Chiefs Pick up Win as Same Problems Linger

First and most importantly, the Kansas City Chiefs got a much-needed win on Sunday. They snapped their 2-game skid and avoided what would have been a terrible loss to the Patriots. However, like with nearly every Chiefs game this season, Kansas City leaves with a lot to clean up.

Mistakes

Butker’s First Miss of the Season

After forcing a quick three and out on the Patriots first drive, Kansas City took the ball and opened with a bang. After Patrick Mahomes hit Noah Gray for 32 yards on the first play of the drive, it felt like the offense was ready for a big day. But as in what’s been par for the course this season, on 2^nd and 5 from New England’s 20, Rashee Rice was called for offensive pass interference. This pushed the Chiefs back 10 yards, and two plays later the Chiefs were settling for a 39-yard field goal attempt.

Unfortunately, Harrison Butker, who has been money this year, finally missed. Before this 39-yard attempt, Butker was 23/23 on field goal attempts. This leaves Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey as the only kicker still perfect on field goal attempts. As frustrating as this miss was, I won’t be too hard on Butker, who did bounce back and hit his next two attempts, including one from 54 yards.  The frustration comes from yet another drive stalling out due to penalties. Kansas City simply can’t get out of their own way.

Turnovers and near turnovers

Mahomes stats in this game are extremely misleading. He was great and could have left with zero interceptions, but instead, the box score says he threw two. The first one came after New England tied the game up at 7. On the first play of the drive, Mahomes tried to hit Blake Bell for a short gain at midfield. Mahomes threw it while drifting back slightly, and as a result, the ball seemed to float in the air longer than intended. However, the ball was still in Bell’s hands for a second before Patriot’s linebacker Marte Mapu ripped the ball out for an interception.

I would split the blame 50/50 for this interception. Mahomes’ pass floated slightly, and it was a contested throw for a not high reward. However, Mapu simply wanted the ball more than Bell. As a tight end, Bell needs to be much more assertive and stronger with the ball.

Unlike his first interception, on Mahomes second interception, there’s no debate on where the blame falls.

Kadarius Toney

It’s been a tough year for Kadarius Toney. He hasn’t played well at all and, on top of that, luck doesn’t seem to be on his side. Last year, Toney showed promise and had several nice moments. But this year has been brutal. Toney’s latest blender came with 9:20 left in the game. Kansas City was leading 27-10 and felt firmly in control of the game and their defense had just forced a third straight three and out.

Once again on the first play of the drive, Mahomes hit Toney slanting across the middle of the field. The ball hit off Toney’s hands and popped into the air, resulting in an interception. This should have been an easy completion, close to the first down marker. But instead, two plays later the Patriots were in the endzone and suddenly only trailing by 10.

The camera showed Mahomes on the sideline and he was not happy. Earlier in the season, Mahomes displayed more patience and did a good job hiding his emotions. The last two weeks, the frustration has reached a breaking point.  And you can’t blame him. These problems have lingered for far too long with no sign of improvement. For the most part, these are mental mistakes not physical.

Even Travis Kelce dropped a would be touchdown on the first drive of the second half, forcing the Chiefs to settle for three.

Near Fumbles

Yet again, a mistake came on the first play of the drive. Coming out of halftime, Kansas City had a 14-10 lead and had the ball, looking to double dip. Mahomes hit Rice, who took the ball and ran for 23 yards. But at the end of the play, Patriots cornerback Jalen Mills punched the ball free for a fumble. Thankfully, Rice was able to recover it quickly and keep a turnover off the board. This was Rice’s second straight game with a fumble.

Two plays later, Skyy Moore hauled in a 13-yard reception. Like Rice, Moore had the ball punched out and was less fortunate as Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers recovered the ball. Fortunately, the Chiefs caught a huge break on a suspect defensive holding call, wiping out the fumble.

Although neither of these plays resulted in turnovers, it’s more sloppy play from the receivers. Kansas City just refuses to play clean football on the offensive side.

The good parts

Defense 

New England surprisingly moved the ball effectively in the first half on Sunday. At the half, Bailey Zappe was 17/19 for 141 yards and a touchdown. Zappe connected well with tight end Hunter Henry who had 6 first half receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown. But the second half was a completely different story. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo adjusted his game plan and shut the door on New England’s offense.

In the second half, New England ran 22 plays and only gained 57 yards. This defense was once again outstanding and showcased their special ability to adjust mid-game. Without this defense, there wouldn’t be much hope for the Chiefs., but they keep every game close and have carried the Chiefs to this point.

Offensive standouts

Clyde Edwards-Helaire had a nice game on Sunday. The former first-round pick continues to stay ready when his numbers called. His big game didn’t necessarily come running the ball, as he was limited to 37 yards on 13 carries. But he tallied the second most receiving yards with 64 on 4 receptions and a touchdown. His first big play came on an awesome screen pass design that CEH took for 48 yards.

However, his best highlight was his touchdown catch. Mahomes was forced out of the pocket and, rolling left, he threw a sort of jump ball to CEH. CEH went up and hauled in the 6-yard pass, giving the Chiefs a 24-10 lead.

As I wrote about last week, Rashee Rice has been one of the few bright spots on offense this season. On Sunday, Rice once again turned in a strong performance. He had 9 receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown. He did have that near fumble, but aside from that, he was outstanding. On a day where Kelce only had 28 yards, it’s awesome that the Chiefs have someone else who can step up.

What’s next for the Chiefs

The Chiefs (9-5) will welcome the Raiders (6-8) to Arrowhead on Christmas day. The Chiefs took care of the Raiders in Vegas the first time these teams met. However, the Raiders will be riding high, coming off an impressive 63-21 win over the Chargers and are still alive in the playoff hunt. As I seem to say every week, maybe this will be the week the Chiefs clean up their mistakes and look like the team we know.