Which KC Chiefs make the grade? A midseason report card, from Mahomes to Sorensen (oof)
Through nine games, the 2021 Kansas City Chiefs are not the juggernaut many had hoped they’d be. Far from it.
At this point last year, the two-time Super Bowl participants were 8-1. Fast-forward to mid-November and they’re re 5-4, with three wins against weak NFC East opponents and four losses to current AFC division leaders: the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Chargers.
The midpoint of the regular season provides a logical opportunity to assign letter grades, report-card style, to some of their key players. Here’s how we see it.
QUARTERBACK PATRICK MAHOMES: C+
Mahomes enters Sunday night’s Week 10 game at the Las Vegas Raiders ranked fourth in passing yards (2,534) and tied for third in touchdown passes (20).
But let’s get the obvious out of the way: Something just isn’t right in 2021.
Yes, he’s facing defenses with safeties 15-20 yards off the line of scrimmage in order to guard against big plays. But Mahomes, who has a career 105.8 passer rating, has now gone five straight games with a passer rating of less than 91.0. Six of his lowest single-game passer ratings have come in 2021, including a career-low 62.3 in Week 7.
Through nine games, he has thrown 10 interceptions, just two off the career-worst 12 he threw in all of 2018, and he has also lost two fumbles. He’s averaging a career-low 7 yards per completion.
Mahomes possesses elite talent, so he should eventually break loose from whatever’s affecting his overall play in 2021. But even casual observers will notice that Mahomes doesn’t look like the same quarterback he was in the previous three seasons.
RB CLYDE EDWARDS-HELAIRE: INCOMPLETE
Before suffering an MCL sprain against the Buffalo Bills in Week 5, Edwards-Helaire had gained a team-best 304 yards on 65 carries, adding 61 yards and two touchdowns on eight receptions.
The Chiefs hope to get Edwards-Helaire back soon, and there’s little doubt they miss him. If you want to know how valuable he is to the Chiefs’ offense, he’s missed four games and his 304 rushing yards still leads the team.
The former first-round pick might deserve a B for what he accomplished before being injured. He lost a couple of crucial fumbles, but he also had back-to-back 100-yard rushing efforts in Weeks 4-5.
RECEIVER TYREEK HILL: A-
The speedy Hill is at his best when he’s blowing the top off a defense. Those opportunities, however, have been scarce because of how opponents are positioning their defense against the Chiefs this season.
Hill has topped 100 yards only twice thus far, but he’s finding other ways to make an impact, exploiting underneath coverage while averaging 11.4 yards per catch. His 68 receptions are the second-most in the league, his 772 receiving yards ranks fifth and his six touchdowns are tied for fourth-most in the NFL.
There is one bad spot, though, in Hill’s body of work in 2021: His five dropped passes are tied for the third-most in the league with the Panthers’ DJ Moore and Bengals rookie Ja’Marr Chase.
RECEIVER MECOLE HARDMAN: C+
Preseason expectations outside the Chiefs’ training complex pegged Hardman as the heir apparent for the role of traditional No. 2 receiver this fall.
The Chiefs, however, never saw it that way. They made that known early in the season.
“I think you would say a committee,” receivers coach Joe Bleymaier said in September when asked to identify the No. 2 wideout opposite Tyreek Hill. “All of our receivers play all the different spots based on any given route concept on any given play. They can be all over the field.”
And that’s precisely what Hardman, Byron Pringle and Demarcus Robinson have done this season. Hardman leads the trio with 38 catches for 372 yards through nine games; Pringle has 18 catches for 255 yards and two touchdowns; and Robinson so far has 13 catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns.
Combined, that’s 69 catches for 780 yards and five touchdowns. Not bad at all for a wide receiver-by-committee approach.
For Hardman, the issue is fumbles: three this season, two lost. That hurts his grade. But he is averaging 41.3 yards per game, a pace that would see him finish the regular season with 702.6. He is also valuable on special teams, with eight punt returns for 86 yards and 12 kick returns for 506.
TIGHT END TRAVIS KELCE: A
Mahomes’ security blanket continues to play at high level. Kelce’s total of 54 receptions leads all tight ends in the league and is the sixth-most among all NFL players, regardless of position. His 628 yards receiving rank 12th and he’s scored five touchdowns.
He has now caught a pass in 119 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in Chiefs history and the fourth-longest active streak in the NFL.
When in doubt, throw the ball in Kelce’s direction. He continues to make good things happen.
THE NEW OFFENSIVE LINE: C+
The Chiefs overhauled their front five after losing badly to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV.
The men tasked with protecting Mahomes this fall include new left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., new left guard Joe Thuney and three rookies: center Creed Humphrey, right guard Trey Smith and right tackle Lucas Niang.
