KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Chiefs are 8-2 on the opening coin toss, and they love to defer. They place extra emphasis on getting the ball out of the halftime locker room.
Plus, they count possessions and strategically try to manipulate games so they can score on the last drive of the first half and first drive of the second half.
Unfortunately, those pivotal possessions have proven costly over their last two games. And they’re hoping those drives don’t cost them something unspeakable – a winter without a playoff berth.
In Sunday’s 22-19 loss at Denver, those drives sputtered like an old truck needing a tuneup – and one ended in disaster.
Second-quarter Drive I
Kansas City got the ball with three minutes left in the second quarter and actually got 9 yards on its first two plays.
Second-quarter Drive II
After the Chiefs’ defense neutralized the Broncos, Andy Reid opted to allow precious seconds to roll off the clock before Denver punted. Kansas City got the ball back on its 24-yard line with 27 seconds and two timeouts.
Third-quarter Drive I
The Chiefs fell 2 yards short of a touchdown against the league’s No. 1 red-zone defense, but the drive was painfully inefficient. In fact, two Broncos penalties on the drive saved the Chiefs on separate occasions.
The game before in a 28-21 loss at Buffalo, the Chiefs on the last drive of the first half had first-and-goal from the 1-yard line. However, they couldn’t secure that crucial touchdown and wound up settling for a field goal. Then, on the initial drive after halftime, they went three-and-out.
On those second-half-opening drives, Kansas City actually ranks tied for first in the NFL with six touchdowns (Buffalo also has six).
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