AFC West: Haley's first win a hit in Kansas City

Sports Network | October 20, 2009

(Sports Network) - After watching Todd Haley earn his first win as Kansas City Chiefs head coach this past Sunday, two songs immediately come to mind. First is one-hit wonder Cece Peniston and her song 'Finally', which could be used to celebrate Haley's achievement. The next tune deemed appropriate, had Haley lost to the Washington Redskins, was Europe's ditty 'The Final Countdown', which could have been an ongoing melody in anticipation of Haley's initial triumph with the Chiefs.

Even though Kansas City headed into Sunday's matchup against Washington with an 0-5 mark and 28 losses over its last 30 games, there was something about the Redskins that made many of the Chiefs' players confident. Maybe it was the fact that Washington lost to previously-winless Detroit and Carolina within the first five weeks, or that the Redskins had the potential of being an easy lay-up with the current turmoil head coach Jim Zorn is experiencing.

Whatever the case, Haley was able to step up to the postgame podium with a win under his belt.

"I've been waiting to enjoy one of these. I will enjoy it," Haley said after the 14-6 victory. "We made it pretty difficult right down to the end. But again, we've been working really hard. We've pushed through a very difficult period. We needed to get some positive reinforcement with a win."

The one positive coming from Sunday's victory was that kicker Ryan Succop kept his leg in shape by nailing a career-high four field goals for the Chiefs, who also provided first-year general manager Scott Pioli with his initial win. Outside linebacker Tamba Hali helped Succop cap the scoring by registering a safety with 26 seconds remaining in the game. It was Hali's third sack of the afternoon.

The run game is starting to gather moss, too, as workhorse running back Larry Johnson recorded a season-high 83 yards on 23 carries without starting left tackle Branden Albert in the lineup. Johnson still hasn't reached the end zone this season, something the Chiefs must address ASAP.

Its too bad the Redskins aren't in the AFC West Division, since Kansas City has won five straight contests in this series -- the Chiefs' longest active winning streak against any franchise. No turnovers and only four penalties would help any team register a win, while being able to control the clock for 37:10 compared to Washington's 22:50 also plays a factor.

Quarterback Matt Cassel needed to throw for just 186 yards with no touchdown passes or interceptions, and it was the first time this season he didn't have a touchdown strike. The loss of a few lineman, including key tackle Albert, was the main incentive for Washington to post five sacks.

Cassel has been sacked 14 times over the previous four weeks of action, but hasn't thrown an interception since September 20 against Oakland, tossing 133 straight passes without a pick.

"It's not exactly a perfect win," Johnson said after Kansas City's first victory since November 30, 2008 at Oakland. "The defense did an awesome job making plays and the offense did a great job making plays when we had too."

Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe showed flashes of his former self with a season-high 109 yards on six catches, a performance reminiscent of his 2008 campaign in which he reached 100 receiving yards twice and 80 or more yards on four separate occasions. If this is a sign of things to come, perhaps the Chiefs will finish with a better mark than last year's 2-14 finish.

Now that Kansas City's tour through the NFC East is over, the AFC West-rival San Diego Chargers are next on the docket before the November 1 bye week. The Chiefs, who avoided their first 0-6 start in franchise history in the nation's capital, have dropped three in a row to the Chargers.

RAIDERS: For the first time this season, the Oakland Raiders played 60 minutes of hard-hitting, efficient football which enabled the club to come out on top against a heavily favored Philadelphia Eagles squad and grab its second victory of the year.

If the Raiders needed a glimpse of what a successful NFL team looks like, all they had to do was look across the field to the Eagles before Sunday's showdown at the Oakland Coliseum. The Silver and Black did just that, then pounded Philadelphia in a 13-9 victory led by an aggressive defensive package from coordinator John Marshall.

Marshall unleashed a blitz-heavy package the Eagles weren't ready for and watched his unit pound Donovan McNabb into the ground six times and dominate the line of scrimmage.

