The Chiefs gave it everything they had yesterday before falling just a tad short.  Matt Cassel was so-so completing 23 of 37 passes for 180 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 21 yards (7.0 ypc) yesterday.  Jamaal Charles had another effective game on the ground finishing with 102 yards rushing on 24 carries (4.3 ypc).  Dwayne Bowe led the way in the passing game for the Chiefs yesterday with 9 grabs for 61 yards (6.8 avg).  Fullback Tim Castille caught 1 pass for 20 yards and it went for a TD.  The Chiefs finished up with 295 total yards on offense (123 rushing, 172 passing) in this game. 

Safety Mike Brown (12 tackles) and linebacker Demorrio Williams (9 tackles) led the way for the Chiefs’ on D yesterday.  The Bengals finished up with 274 total yards on offense (144 rushing, 130 passing) in this game.  The Chiefs are now 3-12 on the year.

The Chiefs have shut down safety DaJuan Morgan (chest) and linebacker Justin Rogers (thigh) for the rest of the season.  Morgan played in 13 games for the Chiefs this season and he made 18 tackles while Rogers played in 1 game and he made 1 tackle.  The only area these injuries could possibly hurt the Chiefs is on special teams.

The Chiefs need 25-year old WR Dwayne Bowe to turn into the #1 WR that they think he should be.  He has played in 9 games this season for the Chiefs and he has caught 37 passes for 522 yards (14.1 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Bowe needs to behave off the field and he needs to produce more on the field.  He has all of the tools to be a elite WR in the NFL but he needs to get motivated to reach that potential.

23-year old CB Brandon Flowers has played excellent football for the Chiefs this season.  He has played in 13 games for the Chiefs this year and he has made 56 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, forced 2 fumbles, defensed 17 passes and he has 4 interceptions.  Flowers is really developing into a pretty good football player for the Chiefs.

This is a bad match-up for the Chiefs this weekend in Cincinnati.  The Chiefs must attempt to run the ball to control the clock and this game will be a huge test for Jamaal Charles who has played great this season against a Bengals’ D that is only allowing 85.2 yards rushing per game and 3.8 yards per carry.  If the Chiefs can’t get a running game going then the Chiefs are in big trouble as CBs Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall have 11 combined interceptions this season and the top receivers are likely Dwayne Bowe and Chris Chambers who will be covered by them.  Matt Cassel also has been forcing the football when he shouldn’t and he will likely be doing that again as the Bengals will be blitzing him a lot.

The Chiefs must go all out to stop Cedric Benson in this football game as the Chiefs can’t afford to have another back go off on them like Jerome Harrison of the Browns did last week.  Also, Larry Johnson will get some playing time in this game and you know damn well he’s going to be motivated to run all over his old team.  Carson Palmer will likely have a lot of time to throw the ball as the Chiefs only have 19 sacks this season and that is bad news as Chad Ocho Cinco will likely be dancing in the end zone a couple of times.

PREDICTION:  BENGALS 27, CHIEFS 13

The Chiefs have released 27-year old WR Mark Bradley.  Bradley played in 13 games for the Chiefs this season and he caught 24 passes for 320 yards (13.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 20 yards (10.0 ypc) and he returned 7 kickoffs for 123 yards (17.6 avg) this year.  Bradley had a couple of bad drops against the Browns last Sunday and that probably helped lead the Chiefs to this decision.  Bobby Wade and Lance Long will both move up the depth chart at WR with Bradley out of town.

The Chiefs have lost 2nd year TE Brad Cottam for the year due to a cracked bone in his vertebra.  Cottam played in 8 games for the Chiefs this season and he caught 9 passes for 120 yards (13.3 avg).  In his two years with the Chiefs, Cottam has played in 24 games in which he has caught 16 passes for 183 yards (11.4 avg).  This is a shame as Cottam really played well before getting injured against the Browns last Sunday.

The bozo on the sidelines (Todd Haley) and the defense cost the Chiefs this game despite a huge game from the offense.  The coach is a dingbat for kicking the ball to Josh Cribbs.  Cribbs returned two kickoffs for TDs in this game (100 and 103 yarders) despite Coach Haley knowing that he is the best kickoff returner in the world right now.  It was STUPID!  The defense was awful too as Jerome Harrison of the Browns rushed for 286 yard on 34 carries (8.4 ypc) with 3 TD runs!  Harrison’s total yards rushing was the third highest of all-time in a NFL game!  Linebacker Demorrio Williams (13 tackles) and safety DaJuan Morgan (8 tackles) led the way on D for the Chiefs today.  DE Andy Studebaker only had two tackles but he recovered a fumble in the end zone for a TD today.  The Browns finished up with 417 total yards on offense (351 rushing, 66 passing).

The offense was electric for the Chiefs today despite only having the ball for 25:35 of the game.  Matt Cassel had a great game completing 22 of 40 passes for 331 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He was victimized by a lot of drops in this game by Chiefs’ receivers.  Cassel also carried the ball 2 times for 10 yards (5.0 ypc) today.  Jamaal Charles had a monster game again just like I predicted he would with 154 yards rushing on 25 carries (6.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 2 passes for 16 yards (8.0 avg) today.  Chris Chambers led the way in the passing game for the Chiefs today with 5 grabs for 114 yards (22.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Brad Cottam (4 rec, 62 yards), Dwayne Bowe (4 rec, 56 yards) and Mark Bradley (3 rec, 52 yards, TD) all pitched in for the Chiefs in the passing game today.  The Chiefs finished up with 491 total yards on offense (168 rushing, 323 passing) in this game.  The Chiefs are now 3-11 on the year.

The Chiefs are playing another team their own size tomorrow at Arrowhead Stadium.  The Chiefs will likely stick to giving the ball to Jamaal Charles a lot tomorrow as the Browns are giving up 148.1 yards rushing and 4.4 yards per carry.  But the Browns have tightened up against the run the last couple of weeks.  If the Chiefs give Matt Cassel time to throw the ball he should have a decent game.  But, the Browns sacked Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers 8 times last week and when Cassel gets a pass rush in his face he gets careless with the football.  The Browns will likely be doubling Chris Chambers a lot so the Chiefs need Dwayne Bowe to step up in his first game back from a league suspension.

The Chiefs better be ready for a challenge tomorrow because the Browns all of a sudden have found a running game.  Josh Cribbs remains the biggest weapon on the Browns so the Chiefs’ D and special teams will have to go all out to stop him.  The Chiefs must also get the pass rush going against Brady Quinn because he is effective when he has time to throw the ball.  He really doesn’t have a go-to receiver so the Chiefs will likely be using a lot of man to man coverage against the Browns.

PREDICTION:  BROWNS 23, CHIEFS 17

Tamba Hali is really stepping up for the Kansas City Chiefs this season.  He has played in all 13 games for the Chiefs this season and he has made 54 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, forced 4 fumbles, defensed 1 pass and he has 7.5 sacks.  The sacks really stand out as Hali is the only player on the Chiefs with more than 3.5 and the Chiefs as a whole have 19 total sacks on the year.  Hali really been solid for the Chiefs since being drafted 4 years ago.  He has now played in 60 games for the Chiefs in which he has 227 tackles, 26 sacks, 14 forced fumbles, 1 interception and he has defensed 7 passes.  The Chiefs need to add some talent around Hali to finally build a effective defense.