Chefs 29, Stillers 10 ...... Dec 25, 2024 ………Game # 16
Stillers - Chefs Postgame Analysis and Grades
The 10-5 Stillers hosted the 14-1 KC Chefs on Christmas Day. KC won the toss and deferred. KC scored 2 1st Qtr TDs to jump out to a 13-0 lead. Stillers clawed back, and were down by only 6 at the half. It was 16-10 well into the 3Q, but then KC scored 2 TDs to put the game out of reach.
Grades:
QB: Wilson got the start. Dropped the ball while under pressure, 1st series, and luckily recovered.
Good deep ball to GP, 3rd series. But a few plays later, threw a lollipop into the EZ that was INT’d, late 1Q.
Kept the ball on a bootleg, early 2Q, for a 1 yard TD. Good scramble on 3d & 7, 2Q, for about 13. Was 10 of 15, 105, 1 INT in 1H.
Clutch scramble, 3d & 9, good for about 15, 3Q. Overall, a spotty day, in which Russ held the ball far, far too long on too many occasions, resulting in 5 sacks. 23 of 37 for 205 and 0 TD passes, doesn’t quite cut it. Big Russ is getting worse as the season wears on. D
Fields was still fighting off the injury and was the emergency 3rd QB.
RB:
Harris – Poor 1H, 7 rushes for 21. Failed to corral a valve dump, 6:00 4Q, on a 3d & 2. Tough catch, but the ball clanged off his hands on a high pass. Finished with 13 rushes for 74, but a good 25+ yards was padded during garbage time when the team was plunging the ball while down 19. C
Warren – Very solid 1H, going 8 rushes for 61 yards. 11 rushes for 71, plus 5 grabs for 41. A solid game for the guy who should be the starting RB, but is marooned as the backup. B
Cord Patt – ran a plunge on 3d & a long 3, which gained a measly 2 yards and forced a punt. Is more or less completely worthless at this point.
FB: Not used much.
WR:
Pickens – good grab of deep ball, 3d series. Flagged for a false start on 4th & 15, 4Q. Failed to come down with the deep ball, 4th & 20, 4Q. Had 3 grabs for 50, which ain’t nearly enough production for a WR1 in the NFL C
Van Jeff – Supposedly the Wr2, he finished with 0 catches for 0 yards. D-
Austin – grabbed short pass, 2Q, which gained ONE yard. Gained 14 on 3d & 14, early 3Q. Had a coup[le other short grabs, and had 4 for 41. Ain’t nowhere good enough. C+
Skowronek – sat out due to injury.
Mike Williams – nearly grabbed a tough pass on the sideline, 2H. Had 0 grabs.
Miller – thankfully not targeted.
TE:
Pat FryBoy – grabbed 7 yard out, first play of game. Good 1H, with 4 grabs for 39. Cough-cough -- fumbled the ball early in the 4Q, giving KC the ball on the PIT 34. Had 7 grabs. The fumble was a back-breaker, and occurred because he was too stupid (Xavier Grimble) to move the ball to his OUTSIDE hand on a RAC in which he had eons of time to do so. C-
Darnell – flagged for a hold on Warren’s TD run, late 1Q, which negated the score. (Soon enough, Russ Wilson threw an INT to add insult to injury.) Grabbed short pass, early 2Q. Got completely whipped for a sack, early 3Q. Wasn’t this fat PoS supposed to be some dominant blocker?? C-
Con Heyward – flagged for lining up offsides, 4Q, negating a nice gainer by GP. What a tool. On any other NFL team, this sorry sack o’ dung would be cut first thing Monday morning. D
OL: Overall, the line (Moore, Seumalo, Frazier, McCormick, Jones) had a subpar game. The run blocking was sporadic, with the paper stats getting a boost due to some large chunks gained in garbage time. The pass pro was spotty. Some of the sacks can be blamed on Wilson and his penchant of holding the ball forever.
Jones gave up, 2nd series, and his man whipped him for a sack. Seumalo got knocked backwards, which helped force a throwaway, early 2Q. Jones got whipped, 3Q, and Wilson’s arm got hit as he threw. Moore got whipped for a sack, early 4Q. Overall, it wasn’t nearly good enough. C-
DL:
Heyward – Had some pressure on Mahomes on a pass play, 4:43 1Q. Got a solo, next play, on an end around where the KC blocker literally knocked the runner down, and Scam got the clean-up Dong tackle. This was his lone solo of the 1H, with 1 A. Had an ankle injury but returned. Had 2 solos and 2 As in a game in which he had as much impact as the peanut vendor in Section 533. Did jak fuq. D
Ogunjobi – did very, very little.
Adams – See above, Ogunjobi.
Lowdermilk- See above, Adams.
Benton – Had a couple adequate plays. Still ain’t seeing enough.
