After a disappointing 40-32 loss against the Las Vegas Raiders, were the Chiefs, as a whole, exposed to the entire NFL?
Hello again everyone and welcome to another week of the ArrowChop! This is the column where we look at the positives/negatives of a certain Chiefs/NFL issue and look at both sides of the aisle. Then you, the readers, will come to your conclusions after I lay out the case. So sit back, relax, and enjoy as we breakdown this week’s hot topic.
Well, I don’t anyone except Raiders fans could’ve predicted what occurred Sunday afternoon; after the Chiefs were defeated by the Raiders. The defense, especially the pass defense, played repugnantly against the Raiders defense and it seemed as though they were looking like the 2016 Browns defense. On the offensive side, they did superb in the first half, but they shut down in the second half except for the final drive. It was sloppy play on both sides of the ball.
With that said, fans must ask themselves if the Chiefs were, somewhat, exposed by the Raiders this week. Let’s break down both sides of the aisle to see if they were!
The Chiefs were exposed
Fans on the side believe the defense, for the most part, was cut, slashed, and slit open on almost every drive they played on. On Carr’s two of three passing touchdowns on the day, he was able to throw a 72-yard one to Henry Ruggs III and a 59-yard one to Nelson Agholor; moreover, the defense gave up 118 yards receiving to Ruggs on two catches! Where and what happened to one of the better passing defenses in the league?
Fans can’t even begin to forget about the atrocious rushing defense the Chiefs have had, yet it still shows zero signs of improvement. Let’s list what the defense gave up rushing wise: a 43-yard by Devontae Booker for him to average eight yards per carry, two rushing touchdowns to Josh Jacobs, and allow a total of over 150+ rushing yards to the Raiders offense. The defense has zero excuses for this plunder and, hopefully, they’ll learn from it.
Now, the offense comes into play. In the 1st half, they played exceptionally well as they were able to keep the Chiefs in the game; however, that didn’t transfer into the second half. To begin with, the third quarter itself was terrible; the offense couldn’t put a single point, drives were becoming 3-and-outs like it was child play, and Mahomes and the offense couldn’t execute anything. It was like the Gruden and his team knew what the offense was running before they called the play. It was painful to watch
The 4th quarter wasn’t pleasing either. While they were able to score and convert a two-point conversion to make it a one-possession game, that was the only positive they had. The offense again was sought out and destroyed by the Raiders defense, Mahomes threw a costly interception into the hands of Jeff Heath, drives just couldn’t be put together (except for the last drive), and so on. It seems as though everyone on that roster will reflect on their miscues and perform at a higher level against the Bills rather than they did on Sunday.
The Chiefs weren’t exposed
This side falls on the fact that everything will improve after this game. Spagnuolo will fix what is needed in the secondary, the defensive line, and the linebacking core; furthermore, Bieniemy will work with the offense so the Chiefs don’t have another half like the second-half a few days ago. Reid will draw up a more efficient gameplan for their next game versus the Bills and the players, of course, will perform at a multistory level next time they take the field. Trust the organization!
Another point that is said is that some players still performed greatly and they were able to keep the game under wraps to the best of their abilities. Kelce had 8 catches for 108 yards with a touchdown, Hill had 3 catches for 78 yards with a rushing touchdown, Breeland played well in his first game back with 2 tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception, and Gay had 6 total tackles on the day with a sack (the only sack on the day for the Chiefs).
While the team has to play better as a whole, these and a few other players that aren’t mentioned still kept a leveled head and stuck in it. If everyone cleans up the hiccups, this game will, most likely, be rendered as a fluke.
In closing, that’s the case for if the Chiefs were exposed last week versus the Raiders. What are your thoughts on this? Leave a comment down below to join the discussion.
Thanks for reading and have an amazing day!
