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The Chiefs won't know until this afternoon whether Sunday's season finale against the Chicago Bears will affect their standing in the AFC playoffs.
But regardless of what happens in today's Buffalo-New England matchup, Chiefs
quarterback Trent Green doesn't want to see his offense go into early hibernation
against the Bears.
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Call it one last dress rehearsal for the playoffs.
"Not personally, not for me, no," Green said when asked whether he'd
like to get some rest Sunday if New England wins. "I know as an offensive
group after we performed the way we did in the first half against Minnesota,
no matter what happens in the New England game we are anticipating playing a
full four quarters and having to play hard and play well and get some momentum
going into the playoffs."
The Chiefs still lead the NFL in scoring with 30.2 points per game and rank
second in total offense behind only Minnesota.
They've also scored 166 points in the last six games despite the struggles on
the other side of the ball, so it would be rash to say the offense is in anything
resembling a slump.
Still, two halves of football: the first at Minnesota last Saturday and the
second at Denver on Dec. 7, have raised concerns. Ticket master. In those two
halves, the Chiefs went three and out three times, punted seven times and managed
one TD while possessing the ball for only 20 minutes, 36 seconds.
And, while it can be argued that the defense didn't help the cause by allowing
the Broncos and Vikings to move the ball at will while forcing only one turnover,
it can also be argued that any level of offensive efficiency would have kept
the defense off the field.
Perhaps that's why Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil seemed to be more angry at his
offense than his defense after the loss in Minnesota.
"We didn't do anything," Vermeil said.
The Chiefs looked out of sorts against a Vikings defense that isn't exactly
conjuring up memories of the old Purple People Eaters.
The first drive began smoothly but ended on Eddie Kennison's controversial fumble.
After that, however, the offense sputtered. The final three possessions of the
first half and the first possession of the second ended with Jason Baker punts.
The Vikings' secondary choked off Green's passing options, and Priest Holmes'
running lanes looked more congested than the Mall of America on Christmas Eve.
As was the case in Denver, things got worse once the Chiefs fell behind and
the Vikings no longer had to focus their attention on Holmes.
If there was a revealing comment made by anyone regarding the state of the Chiefs
as the playoffs approach, it came from the mouth of Vikings safety Brian Russell,
who was credited with a fumble recovery and two interceptions.
Russell wasn't talking smack. He was simply offering up cold analysis of how
playoff opponents will try to beat the Chiefs.
"Once they get rolling, they are a scoring machine," Russell said.
"You're on your heels when they get ahead and you can't change the game
plan. But we were able to jump on them. We could key on the pass, and we didn't
have to bite on their play-action."
The Chiefs trailed 31-0 before putting together their most impressive possession
of the day, a 14-play, 75-yard drive that Holmes capped with a 1-yard blast
off tackle in the third quarter.
The Chiefs eventually drew within 31-20, but their earlier offensive problems
had already dug a hole their defense would not allow them to crawl out of.
"We had a real bad first half," Green said. "You look at the
Denver game, and we played well in the first half and had a real bad second
half. This game we had a real bad first half, and we turn around and score three
touchdowns and had two other opportunities when we were inside the 30-yard line
where we could have scored two more touchdowns. So, you are talking about a
possibility of 35 points in the second half. We felt much better about our production
in the second half.
"We just have to make sure we can sustain that or maintain it for four
quarters."
Particularly in the playoffs, where one bad half could mean one long off-season.
Whether Sunday's game matters or not, the Chiefs will be tested by a solid defense.
Chicago has one of the game's best players in three-time Pro Bowl middle linebacker
Brian Urlacher, a solid run defense keyed by former Chiefs defensive tackle
Keith Traylor and a talented rookie cornerback in Charles Tillman.
In recent wins, the Bears held the Vikings to 10 points, the Cardinals to three
and the Broncos to 10. It could be argued that the Bears are playing better
defense right now than potential Chiefs playoff opponents like Indianapolis
or Tennessee.
"We just can't afford to play half a game," Green said. "Teams
are just too good. It's that time of year when teams are playing well and we
have to find a way to play better for four quarters."