Thoughts and notes:
I gotta tell ya, the Bengals did an excellent job of stopping big plays by KC. They shut down Dante Hall the whole game, as well as Priest Holmes early, although he started picking up speed late.
I hated the job the refs did. I felt they made bad calls both ways, so it ended up pretty much a wash. I just hate it that the same action by the defense (a chuck right around 5 yards from the line of scrimmage) was called interference in some cases and not others.
I thought the two non-calls against the Bengals particularly hurt, though, because they pushed when the ball was in the air; that should change it from a "chuck" into interference, but...non-call.
John Kitna was unbelievable. No mistakes, and he did everything right every single time.
...and still, and still...without any one of four huge plays (2 long runs by Rudi Johnson, a PR for TD by Warrick, and an amazing 77-yard catch-and-run TD pass by Warrick), and the Bengals lose.
Which isn't to say they didn't deserve the win. They played an awesome game, game-planned it perfectly, and executed it flawlessly.
And now we know what it takes to beat Kansas City: a perfect game at your home. That will be hard for any team to match, and impossible if KC wins homefield advantage through the playoffs.
And finally, this reminded me alot of the game in Oakland: Kansas City spent too much time trying to be cute. They were obviously thinking too much, and not just playing. When they were under pressure, they played, and looked the the KC that won 9 games. But it was too little, too late against an emotionally-charged team playing at home.
I still think 15-1 and a Superbowl win is in the cards for KC.
We'll see.
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