Head coach Tom Cable was pleased with how the Raiders executed in all phases of the game. and told his players he expects that sort of effort every week.

"I'm going to assume you will bring the fight every Sunday," Cable told his players. "I feel good about saying that, and that's what I want us to take from the that football game. The most important thing for us to do now is realize the fact that we still have to get better in some areas."

Philadelphia was eighth in the NFL in total offense and second in scoring before Marshall's defense proved otherwise by holding the Eagles to 283 yards and just three field goals. It was day and night from the previous week, when Oakland was handed an embarrassing 44-7 road loss to the New York Giants.

So like all teams in the NFL, the Raiders studied the film and redeemed themselves with an unexpected triumph in front of the home faithful. The Raiders used a lot of zone coverages on Sunday, but blitzed often in that package to throw the Eagles off guard.

"They're known for playing man coverage," McNabb told the Oakland Tribune. "They dropped back in a lot of zone, more zone than we've seen in the early games. They came up with more of a blitz package today. They were able to get pressure."

Defensive ends Richard Seymour and Trevor Scott both sacked McNabb twice, while linebacker Thomas Howard and defensive end Jay Richardson each took down the elusive quarterback once to highlight Oakland's blitz party. Seymour, who reluctantly joined Oakland after being traded from New England just prior to the season, posted his first sacks since recording a pair in a season-opening loss versus the San Diego Chargers.

Seymour may not realize it yet, but he's been a huge influence on the younger defensive players and can only help despite how poorly Oakland has been playing this season.

Perhaps Sunday's stunning hard-fought effort will change the way other teams approach this Raiders team. New York middle linebacker Antonio Pierce said last week's beating of Oakland at Giants Stadium was like playing a scrimmage. In other words, Pierce was pretty insulting and the Raiders listened, making sure there were no Eagles talking smack after the game.

Raiders oft-criticized quarterback JaMarcus Russell still has to learn how to protect the football, as he was intercepted twice for the third time this season. He did have one touchdown pass and completed 17-of-28 throws, just one week after going 8-of-13 for 29 yards in a setback to the Giants. Russell, though, was able to get into more of a rhythm and was sacked just twice. The cannon-armed LSU product was brutalized against New York, going down six times.

Running back Justin Fargas took some of the pressure off Russell by rushing for 87 yards on 23 carries. Fargas, who is taking the place of injured starter Darren McFadden, had 23 total touches entering Sunday's game.

The Bay area is feeling pretty good right now, but remember the Raiders dropped three straight games by at least 20 points for the first time in franchise history prior to playing the Eagles. Oakland, which hasn't won two in a row since ending the 2008 campaign with back-to-back victories, should know by now what it takes to put together a 60-minute effort and how much work is needed to achieve success.

This week doesn't get any easier, with rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets headed for the Coliseum this Sunday. The Jets may be even hungrier than Oakland, having lost three in a row following a hot 3-0 start.

BRONCOS: So much for the regression the Denver Broncos were supposed to agonize through after Josh McDaniels was named head coach. Many felt the turmoil in which McDaniels steadfastly steered his way through during the offseason would demoralize this team.

As Homer Simpson often says, "Wrong again, Flanders!"

McDaniels has the Broncos off to a 6-0 start for the first time in 11 years and is making believers out of skeptics. Denver has a commanding lead in the AFC West standings heading into its bye week and is coming off Monday night's 34-23 road victory against the division-rival San Diego Chargers. The Broncos scored 17 unanswered points after being down 23-17, with return specialist/wide receiver Eddie Royal making a rather large impression on the San Diego community with a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 71- yard score on a punt return.

"It was a great feeling," said Royal, who finished with 235 return yards and became the first player in Broncos history to return a kickoff and punt for a touchdown in the same game. "The guys did a great job of blocking, I've got to give them a lot of credit. They opened up the seams and it was a home run."

