Getting into Week 15, the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs had been within the midst of a tough patch the place they’d misplaced 4 of their final six video games. That features the earlier two weeks towards Inexperienced Bay and Buffalo, video games most assumed they’d win coming in. Regardless of not performing like Tremendous Bowl champs, the scheduling gods dropped a blessing within the Chiefs’ laps within the type of the struggling New England Patriots on Sunday. It was simply what KC wanted to get again on monitor, beating New England 27-17–however the Chiefs nonetheless don’t appear like a crew prepared for an additional run on the huge one.
Whereas a win is a win irrespective of the route taken, the Chiefs aren’t working as their traditional selves. The offense hasn’t been as explosive up to now few weeks as we’ve been accustomed to in latest seasons. From Week 11 by means of 14, Kansas Metropolis scored 20 or extra factors simply as soon as, which got here of their win over the Raiders, 31-17. Within the different three video games, the Chiefs scored 19 as soon as and 17 twice, leading to losses.
Whereas scoring practically 30 factors towards the Pats, this Chiefs’ offense nonetheless seemed out of sync. Between Patrick Mahomes’ turnovers and large receivers dropping passes, it’s arduous to inform what’s value them extra over the previous couple of months. Mahomeboy performed nicely Sunday afternoon however added one other two interceptions. The second wasn’t actually his fault, however that’s the place his receivers’ penchant for dropping his passes comes into play.
Passing for 300 yards and two touchdowns whereas finishing near 73 % is implausible, however when you may’t get on the identical web page as the blokes catching these passes, there’s a problem. That appears to have been the difficulty many of the 12 months, and it lastly caught as much as Mahomes and the Chiefs. The protection actually has been KC’s saving grace this 12 months, rating third within the NFL in factors allowed at 17.5.
As nice a shock as that’s been, this squad was constructed round explosive offensive performs and Mahomes usually making one thing out of nothing. Currently, they haven’t been capable of keep out of their very own manner on offense. Self-inflicted wounds are the worst and normally trigger probably the most harm to any soccer crew. The protection lastly catching up and pulling their weight is nice, but when Mahomes can’t reduce on the turnovers, they may not be celebrating in January and February. At this price Taylor Swift’s affiliation could be remembered as probably the most thrilling factor about Kansas Metropolis’s 2023 marketing campaign.
Throughout Mahomes’ tenure as beginning quarterback, the Chiefs have but to journey for a postseason sport. KC has been within the playoffs yearly since 2018 and hasn’t performed on the street as soon as. That streak is in jeopardy with the Chiefs trailing behind the Ravens and Dolphins within the AFC. Though KC’s remaining schedule is favorable, dealing with the Raiders, Bengals, and Chargers to shut the season. All three groups are right down to backup QBs. So, whereas the Chiefs could not appear like “the Chiefs,” home-field benefit continues to be inside attain, however Mahomes and the offense have to treatment this funk quickly.
