The Kansas City Chiefs enter the bye week with a 6-3 record, sitting atop the AFC West. There have been many highs and a few lows already in the 2017 NFL season and Chiefs fans are quick to jump off the proverbial ledge when the team loses. We have no idea how this Chiefs season will end up, but there have already been some memorable moments this season. Here are the Kansas City Chiefs Top 10 Moments at the Bye.
Kansas City Chiefs Top Ten Moments at the Bye
First, lets be clear that these are not just top 10 plays. This list will contain plays, particular players, and performances throughout the year. Let us know what you think by hitting us up on Twitter.
Number Ten: Chesson’s Hustle Play
Jehu Chesson has not had much of an impact play for the Chiefs offense, but the rookie has made an impact on Dave Toub’s special teams squad this year. This was never more evident than in the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Kansas City just gave up a safety due to a bad snap and had to kick the ball back to the Steelers. Momentum was quickly shifting the visiting teams way, but a miscommunication and incredible hustle from Chesson gave the Chiefs the ball back in Steelers territory. While Kansas City still lost the game, this play showed that Chesson was willing to go all out every play to help his team win.
Number Nine: Wilson’s Tipped Touchdown
Coming in to the season, Albert Wilson was one of the most polarizing players on the Chiefs roster. Many fans were ready to move on from Wilson, but the coaching staff was clearly relying on him to be a veteran presence in the wide receiver room. Wilson has missed a few games this year due to injury – and it may or may not be a coincidence that the Chiefs are 0-3 without Wilson on the field.
In the Thursday night football game against the Oakland Raiders, Wilson caught a deep bomb from Alex Smith that was tipped by a Raiders safety. Wilson was able to successfully track the ball and have it fall in his hands and walk in for a touchdown against the hated divisional rivals. Wilson has made a few big plays for the Chiefs, and chances are you will see him on this list again soon.
Number Eight: Butker Beats Washington
Another rookie makes the list, and this time it is rookie kicker Harrison Butker. Coming in to the 2017 season Kansas City seemed content with their kicker situation, as Cairo Santos was entrenched as the placekicker. Santos had a relatively successful career with the Chiefs, but an injury forced Kansas City to replace him for at least a short time. When the Chiefs were able to sign Butker off the Carolina Panther’s practice squad, they knew there would be no going back to Santos.
Butker missed his first professional field goal, but since then has nailed 19 straight. The highlight of his career was after missing his first kick, the rookie made three in a row, including a game clincher in his debut against the Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football. It is a night the rookie will always cherish and one that Chiefs fans won’t soon forget.
Number Seven: The Oakland Scuffle
Most fans have probably blocked the Thursday night loss to the Oakland Raiders from their brains, but this game brought a few memorable moments. One of them was the scuffle that ended up getting Marshawn Lynch tossed from the game and suspended from another.
On a third and long play, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr ran a quarterback draw that was quickly stopped by the Chiefs defensive line. Star cornerback Marcus Peters ran in and blasted Carr with a shoulder, which caused flags to fly and tempers to flare. Raiders offensive lineman quickly came to the aid of Carr and started shoving Peters and the rest of the Chiefs defense before Lynch ran on the field to try and settle things down. In the commotion, Lynch pushed an official, which resulted in his ejection.
Number Six: Peters Strips Charles
We mentioned earlier that Albert Wilson was the most polarizing player on the Chiefs roster heading in to this season. There is little doubt that Marcus Peters has taken over this role for the Chiefs, and it is not even close.
Peters is uber-talented and very controversial. From anthem protests to personal foul penalties to pee wee levels of tackling attempts, many fans around Chiefs Kingdom have started to turn against Peters. But then, the All Pro corner makes plays like this and reels them all back in. Not long after this touchdown, Peters picked off Trevor Siemian and the Chiefs coasted the rest of the game.
Number Five: Wilson Clutch Catch Against the Redskins
Albert Wilson makes the list again, and this time it is for his incredible catch in the closing minutes of the Monday night game against the Washington Redskins. Alex Smith definitely deserves credit on this play for extending the play and throwing a bullet on the run to Wilson, but the catch and subsequent hit on Wilson were all very impressive. This play extended the drive and allowed the Chiefs to move in to position to kick the go ahead field goal.
Number Four: Dethroning the Champions
All off-season, the talk was about how great the New England Patriots were going to be. The Patriots were coming off of their fifth Super Bowl win over the last 16 years and looked prime to be the best team in the league. So much so that many pundits were predicting the Patriots would finish 19-0 and claim their sixth Super Bowl ring.
But then, opening night happened and the Kansas City Chiefs rolled the Patriots in their house. This was, without question, the most complete game the Chiefs have put together this season. The offense was able to move the ball and connect on big plays when they needed to. In the fourth quarter, the defense was able to shut down Tom Brady and get off of the field on third down. It was a fantastic game plan executed to perfection.
Number Three: The Hill Mary
Tyreek Hill is a phenomenal athlete. He is able to score anytime from anywhere on the field. Deep passes, short passes, punt returns, kickoff returns, hand offs – Chiefs fans have seen it all. But on a play with two seconds left in the half and seven Dallas Cowboys defenders standing at the goal line? Impossible, right?
Wrong. The “Cheetah” had blocks from tight ends Travis Kelce and Demetrius Harris as well as wide receiver Demarcus Robinson to help spring the way, but Hill’s quickness and speed were dazzling on this play. This is something that has never been seen before and will likely not be seen again for a long, long time. Kudos to Andy Reid for the play call.
Number Two: Alex the MVP
This is Alex Smith’s thirteenth year in the NFL and there is no doubt that this is his best season. Kansas City made it very clear by drafting Patrick Mahomes this off-season that the end is near for Smith’s time in a Chiefs uniform, so Smith figured he would make the best of it and go all out.
Just look at the numbers. Smith has thrown for 2,444 yards (second in the NFL), is completing 69.6% of his passes (third in the NFL amongst quaterbacks), and has a passer rating of 113.9 (first in the NFL amongst quarterbacks). In addition, Smith has thrown 18 touchdowns to just a single interception. Smith’s career high in passing yards prior to this season was last year when he threw for 3,502 yards. Smith is on pace for 4,345 yards this year and has entrenched himself in the conversation for league MVP.
Number One: Kareem the Dream
The buzz coming out of the 2017 draft was the Chiefs big move to get Patrick Mahomes, and rightfully so. The Chiefs had not drafted a quarterback in the first round in over 30 years and they finally went and got one of the “big fish” in the draft. At that time, however, not many people expected a third round running back to be the one to steal the show this season.
Kareem Hunt has helped ignite a Chiefs offense that is in the top five in scoring. Despite having sub-par yards rushing yards the past couple of games, Hunt still leads the league in rushing yards and is averaging 5.2 yards per carry. Hunt set an NFL record by gaining 100 yards from scrimmage in his first seven games of the season. Kareem Hunt is now the unquestioned NFL Rookie of the Year and will be an integral part of how deep the Chiefs can go in the playoffs this year. Now we just need Andy Reid to feed him the ball in the second half.
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