Why the Chiefs think Matt Moore can be better in his next start ... if they need him
Matt Moore pushed through the door to the Chiefs’ media workroom, took his spot behind the platform and prepared to answer questions. But before any were elicited, he surveyed his surroundings and spoke first.
“More people in the room this week,” he said.
To be fair, the crowd swelled largely in anticipation of the latest update regarding the knee of Patrick Mahomes, the man Moore trails on the quarterback depth chart. Moore knew this. He accommodated the herd anyway, as something of a Plan B.
As he might be for a second straight game.
Coach Andy Reid left that up in the air, acknowledging Mahomes will be more active in practice this week ahead of Sunday’s date with Minnesota than he was last week as he continues to progress from a dislocated kneecap. But for now, Moore is preparing as if he will start. He’s found that to be the best course of action in a situation he knows all too well, his role in flux as a game nears.
Such is life for a backup quarterback in the NFL.
“This is nothing new,” he said. “I’m used to it.”
Moore graded well in his first start with the Chiefs, a 31-24 loss to Green Bay on Sunday Night Football. He threw a pair of touchdowns. Didn’t turn the ball over. He was, suffice to say, better than expected, considering he had not started a game in 23 months and the Chiefs plucked him from a high school coaching staff in late August.
Those were the positives. As for the potential for growth, Moore noted his footwork. He also simply misfired a couple of throws. His timing felt off on a couple of others, including coming up short on an early deep post to wide receiver Tyreek Hill. He needed to get the ball out more quickly there. But the list is comprised of things Moore says he’s capable of cleaning up.
The biggest margin for improvement lies elsewhere. With familiarity. Moore’s familiarity with the offense. And the playcallers — Reid and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy — with Moore.
“Who knows what the situation is, but as we go on down the road, (Reid) is going to know five weeks from now about what I like or what suits me and call it accordingly,” Moore said. “I think time is going to be a huge thing as opposed to scheme, even though our staff always does a great job of scheming stuff. I just think time is going to be the biggest thing with that.”
Reid said he learned some things about Moore as the game wore on last Sunday. There were elements of his performance that stood out.
His willingness to take a hit, for example. Moore woke up sore Monday. To be expected. He had not absorbed football contact in two years, and he got crushed by 300-plus-pound linemen a few times. But he didn’t shy away from it. On his first touchdown throw, to tight end Travis Kelce, Packers edge rusher Rashan Gary shoved Moore to the ground.
Moore was still on his backside as he watched Kelce cross the goal line.
“He took a couple of hits in there and played a full game, which he hasn’t done for a while,” Reid said. “There are some things that, if he’s asked to play again, you see that he does well. You can build on some of those.”
The Chiefs’ receivers — Sammy Watkins and Mecole Hardman, in particular — praised Moore’s overall play after the game.
The timing will come with, well, more time.
“I don’t know him as well as maybe the other guys, but I liked what I saw. He goes about it the right way,” Reid said. “The players around him have confidence in him, which winds up being very important.”