Humphrey and Smith are the clear standouts. Humphrey, in particular, has been an anchor in the middle. (Check out the stellar Pro Football Focus rating for the first-year pro out of Oklahoma.)
The biggest issue has been at right tackle, where Niang started the first five games before giving way to veteran Mike Remmers in Week 6. Niang returned to the starting rotation in Week 8 after Remmers suffered a knee injury, but then Niang was sidelined again with a rib injury. Veteran Andrew Wylie, like Remmers a holdover from 2020, saw action last weekend.
In evaluating this offensive line’s performance so far in 2021, one number stands out: 17. That’s the number of times Mahomes has been sacked, putting him on pace for a career-high 32. He was sacked 22 times all of last season.
And the Chiefs still have eight regular-season games to go this year.
Perhaps this front five is still getting familiar with Mahomes and his preferences and tendencies, but the Chiefs revamped their O-line with their All-Pro quarterback in mind. These guys need to show continued improvement in the season’s second half.
FRANK CLARK, CHRIS JONES: INCOMPLETE
The Chiefs’ star defensive linemen have combined to miss five games. Clark’s hamstring injuries sidelined him for three of the team’s first four, while Jones missed Weeks 5-6 with torn ligaments in his wrist.
They appear to be mostly healthy now, and they’ve shown in the past two games what they can do when they’re both on the field at the same time. Against the Packers, they combined for five of the Chiefs’ seven quarterback hits.
Melvin Ingram’s arrival last week via a trade with the Steelers makes the defensive line better and allows Jones to play inside. So there’s upside here. But with so much time missed, it’s difficult to fully evaluate the tandem of Clark and Jones.
LINEBACKER NICK BOLTON: A
The Chiefs’ second-round pick out of Missouri has been everything Andy Reid and the Chiefs’ front office had hoped he could be.
The NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for October leads them in tackles with 71 (next is cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, with 46). Bolton has started all nine games and has a team-best nine tackles for loss.
With Bolton, second-year pro Willie Gay Jr. and veteran Anthony Hitchens in the mix, the Chiefs’ linebacker corps is pretty stout.
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SAFETY TYRANN MATHIEU: A
Mathieu sat out the season opener against the Browns because he was on the COVID-19/reserve list, and his leadership on the back end of coverage was sorely missed in a discombobulated home victory over Cleveland.
He has since started every game and ranks third on the team in tackles (42). He also has two interceptions, a touchdown, four passes defensed and a QB hit in 523 total snaps so far in 2021. Is a second straight first-team All-Pro selection in the offing? He’s certainly making a legitimate push.
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SAFETY DANIEL SORENSEN: D-
Sorensen opened the season as a starter and was well on his way to a career-worst year before the Chiefs finally replaced him with third-year pro Juan Thornhill in Week 6.
How bad has this season been for Sorensen? Let the numbers do the talking:
Opposing quarterbacks have targeted him 28 times, resulting in 23 completions (82.1%) and a perfect 158.3 passer rating when throwing his way. Most of those 23 plays resulted in big gains, too, with receivers averaging an incredible 17 yards per catch against No. 49.
Through nine weeks, Sorensen has been on the wrong end of four touchdowns (he gave up just three in all of 2020). He has also missed 11 tackles for a career-worst 21.6% missed-tackle rate.
No longer a starter, Sorensen still brings value on special teams. That alone saves this safety who played a vital role in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV championship run from a failing grade.
PUNTER TOMMY TOWNSEND: A
Townsend’s booming punts in Weeks 8-9 deserve mention.
In Week 8 against the New York Giants, he punted four times for 203 yards, averaging 50.8 yards per attempt. All four of his punts landed inside the Giants’ 20-yard line. Then Townsend had a downright outstanding game against Green Bay, averaging 56.8 yards and placing five inside the 20-yard line.
The second-year pro’s punts are averaging 48 yards this season and he’s dropped 14 inside the 20.
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COACHING STAFF: C+
Andy Reid will one day be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He’s the first NFL head coach to win at least 100 games with two different teams — a milestone he attained in Week 4 with a victory at Philadelphia, his former team.
Reid has surrounded himself with exceptional top-line assistant coaches: offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and special teams coordinator Dave Toub.
This coaching staff can’t be held responsible for the Chiefs’ abysmal 19 turnovers through nine games. But there’s an expectation factor at work here, too, especially for a team filled with All-Pro and Pro Bowl talent.
The Chiefs were preseason darlings to return to a third straight Super Bowl. They could still do that, but they’ve appeared lost at times in 2021. The good news is that there are eight games remaining on their regular-season schedule, and no other AFC team appears willing and able to take control of the conference.
Despite their 5-4 record, this Chiefs coaching staff is capable of engineering a turnaround. Assuming they do so, this grade will be better at season’s end.
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This story was originally published November 11, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
