Chiefs Fall To 0-5 With 26-20 Loss To Cowboys

At least the Kansas City Chiefs made a game of it but it’s clear that in the end poor coaching decisions - and one Dallas Cowboys player - determined the outcome in a 26-20 overtime victory for the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys used their secret weapon wide receiver, Miles Austin, who burned Chiefs’ cornerback Maurice Leggett for a pair of touchdowns, dooming Kansas City and plunging the franchise to its lowest point since Super Bowl IV.

With former Chiefs’ great Priest Holmes honored and kicker Nick Lowery added to the Ring of Honor at Arrowhead, it was disappointing to see the modern Chiefs fail to make enough plays to win their first game of the season. Forcing overtime was gallant, but it was nowhere near enough. With five losses in a row and a road game against Washington next week, the Chiefs must somehow regroup.

Sunday’s effort was KC’s best chance to win a game so far this season, but it might be their last for some time. The season may run into December before this team wins a game.

However, there were positives today. Matt Cassel looked like a real quarterback. We saw flashes from running back Jamaal Charles, who should be starting, and KC’s defense played well in spots. Until overtime, they bent instead of breaking, even though the Cowboys had over 500 yards of total offense.

But the bugaboo was Kansas City’s inability to pressure Tony Romo on third down. Even further the secondary, the strength of KC’s defense, let Austin score twice when all they had to do was tackle him after he caught the ball.

That’s four touchdowns this year that the Chiefs’ secondary has given up because it can’t tackle. Austin was a fill in because Roy Williams was out with an injury. Despite burning the Chiefs over and over again, Leggett was assigned to Austin again and again in the second half and overtime. That’s bad defensive coaching. In fact, it’s fire-able coaching. Neither Brandon Flowers nor Brandon Carr were covering Austin in crunch time.

Sunday’s loss again served as an example of Scott Pioli’s inability to evaluate player talent outside of the shadows of Bill Belichick. For the fifth game of the season only one draft pick, kicker Ryan Succop, was contributing on the field. Outside of Cassel, no Chief who has arrived from the New England pipeline has made a dent of impact. The blame for KC’s 0-5 start falls on Pioli’s poor decisions in assembling this football team.

Todd Haley shares blame for today’s loss, also. His play calling in overtime didn’t help Cassel, who has led the Chiefs to game-tying or go-ahead touchdowns twice now, to no avail. Cassel’s game-tying drive Sunday was reminiscent of a young Tom Brady, but Haley continues to futilely put the ball into the hands of Larry Johnson. Why Charles is not featured more in KC’s offense is baffling. Haley should be using Charles like the Cowboys used Tashard Choice (eight carries, 92 yards) Sunday.

These problems aren’t new. Johnson said it best last week - ego is the reason his team doesn’t win games. That sounds like a shot directed at both his head coach and general manager. The Chiefs could be 2-3 this year but they keep making the same mistakes.