Chiefs report card: Can you give a higher grade than an ‘A’ for this passing offense?
The grades are in and here’s the report card from the Kansas City Chiefs’ 28-10 win over the Oakland Raiders Sunday at the Oakland Coliseum
The recap
KC Star of the Game: Demarcus Robinson
Patrick Mahomes could be this person every week, but let’s recognize Robinson, who entered the game with four career touchdowns. He had two in the second quarter. He caught one pass for no gain last week in Jacksonville. Sunday, he had five for 144 yards in the first half. Mahomes is amazing, but he also needs targets ... and Robinson was a big one Sunday. D-Rob finished with six receptions for 172 yards and two touchdowns, all career bests for the fourth-year pro.
Reason to hope: The Chiefs took Oakland’s best shot early and fell behind 10-0. The stadium was rocking and the Chiefs faced adversity. They handled it well.
Reason to mope: That start wasn’t pretty. And Tyrann Mathieu’s 43-yard pass-interference penalty set up a Raiders touchdown. The Chiefs committed the type of penalties that would damage most teams’ scoring chances. That doesn’t happen with the Chiefs.
Next: The Chiefs finally come home next weekend. It’s been a month since they’ve played at Arrowhead Stadium after playing their final preseason game on the road and the first two in the regular season. The Baltimore Ravens are the opponent for a noon kickoff next Sunday.
Report card
Passing offense: A
There were some early misfires. But in the second quarter, Mahomes completed 12 of 17 passes for 278 yards and four touchdowns. Two scoring passes went to Robinson, one to tight end Travis Kelce and one to Mecole Hardman for his first NFL score. Mahomes finished with 443 yards, the second most in his young career.
Rushing offense: C
Not much production here. The Chiefs need to reach a point where they can control games, and leads, with a stout rushing attack. Give the Raiders’ defense credit for containing LeSean McCoy and Damien Williams. The Chiefs finished with 32 rushing yards.
Passing defense: B
The Raiders and Derek Carr had their way early. But third-quarter interceptions by Bashaud Breeland and Charvarius Ward ended any hope of an Oakland comeback. Plus the Chiefs came up with three sacks. And to pitch a shutout after the first two possessions is a step forward. Carr finished with a 61.1 passer rating.
Rushing defense: C
Raiders rookie back Josh Jacobs is going to be a good one, with a combination of power and speed. He had a 51-yard rumble in the third quarter and was difficult to contain much of the afternoon. Jacobs finished with 99 rushing yards and the Raiders averaged 6.8 yards per attempt. But Andy Reid wasn’t displeased. “Defense, I thought they were big today,” Reid said. “When you come in here you better be ready.”
Special teams: C
The Chiefs get downgraded here for a couple of penalties on punt returns. But Dustin Colquitt dropped one punt inside the 20 and Hardman returned a punt for 20 yards.
Coaching: A
Second-quarter play calling was wizardry.
This story was originally published September 15, 2019 at 6:42 PM.