Adam Clay
Hiawatha World
In the past two weeks, the Kansas City Chiefs have lost their perfect season, and followed that up with a last second victory over one of the worst teams in the league. The results raise questions about the current state of the team, but ultimately, the Chiefs are now 10-1, in first place in the AFC and one step closer to wrapping up a bye in the playoffs.
After dropping a game against Buffalo last week, the team did bounce back this week, and seemed to have the game well in hand, but the Panthers, who in all fairness, have been better than what we’re used to seeing out of them since Bryce Young was reinserted into the starting lineup and has been looking more like a professional quarterback than at any point in his career, managed to stage a comeback that forced Kansas City to quickly move the ball into field position to kick the game winning field goal.
At this point, I don’t have many questions about the offense–I think we know what we have, and we’re just going to have to wait for the postseason to see how things come together. Overall, compared to last year, there are more weapons and better weapons, but they aren’t completely in sync at this point. I look for Travis Kelce to come alive a bit in the playoffs, as pieces like Deandre Hopkins and Juju Smith Schuster find their roles, and Xavier Worthy will either find a niche that he can elevate when the postseason comes, or his usage will drop that time of year. Kareem Hunt has been sharp, but is not as explosive as he was to start his comeback run with the team, and the remainder of the season will likely be a test to see how the returning Isiah Pacheco can balance the backfield into what could turn into a scary unit.
The only standing question that might get some clarity is along the offensive line, as the team signed DJ Humphries, and as soon as he’s ready I have a feeling we’ll see if he is an upgrade at left tackle. Right tackle is just going to be what it is, with Jawaan Taylor sticking as both a problem and the solution–we’ll see how he holds up the rest of the way.
The defense is still good, but is not the great outfit that we expected to start the season. They have had some great moments this season, but the longer things go on, the more teams are figuring them out. There are two primary issues going on that need to be addressed, and it’s all going to have to come from what’s already on the roster. The defensive line is not getting to the quarterback quickly enough–some players returning from injury might add some depth and create an uptick in the success rate, but the real issue seems to be at cornerback, where whoever has filled in for the injured Jaylen Watson has become a target for opposing cornerbacks. That position pretty much allowed the Panthers to get back in the game single-handedly, and Nazeeh Johnson and Chamari Conner are both exciting players, but have been victimized of late in the biggest moments. The team is going to have to find some schematic solutions to these problems, but in the end, the defense is still in the top half of the league.
The Chiefs will host the Vegas Raider on Black Friday, and with a late season holiday game setting the scene for an upset loss to their rival a season ago, I see Kansas City locking down and being prepared to dispatch the Raiders this time around. The rest of the season is full of upstart teams and young talented squads that look a lot better than they did on paper to begin the season, so the Chiefs will need to take care of business and prepare themselves for a dangerous stretch run of the season.
