Did interim head coach Romeo Crennel outcoach Mike McCarthy or was the Kansas City Chiefs’ win over the Green Bay Packers the culmination of a perfect storm? That’s really hard to answer even after watching the game.
You can make the case that the Chiefs really took it to the Packers and beat them at their own game or you may feel that the Packers played down to the level of competition they faced. After the game, most commentators were blaming the Packers loss on all the injuries they have suffered along their offensive line and the fact that the Packers were without their best receiver. Nobody was really giving credit to the Chiefs.
You could tell that Aaron Rodgers missed his favorite target Greg Jennings. None of his other receivers stepped to the plate to help Rodgers out as his top receiver on the day was Randall Cobb. Cobb caught only four passes on the day which matched his total for the three previous games before Sunday’s loss.
Crennel’s defense did do a good job of keeping pressure on Rodgers though. The Chiefs sacked Rodgers four times on the day and held Rodgers to his lowest completion percentage (48.6), lowest total yards in a game (235) and lowest yards per pass attempt (6.7) of the season.
Green Bay’s defense didn’t step up to the plate either. The Chiefs only managed 19 points against the Packers but the usually opportunistic Packers’ defense was unable to get much pressure or force any turnovers against the Chiefs. The Packers didn’t register any sacks against Kyle Orton and the Chiefs were very careful with the ball not turning the ball over even once.
Still, 19 points isn’t a bad total to hold a team to. Scoring teams like the Packers will take holding an opponent under 20 points any day since they usually score much better than that. Pretty sure they would have liked the defense to play a little better today though.
It’s possible that the Chiefs’ defensive performance was not a fluke though. Most people don’t remember that Crennel was the New England Patriots defensive coordinator during their Super Bowl years from 2001-2004. The Patriots won three championships in the four years Crennel coached there but haven’t won one since he left.
People probably don’t remember that because of how bad of a job he did as head coach of the Cleveland Browns when he coached there from 2005-2008. In four years coaching in Cleveland, Crennel’s record was 24-40. He only had one winning season and never made the playoffs during his time there.
Although most people don’t remember Crennel’s time in New England, Chiefs’ general manager Scott Pioli does. Pioli was an executive with the Patriots during the time Crennel coached there. That’s one of the reasons why people think Crennel has the inside track to be hired as the Chiefs’ head coach full-time.
Familiarity and a good resume are nice, but what better way to apply for the open position in Kansas City than to lead that team to their biggest win of the season? Regardless of how it happened, Crennel took a 5-8 team and did something that no other team in the league had been able to do up until Sunday. He beat the undefeated Packers.
It doesn’t help his chances if he loses the rest of the way though. With only two games left to play we will get a chance to see if Crennel and the Chiefs can repeat Sunday’s performance against both the Oakland Raiders and the Denver Broncos. He’s off to a great start but let’s see if he can nail the rest of his audition.
Roosevelt Hall is an NFL Blogger for The Sport Mentalist and also writes for both The Penalty Flag and Outside The Redzone. He can be contacted at RHall_TPFB@Yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @Sportmentalist.
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