Mitch Holthus quoted linebacker Reggie Ragland before kickoff, “We will play them in Mexico City. We will play in LA. We will play them in the parking lot or we will play them in the bathroom, but we are gonna play.”
In my short few years of following every heartbeat of the
Chiefs, rarely have I heard the tones and inflections of our beloved Mitch
Holthus, sink in such despair and boom. One minute, he had me raising my hands
in the air with joy taking a sip from my Chiefs’ glass and the next I was
balling my fists in frustration pacing my man cave like a caged animal.
Legendary college head football coach Berry Switzer, of the
Oklahoma Sooners used to say, “We’re
going to go out there and hang half a hundred on them.” On Monday night, in
what was the highest scoring Monday Night Football game in NFL history, the
Kansas City Chiefs and the LA Rams did just that.
Since the beginning of the season, this game was billed as
the heavyweight match of the season - a potential super bowl preview. A lot of
times, when games are so highly touted, they do not live up to the hype, but I
believe this one surpassed it.
The fireworks started the moment Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker
put toe to leather at kick off. They would not stop until the clock read double
zeros - 3 hours and 42 minutes later. On a night where every single play left
the outcome of the game hanging in the balance and absolutely every single snap
mattered, the Chiefs showed an incredible amount of fight. Several times in the
game, the Chiefs were behind, but the resilience of this team is something to
be admired.
When they were down 13-0 in the first quarter, instead of
accepting defeat and folding, they exploded.
Chiefs star QB Patrick Mahomes, completed 33 of 46 passes
for 478 yards, 6 touchdown passes and 3 interceptions. Even though Mahomes was racking
up more stats, he also had the Rams defensive line in his face or on top of him
several times throughout the night. One moment, the Mahomes was at the bottom
of a pile of Rams, the ball raked out of his grasp and ran in for a defensive
Rams touchdown. The next minute, Mahomes would air out a 73-yard bomb to Tyreek
Hill. The Cheetah was loose, sprinting into the end zone. This roller coaster
of emotions continued all night, as Mahomes, at one point even visible bleeding
from his forehead, would play the hardest I have seen him play so far, trading
touchdowns for touchdowns with the Rams. Even while being slammed to the turf
by Rams defenders, he always got back up and kept fighting.
On the
way to 51 points, Mahomes, generous as always, spread the wealth to a bevy of
different receivers. Most notably Mahomes assisted Tyreek “the Cheetah” Hill
and Travis Kelce to double digit performances. Kelce would log 10 catches for
127 yards and a touchdown, The Cheetah had a total of 215 yards on 10 catches
and a pair of touchdowns. Justin Houston mauled Rams QB Jared Goff, knocking
the ball loose, which was promptly scooped up off the turf and ran in for a
defensive touchdown by Allen “the Hulk” Baily. The Chiefs front 7 would make a sucker
out of Goff, sacking him 5 times for a loss of 34 yards and 7 quarterback
hurries.
The Chiefs have broken some sort of a record in every game
this season. Last night’s game was no exception. Collectively, both teams would
wrack up 11 offensive scores, 3 defensive touchdowns and 3 field goals. The 105
points total would set an NFL record for the most points scored in a Monday
Night Football game in league history. Unfortunately, the points left on the
field will haunt the Chiefs.
Make no mistake, the Chiefs showed an absolutely
astounding amount of fight and resilience, but through penalties, sack strips
and 14 points put up by the Rams defense, they would fall just 3 points short
of tying the game and a touchdown to win it all. Do not fret, Chiefs fans. Our
boys in red move to 9-2 which is still the best record in the AFC. They are
still very much in playoff contention.
The Chiefs will take this loss into their bye week. They
will need this time to rest and recover from a physical and emotional game.
They return to Arrowhead on December 2nd to defeat divisional rivals,
the Oakland Raiders.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving, football fanZ
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