Cleanup required for Chiefs’ offensive line, especially with Rams on horizon
Building the best record in the AFC has taken success in many areas for the Chiefs, including protecting quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Entering Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals, the Chiefs had allowed 12 sacks, matching the fourth-fewest in the NFL.
That ranking is bound to change after all of this week’s games are played.
The Cardinals got to Mahomes five times for sacks. The most he’d been sacked in a game before the Chiefs’ 26-14 Sunday victory was two.
“A lot of things got into that,” Chiefs tackle Eric Fisher said. “I got beat a couple of times against a good pass rusher. You’ve got to let those plays go. You have to figure out how he’s beating you and what you have to do to change that.”
Before Sunday, Fisher had been beaten for a sack only once, according to Pro Football Focus. Against, the Cardinals, he surrendered a couple of sacks to Chandler Jones, an All-Pro end in 2017 and two time Pro Bowler. Jones led the NFL with 17 sacks last season, and Sunday marked his first two-sack game of the season.
Jones disrupted a pair of Chiefs’ first half drives. He sacked Mahomes for an 8-yard loss on a third-and-13 from the Cardinals 19.
On the Chiefs’ next possession, Jones dropped Mahomes for a 7-yard loss to the Cards 28.
Both times the Chiefs settled for Harrison Butker field goals.
The Chiefs have done well up front throughout the season,, and until Sunday hadn’t missed a beat after losing players to injuries.
Center Mitch Morse and guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardiff have been out for several weeks. Reserve Jordan Devey played one game before he was lost with an injury.
Austin Reiter has taken over at center and Andrew Wylie at guard. Both are starting in the NFL for the first time this season and have contributed to an offense that entered Sunday ranked third in yards per game (433.3) and first in yards per play (7.05).
“I’m so proud of those guys,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “We have a mix of guys in there. They haven’t played a lot together. To step in and do what they’ve done so far is a real plus.
“But we had too many pressures today and we have to get the communication cleaned up.”
The Chiefs were held to their lowest scoring total and fewest total yards (330) this season. Although Patrick Mahomes tossed two touchdown passes to set the team record for scoring passes in a season with 31, he was held to a career-low 249 yards and had snapped his streak of eight straight games of at least 300 passing yards.
After the first possession, a three-play, 75-yard sprint that ended with a Mahomes to Tyreek Hill 37-yard scoring pass, nothing seemed to come easily for the Chiefs.
“We did a decent job,” Jones said. “But we didn’t do enough to win.”
A better effort will be needed against the Chiefs’ next opponent. The Los Angeles Rams have one of the NFL’s top defenses, led by Aaron Donald, who entered the weekend second in the league in sacks with 10.
“We got a win today,” Fisher said. “But we’re going to go back and see how we can improve what happened.”
Blair Kerkhoff
Blair Kerkhoff covers the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals and college sports for The Star.
