Last week, the Kansas City Chiefs were embarrassed on Sunday Night Football in a 38-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills. It was a mix of poor defense and poor offense. Bills quarterback Josh Allen had 374 total yards and four touchdowns. The Chiefs defense could not contain him.
On offense, two interceptions and a fumble from Patrick Mahomes and an inability to capitalize on opportunities stalled the offense.
However, it is a brand new week and the Chiefs hit the road to take on the Washington Football Team. Through five weeks, both teams own a 2-3 record. Washington has lost two of their last three games, while Kansas City has lost three of their last four.
For the Chiefs, the injury bug is continuing to affect the team. Chris Jones, Charvarius Ward, and Blake Bell have already been listed as out for Sunday’s game. This will be the third straight game that Ward has missed and the second straight for Jones.
However, Tyreek Hill (Quad) and Joe Thuney (Hand) returned to practice on Friday after missing Thursday.
For the Football Team, they will be without right guard Brandon Scherff and wide receiver Curtis Samuel, along with star receiver Terry McLaurin questionable due to a hamstring injury.
For the Chiefs, they need to find a way to have both sides of the ball play together and in sync. Here are the keys for KC.
Ball Security
Through five weeks, the Chiefs have committed 11 turnovers. It is tied for the most in the NFL with the Jaguars. Mahomes has thrown six interceptions, tying his total from last season. Additionally, they have fumbled the ball away five times.
Last week, the Chiefs defense started the second half with three stops, giving opportunities to cut the deficit. The Chiefs punted and turned the ball over three times, including two inside Bills territory. The same thing happened against the Chargers, with three turnovers coming inside Los Angeles territory.
It is crucial for the Chiefs to take care of the ball. Teams have found the formula to beat the Chiefs by keeping Mahomes and the offense off the field. With that, the offense has to sustain drives and put points on the board and turnovers are killing that.
With the defensive struggles as well, turnovers are hurting the defense more and make it harder for them to get stops and get off the field. This week, the Chiefs need to take care of the football and eliminate turnovers.
The Passing Game
The Washington defense has shockingly been one of the worst in the NFL this season. They are surrendering over 290 and just under 3 passing touchdowns per game. The stout front seven for Washington is struggling as well, They only have nine sacks on the season, which is tied for the third-lowest in the league.
Mahomes leads the league in passing touchdowns with 16 and is set to have a field day. Tyreek Hill should be good to go, Travis Kelce is always a threat over the middle of the field, and Josh Gordon has one game under his belt with KC. With a struggling pass attack for Washington and a solid offensive line from the Chiefs, it will be a tough day for the Football Team’s secondary.
With the injury to Clyde Edwards-Helaire, the Chiefs could rely more on the air game throughout the matchup as well. Kansas City needs to establish the passing game early to put pressure on the secondary that has struggled throughout the first five games.
Juan Thornhill
This season, Daniel Sorensen has been the starting safety alongside Tyrann Mathieu. He has heavily struggled as he leads the league with the most missed tackles and multiple lapses in coverage, including two plays against Buffalo last week. Sorensen has surrendered 15 receptions on 19 targets for 278 yards and 2 scores.
Juan Thornhill has been getting little snaps throughout this season and it is time to put him on the field alongside Mathieu. He has proved that he is fully healthy since he tore his ACL at the end of the 2019 regular season. Thornhill is an upgrade in coverage. With teams challenging the secondary downfield, it is time to put him in.
