In a defensive struggle, when both coaches turn their quarterbacks into caretakers and their punters into playmakers, mistakes are magnified to the point that the positive growth feels irrelevant.
And so it was Sunday for Herm Edwards and his Kansas City Chiefs at Invesco Field at Mile High. In a game the Chiefs were supposed to lose by two touchdowns, they executed a sound game plan and outplayed the Broncos for four quarters but lost in overtime largely because of a couple of critical errors.
Denver 9, Kansas City 6.
From a Kansas City perspective, the good certainly outweighed the bad. Playing without quarterback Trent Green – and therefore telegraphing their plan of attack – the Chiefs muscled the ball downfield on the legs of Larry Johnson against what has typically been one of the NFL’s top run defenses. Johnson rushed for 126 yards in 27 carries.
Punter Dustin Colquitt booted the ball wonderfully, pinning the Broncos inside their 5 twice.
More impressive was Kansas City’s defense that kept Denver out of the end zone.
The Chiefs (0-2) did everything they were supposed to do Sunday except win. It was an Edwards masterpiece. The Chiefs were tough, resilient, confident, focused and well-prepared.
But once again you could see why football fans in New York question Herm’s ability to properly manage a game.
You can’t blame Herm for Johnson’s fumble deep inside Denver territory on Kansas City’s first possession. Nor can you blame Edwards for fill-in quarterback Damon Huard’s fumble midway through the third quarter when the Chiefs were threatening to score.
What I can’t explain is how the Chiefs wasted their final timeout at the end of the first half and threw away a chance to throw the ball into the end zone before settling for a field goal. Herm couldn’t explain it, either. He said Huard burned K.C.’s final timeout because the play clock was running down.
Not true.
It was second-and-2 at the Denver 11 with nine seconds left in the half. The clock was stopped because Samie Parker got out of bounds on the previous reception. The Chiefs broke their huddle relatively quickly, and Huard called timeout before examining the defense or reaching the line of scrimmage.
“It was a miscommunication,” guard Brian Waters said, rolling his eyes, unknowingly contradicting his head coach and making the Chiefs 2-for-2 on game- turning miscommunications, two games into the season.
Huard offered up a couple of explanations. He said there was “confusion at the line of scrimmage.” When I reminded him that he never made it to the line of scrimmage, Huard said, “Something wasn’t right.”
Let me offer you an explanation. Kansas City’s rookie play- caller, Mike Solari, is struggling, and he might have signaled in the wrong play for the personnel on the field. That’s just my own speculation.
This isn’t speculation: The most difficult coaching assignment in football is calling offensive plays for three hours. The only way to learn is on the job. Solari is learning. For the most part, he did an outstanding job Sunday. But you can’t call good plays “for the most part” in the NFL.
In the NFL, all it takes is one mistake to make the head coach look incompetent, to sabotage what was otherwise a terrific performance by the entire team.
