Well, let’s just say that many fans were hoping for the perfect season as a rebound from the Super Bowl disaster, and it is clearly not happening.
I am not one who really goes in a panic because of a very shaky beginning of the season, but nonetheless, the Kansas City Chiefs have a lot of issues to take care of.
Maybe, the most surprising issue this year is their superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes. He is usually the one player in this team you can always rely on. However, this season, he has made many unexpected mistakes, provoking turnovers that the rest of the team struggles to overcome. Mahomes already has six interceptions this season, as many as the ones in 2020.
The Chiefs now are tied for the league lead in turnovers with eleven. And Sunday was not different, Mahomes lost the ball on interceptions and fumbles which almost never happened the previous years.
And Patrick Mahomes took responsibility for what happened on Sunday against the Bills, and the 2-3 result.
“It starts with me,” Mahomes said after throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble against the Bills — three of his team’s four turnovers in all. “It’s something I’ve not usually done in my career, but I have to reevaluate where I’m at, what decisions I’m making.
On paper, the pass rush should not be that bad but it is. This past Sunday against the Bills, Chris Jones was not playing but Frank Clark came back finally, paired with ex teammate and defensive tackle Jarran Reed.
So why are all those players struggling so much on defense?
It is not clear yet, they could ask Chris Jones to play at his initial position where he is more at ease, but is he heavy enough now that he lost weight to be more versatile in both positions? However, Chris Jones does not make the whole pass rush by himself, and the other players are not having a great impact so far.
Additionally, who could not see the issue of putting Dan Sorensen as a first safety instead of Juan Thornhill? At this point, we can ask ourselves if this is just stubbornness or whether there’s a real problem with Thornhill behind the curtains…
Clearly, Dan Sorensen did not play up to the Chiefs’ expectations and had his worst game so far against the Bills, and the worst is it was quite obvious! He is leading now in missed tackles in the league.
According to Mathieu: “Honestly, I think we are just beating ourselves,” he said after the game. “Go back to the Ravens game. Miscommunication, blown coverages. Chargers game — kind of the same thing. And tonight — I think most of the explosive pass plays were guys just running wide open down the field. Obviously, we are going to practice that. Our coaches don’t teach that.”
The Chiefs’ defense has allowed 30 or more points in four consecutive weeks, showing no sign of improvement. He seemed also frustrated by another week of silly mistakes leading to big plays.
“If you really look back at it, it’s missed tackles, it’s blown coverages — and that’s really kind of a theme,” he said. “So if we can stop some of these tackles — teams are in third and long. If we don’t miscommunicate on a third down — then we’re off the field and give the ball back to our offense. We’ve just got to find a way to stop the bleeding when it’s happening — and try our best to get it right.”
Last but not least, ball security has become a real topic this season. It has been a huge problem. Every receiver has had a drop or fumble during one of the five first games. Kick returner Byron Pringle has fumbled in each of the last two games, Tyreek Hill has fumbled this year and struggled with drops against the Bills, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire has fumbled twice. And unfortunately, although the coaches keep repeating the ball security might be an easy issue to correct, it does not look like the ball security is improving.
So as a result of Sunday’s game, the Kansas City Chiefs announced some roster moves on Tuesday.
With Edwards-Helaire in injured reserve, and expected to miss 2 to 3 weeks, the Chiefs signed RB Derrick Gore who had an awesome camp and pre-season. Gore managed 18 carries for 86 yards and six receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown for the Chiefs during the preseason this year.
The Chiefs also made two other moves, releasing Daurice Foutain, a preseason standout and fan favorite, and they signed OT Prince Tega Wanogho to the 53-man roster. The next game against Washington will show how much the team has been able to correct whatever is wrong with them, whether miscommunication or technical issues. Let’s wait and see.
