bengals chiefs 2It wasn’t pretty but the Chiefs came surprisingly close to pulling off the upset in Cincinnati but in the end fell short 17-10. The first half saw a barrage of punts with a interception for both sides sprinkled in but no points until the 1:42 mark of the second quarter when Shayne Graham connected on a 29 yard field goal set up by a botched Dustin Colquitt punt giving the Bengals the 3-0 advantage more than 28 minutes in to the game. Faced with 1:33 left in the first half Matt Cassel led the Chiefs down the field on what would be a game tying drive culminating in a 30 yard Ryan Succop field goal with nine seconds left in the first half.

Opening up with the first possession of the second half Carson Palmer promptly drove the Bengals down the field on a 10 play 77yard drive that was capped off with a 11 yard touchdown strike to Laveranues Coles brining the score to 10-3 Bengals early in second half. Both teams would trade punts for the remainder of the third quarter, on the first play of the fourth quarter Matt Cassel hit Tim Castile for a 20 yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field again pulling the score even at ten a piece.

Cincinnati would regain possession with 9:21 remaining in the fourth and would march down the field on a 14 play seven minute game winning drive as Carson palmer connected with Chad Ochocinco on a six yard touchdown pass that put the Bengals up for good 17-10. K.C. would get the ball back with 2:03 left in the game but would fall short as Matt Cassel led the Chiefs to the Cincinnati 48 yard line only to be picked off by Leon Hall putting the final nail in the coffin for the Chiefs as they fall to 3-12 and the Bengals move to 10-5 and clinch the AFC North. The Chiefs are just one week away from beginning a off season that is sure to see a complete over haul of the roster but at least they can take solace in the fact that they held L.J. to a mere 11 yards on four carries ( when your this bad you have to take victories where you can find them).

Grading the keys to the Game

1. Win the time of possession: While the Chiefs did a good job of keeping the score low they had no chance of winning the time of possession with the way Cedric Benson ran the ball. Benson finished the day with 133 yards on 29 carries allowing the Bengals to accumulate 34 minutes of possession. Pretty hard to win a close game when the opposing team has the ball for a whole half of a quarter longer than you.

Grade: F-

2. Prevent the big play: The Chiefs allowed a 32 yard run to Cedric Benson and a 21 yard pass to Laveranues Coles and that’s about it , despite the fact that this defense gave up 130 plus to Cedric Benson they may have played their best defensive game of the year. The Defense only came up one sack and one interception but managed to keep a very talented offense of the score board for 28 minutes, Quite a accomplishment considering how many playmakers the Bengals have.

Grade: B+

3. Win the turnover battle: The Chiefs picked off Carson Palmer one time but answered back with two of their own interceptions and a fumbled punt out of bounds. The Chiefs were still able to stay in contention until Matt Cassel was picked off with under two minutes remaining. It never fails win the turnover battle win the game ……… most of the time.

Grade: F-