LB:
Queen – had a cake-easy INT around the KC 30, late 1Q, but used his hands as a HOOP and the ball hit the ground. What a clumsy moh-ron. Had 5 solos, 2 As, and zero impact. C-
Landon Rob – Had 2 solos, 1 A in a mouse-quiet effort. C
Watt – got a solo by slashing down the line, 1Q. Batted a pass on 3d & 2, late 1Q. Forced 2 or 3 holding flags on #74, Taylor. 1 solo, 2 A in a quiet, hum drum effort. C-
Highsmith –
(13:15 - 1st) (Shotgun) I.Pacheco right guard to PIT 33 for 1 yard (A.Highsmith). Big Alex was completely UNTOUCHED and unblocked on this play, and mosied down the LOS to grab the RB. Benton actually was involved on this stop, and could have gotten an assist.
Stopped Pacheco on a line plunge for a solo, 9:10 2Q. Actually fought off a block on this play. Stunning! Had 2 solos, 0 A in 1H.
Got a paw on the ball while back in zone coverage, early 3Q. Quick – he’s the next Jack Ham in pass coverage !!
Got tooled by an end around, 3Q, for 4 yards, but an incorrect flag on JuJu for a hold on a different defender negated the gain.
On the 4Q TD pass to Kelce, Big Alex was pass rushing, and got jock-rocked and jacked up like a flat tire, and PANCAKED onto his ass by Kareem Hunt, a RB who gives up some 45 pounds to Big Alex. A hilarious moment, with Alex on the ground on his ass while Mahomes had zero harassment and hit Kelce for the TD.
(4:27 - 4th) (Shotgun) S.Perine right guard to KC 38 for 9 yards (A.Highsmith). What a stud ! Get a slop stop after a NINE yard gain in garbage time. Finished the game with 3 solo, 1 A, while doing jak fuq in terms of pressuring or harassing Mahomes. D-
Herbig – Got duped on the end around, 1Q. Had 2 solos, 0 A in 1H. Made a tackle on a ground play, early 4Q. Somehow, the stat sheet got changed at the end of the game, and he was credited with 0 solo, 0 assist.
Pay Wilson – got beaten in coverage in a floater to Worthy, and then whiffed weakly on the tackle, allowing a long gainer of about 20 yards. Had 3 solos, and did little.
Pres Smith – did not dress (healthy scratch).
DB
Joey Porter Jr. - sat out due to injury.
Donte Jackson – got completely burned on a deep ball, 1Q, good for 49 yards. Was at least partially responsible for the 2nd TD pass. Pretty much did nothing. Anyone recall how he was being fawned over as the next Rod Woodson ? D-
Kazee – Didn’t see much, if any, PT.
DeShon Elliot – returned to the lineup. Did very, very little, with 2 solos and ZERO impact. Did nothing to bottle the KC ground game, and was never anywhere in the zip code on the numerous chunks of RAC yardage KC was peeling off in continual succession. C
Minkah - Stinkah Fitzpatrick -- too slow to read and react, 7-yard TD pass on 1st drive. Good solo tackle, late 2Q, to force the punt. Good lick on a flare to Worthy, 3Q, that gained 5. Overall, for one of the highest paid in the entire NFL, ain’t nowhere near good enough today. C
Bishop – didn’t play much, thankfully.
Pierre – flagged for holding, 1Q, which was declined. Was at least partially responsible for the 2nd TD pass. Is totally miscast being out there on Defense. C
Sutton – got completely tooled on 3d & 6, 2Q, for a 10 yard gain. Batted a pass on a rush, 12:44 4Q. Has done nothing since coming back from suspension.
Trice – did very little.
Spec teams:
Waitman – adequate punting.
Boswell – Booted a FG.
Rotten punt coverage, first punt, allowing a huge punt return of 25 yards.
Mark Robinson forced a fumble in punt coverage, 1Q, but KC recovered. PeePee Austin and Cord Patterson did little in the return game.
OC: Art Smith had yet another poor start to a game, with the offense sputtering and doing nothing, 1Q.
Ordered a plunge by Cord Patterson on 3d & a long 3, 2Q, which gained all of 2 yards. Brilliant !
Offense scored TEN points all game long. King Arthur is making fans long for Matthew Canada. F
DC: Austin got gashed right from the very first series, allowing KC to march, easy as pie, for a 42 yard TD drive. KC quickly followed that up with a 79 yard TD march. In the 2H, Austin had few answers, getting incessantly picked apart. Guy had no clue. And has no clue. F
HC: Mike Asslin, as usual, talks about bravado and fight. Then, with 6 minutes left and down by 19, he orders a punt on 4th and 2. His team was once again ill prepared, getting boatraced in the 1Q and down 13-0. His team also provided the usual comedy of errors - - blown assignments, silly-azzed penalties, and foolish coaching decisions and personnel decisions. Big Mike has now lost 3 games in a row, all by double-digit deficits in which he’s been completely blown out in all 3 losses. At a time when a good team should be sharpening its game in prep for the playoffs, Asslin and his crew are as dull as a butter knife. Unacceptable. Asslin’s standard is substandard. F-
Synopsis: Another grisly beat-down, the third in a row. Ugly. Now, 10 days of rest and then the season finale at home against the Bungals.
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