Some Things About Today’s Game Week 3: KC 24, Blue Herberts 30
Nowhere to go but up from here. Up, because we’ve gone from AFC Champs to cellar dwellers in just three short weeks. It’s rare for the Chiefs under Mahomes to lose two straight games. But when you play the way we did today, they’re lucky the game was as close as it was.
Herbert outplayed Mahomes. He thew for 281 yards, rushed for 16 and threw four TD passes. And no picks. Mahomes had three TD passes and two picks. At one point in the first half, if you count the last three drives of the Ravens game, KC had five turnovers in their previous six drives. The first pick to Marcus Kemp should have been caught. The ball was behind him just a bit. I think the wind may have made the ball sail a little. But it should’ve been caught. Mahomes second pick was another 3rd and long desperation heave that was essentially the same as a punt. The two fumbles hurt. Hill’s was questionable as to whether he had possession long enough, and CEH was just another flat out fumble.
CEH rushed for 100 yards on 17 carries. So he gets a cookie. But No rushing TDs and one costly fumble (he did get a TD on a screen pass). Niang struggled (“struggled” in NFL speak means “sucked” in standard English) - he struggled against Joey Bosa. Mahomes was hurried and hit a lot. The line still isn’t getting the job done.
When you give up 30 points at home you don’t deserve to win. Chiefs were down Ward and Fenton and it came back to bite them. Seems like even back to Grandpa Bob Sutton days, this defense acts like it’s never seen a slant before. I’d be willing to bet at least half of Herbert’s passing yards today were YAC. Sorensen made one decent pass defense but was ass most the rest of the day. When three of your secondary guys are your three leading tacklers -Sorensen, Sneed and Honey Badger- your D Line and Linebackers are not getting the job done.
Chris Jones basically invisible again today. One tackle, no sacks. Only sack was by Mike Danna. Frank Clark has gone full Eric Berry on us. He’s probably sitting at home on his bed rolling around in the cash from this week’s game check. If you go back and watch the third quarter, Jones and Reed are completely off the field for big chunks of time. Those guys are big dollar guys. If they’re so gassed that Wharton and Saunders have to spell them for entire series, then I’d say lay off those Big Macs and get your fat asses in game shape.
After the third turnover, Mahomes went to the offense and tried to get their heads out of their asses. They did manage to get a field goal before the half right after that. Honey Badger was pissed off in the fourth quarter when the defense couldn’t stop Herbert. Both of these guys definitely care and are trying their best, but they’re not getting a lot of help. I also think the league is starting to catch up to Mahomes. They've had three years to build a book on him, and he's going to need to realize these defensive coordinators are going to play him every week like Tampa Bay did in last years Super Bowl. He's a smart kid and will figure it out. No shame in either of the losses we've had. Could have easily won both games but turnovers spoiled both efforts.
I’m thinking we need to make that trade with Detroit for Collins. We still can’t stop the run or a basic slant pass. Spags D has looked every bit as bad -maybe worse- than Sutton’s D from three years ago. It was admirable that Mahomes got the team back in the lead in the 3rd quarter after a horrendous first half, but I just had a feeling that our D was not going to stop Herbert. And ultimately when they had to, they didn’t. Herbert also got the advantage of several short fields from our miscues. All of our drives were long drives.
So at the time of this writing, we still have no definite info on Andy Reid’s health. Hopefully it is nothing serious. If we could have won today, it would have been his 100th win as Chiefs Coach. If he’s back in the office and back in charge this week, maybe they’ll win #100 for him in Philly in front of the Eagles fans. That would be pretty cool. Kelce had another 100 yard receiving day to move him ahead of Gronk -at least for the time being- for most 100 yard games by a TE in NFL history. Also congrats to Fortson for his first TD as a Chief. Looked like Tony G with that big #88 climbing the ladder to pull down a TD. Wish he would have dunked it, who cares about the penalty.
So, here we are. In the AFC West Cellar. It can be a quick elevator ride from Penthouse to Outhouse. But it’s only three games. Plenty of time to turn things around. So I’m not going to freak out just yet. Here’s hoping Andy is going to be OK, and we’ll need to get ready for that trip to Philly next week. Everybody hang in there. Lots more football left to be played.
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