"The magic wasn't there Sunday, and the Chiefs weren't able to win without it. When there was a game-changing play the first three weeks, it was the Chiefs who took advantage. If coach Todd Haley gambled, it usually paid off. When there was a break or a lucky bounce, it most often went the Chiefs' way. And, with strong game planning and an emerging defense, that was enough to start 3-0 and survive as the NFL's last unbeaten team. Then Sunday happened, and it took only a few seconds to see that this day would be different. The risky decisions weren't working. The big plays went the other way. Luck wasn't wearing a Chiefs hat Sunday, and the Indianapolis Colts won 19-9 at Lucas Oil Stadium. "Sometimes the ball bounces your way," Chiefs safety Jon McGraw said, "and sometimes it doesn't. You've got to live with it." The Chiefs had to live with the consequences of Haley's gambles finally catching up. It was bound to happen sometime, but that didn't stop Haley from pressing his luck. He tried to surprise the Colts with an onside kick on the opening kickoff, but it backfired. "A calculated risk," Haley said. "Everybody knew what we were doing. We understood it." Haley said he planned to be aggressive against the Colts. Tried to surprise them. Tried to outsmart Indy, a team Haley praised throughout last week, and catch the Colts snoozing on the opening kickoff. There was one problem. "That was something we anticipated," said Colts coach Jim Caldwell, whose team turned the Chiefs' mistake — the kick didn't travel the minimum 10 yards, giving Indianapolis possession at Kansas City's 37 — into a field goal. Haley gambled again later when the Chiefs faced fourth and 2, deep in Indianapolis territory, and Haley opted to go for a touchdown instead of a field goal. Matt Cassel's pass was knocked away, and the Chiefs' 15-play drive ended with zero points — a long way to travel for no reward. Time passed, and it seemed as if the magic would return at any time. After all, the Chiefs started slowly against San Francisco, too, and eventually the light switched on. The Chiefs cruised in that one. On Sunday, Peyton Manning looked anything but superhuman, and Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis didn't sack Cassel." http://www.kansascity.com/2010/10/10/2296801/chiefs-come-up-just-short-against.html