Royal's night was more like a grand slam after hauling in 10 passes for 90 yards the week before in a win over New England.

Maybe the throwback uniforms have been giving the Broncos an edge, or perhaps it's the dominating defense responsible for McDaniels' success. Denver already had a winning formula in place and simply perfected it by naming Mike Nolan defensive coordinator in the offseason. Nolan, who has coached many star defenders in the past such as Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Patrick Willis and Mike Croel, has his unit ranked in the top seven in four major categories.

Denver's defense is first in points allowed, second in yards permitted, fourth against the rush and seventh in pass defense. San Diego finished with 311 yards on Monday night, but only 73 were accumulated on the ground. The defense sacked Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers five times, with linebacker Elvis Dumervil finishing with two to add to his NFL lead of 10.

Dumervil has thrived under Nolan and owns six sacks over the past three games. He understands that teams will now be gunning to ruin Denver's unblemished mark.

"Now we are a target," Dumervil said. "We are not under the radar. We demonstrated good football on Monday night, so we've got to make sure we continue to work hard. Everyone is going to give us our best shot, so we've got to be prepared for it."

The titans of the AFC West, who have outscored opponents by a 76-10 margin in the second half this season, will have a week off to prepare for a matchup with the Ravens in Baltimore on November 1. After beating three straight also- rans in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Oakland, the Broncos passed the test against Dallas, New England and San Diego.

McDaniels has another stretch of tough games to prepare for after the break, with the Ravens, Steelers, Redskins, Chargers and Giants on the upcoming docket.

CHARGERS: The only thing the San Diego Chargers can feel good about right now is that they have Kansas City and Oakland on the approaching schedule. And those matchups won't even be a guaranteed win.

Not saying that Monday night's showdown versus the AFC West-rival Denver Broncos was a victory in the books, but a home game on national television usually brings out the gusto in most players. Not in this case, however, because the Broncos stole the show and stayed unbeaten on the season with a 34-23 victory , thanks to 17 unanswered points and poor special teams play. Broncos return man Eddie Royal had a 93-yard kickoff return for a score and later added a touchdown on a 71-yard punt runback, while punishing the Chargers with 235 return yards on the night.

"We've been awfully good in our special teams, not only this year but in the history of this football team over the last period," Chargers head coach Norv Turner said. "Guys take great pride in that. We let one get away."

The San Diego special teams unit did have a flash of brilliance, as Darren Sproles scored on a 77-yard punt return just before halftime to give San Diego a 20-17 edge. But more importantly, San Diego seemed to have trouble protecting quarterback Philip Rivers, who was sacked five times Monday and at least twice in every contest this season. The five sacks were the most the Chargers have allowed in a game since Tennessee had that many back in 2007.

Rivers entered the primetime divisional showdown with a 4-0 record on Monday nights, but this time the lights were too bright for San Diego's side-armed signal caller. Rivers managed not to throw an interception for the third straight week, but the now 2-3 Chargers found a way to fall even further behind the division-leading Broncos.

The Chargers' back-to-back losses to Pittsburgh and Denver are tough to swallow right now, especially for Turner, who's on the hot seat practically every year.

Turner got nothing from his defense last night, as the unit posted only one sack and allowed an average quarterback in Kyle Orton to pass for 229 yards and a pair of scores. What happened to the menacing defense led by linebacker Shawne Merriman? The group has just seven sacks this season, while the offense has allowed opposing stop units to sack Rivers 15 times.

It doesn't necessarily help either when Denver goes 9-of-16 on third down and San Diego finished 2-for-11 in those chances. That's not going to cut it if the Chargers plan on making a comeback in the division.

"Our guys have been able to come back and that's all we can be concerned about," Turner said. "We've got a short week and we've got to come back and respond."

The Chargers are slightly better than the Chiefs and Raiders, but are miles away from the 6-0 Broncos right now. The players are saying all the right things, but that's not going to change the team's current status in the standings.