biggest positive for us tonight.
Derek Carr clearly had some trouble with his pinky in that freezing weather, yet he did not turn the ball over. We knew it was gonna be a tough match up regardless if DC was 100% so to me he could have had a worse night. This wasnt much about what he did wrong but more about the obstacles he battled through all night. His pinky will continue to heal and we dont have another cold weather game until the finale. I look forward to a bounce back game next week.
The O-line had the second best performance for us tonight, without the leader of that line and against a furious Chiefs defense we were able to run the ball efficiently and keep Carr safe for the majority of the night. They gave a respectful performance given how the rest of our offense played.
Seems like two of our usually best aspects of our team gave the worse performances tonight.
Take Derek out of the equation because he was playing hurt but i still feel like our receivers could have done a better job all night helping Carr out. Cooper SHOULD have caught that bomb late in the game and other than the 4th down catch Roberts was not able to get open or make the tough catches, same goes for Crab. When our QB is out there having a tough night we need our standout receivers to make the tough catches when it matters, they did not do that tonight.
Finally our Special Teams gets the biggest L tonight. Marquette King punts away from coverage into the middle of the field against the hottest returner at the moment and then we botch the snap on the field goal try. They gave up 7 and left 3 on the board, you do the math, they pretty much lost us the game.
Of course it sucks to lose at this point but compared to the first meeting I think we showed tonight just how much we have improved over the six game winning streak. THAT was a playoff game right there and to me we were a pinky away from winning a huge game on the road once again, if we face em again in the playoffs with Derek healthy im confident we can pull it off.