Chiefs must refine their finishing touch (plus more to watch as KC meets L.A. Chargers)
Technically, the Chiefs didn’t win their last game on the final play: A botched snap to Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell was recovered by KC linebacker Nick Bolton, and with 11 seconds remaining Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes took a knee to seal a 19-17 victory.
But the late dramatics could have been avoided, had the Chiefs taken care of business in their final full offensive possession.
A touchdown would have salted it away with a two-possessions lead. Even a field goal would have made things very difficult for the Raiders. Instead, the Chiefs went three-and-out, with Mahomes missing Xavier Worthy on a deep ball on third down, and punted it away.
That followed a script similar to what transpired a week earlier at Carolina. The Chiefs, leading the Panthers 27-19 late, could’ve all but clinched the win with a score. Instead, a three-and-out — including two sacks of Mahomes — set up the Panthers’ game-tying drive.
Fault the Chiefs’ defense for allowing the Raiders and Panthers to pull off those late drives. But failing to take care of business on offense late has added more tension to endings the Chiefs would rather do without.
“You get an opportunity to close a game out these last two weeks, as an offense, and we haven’t done that,” offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. “Whether it’s penalties or missed opportunity, we know we have to be better.”
Mahomes said it starts with him.
“It’s just little plays here and there that have kind of stalled out drives,” Mahomes said. “If that’s the deep shots that I’ve missed to Xavier or other guys or if that’s the red zone and not executing at that time in the red zone. There are plays in games that if we just make that play, the offense scores 30 points and we’re not even having this discussion.”
Here’s what else to watch when the Chiefs take on the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football. Kickoff is 7:20 p.m. at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Chiefs player to watch: Left tackle D.J. Humphries
The obvious choice, right? When the Chiefs benched Wanya Morris late in last week’s game against the Raiders and moved guard Joe Thuney to left tackle as a stopgap, the decision to play Humphries this week was all but sealed.
Humphries hasn’t played since suffering an ACL injury late last season while he was with the Arizona Cardinals. But he’s cleared to play Sunday, and the Chiefs are desperate for an upgrade at the position.
Humphries is experienced and turned in a Pro Bowl season three years ago. This next start will be the 99th of his career. Even if he turns in an average performance, the Chiefs will have improved here.
Chargers player to watch: Cornerback Tarheeb Still
In the Chargers’ 17-13 victory at the Atlanta Falcons last week, Still had two of the team’s four interceptions of Kirk Cousins.
The rookie from Maryland returned one of the picks 61 yards for a touchdown. Mahomes threw at least one interception in seven of the Chiefs’ first nine games, but he has gone without a pick in four of the last five and has a an 11-2 TD/interception ratio in that span.
The Chargers top the NFL in scoring defense at 15.7 points per game, and the Chiefs are coming off a sluggish performance against the Raiders. The Chiefs have scored fewer than 20 points n three of their four games against AFC West opponents this season.
Special teams to watch: Chiefs’ kickoff coverage
Lost in analysis of the Chiefs’ narrow escape of the Raiders last week was a special teams slip that changed the game’s momentum.
After the Chiefs took a 16-3 lead with a field goal, kicker Matt Wright put the ball in the landing zone, where Vegas return man Ameer Abdullah fielded it on a hop.
So far, so good. But the coverage broke down and Abdullah returned the kick 68 yards to set up the first of two Raiders TDs in the next two minutes as the visitors took the lead.
As the temperatures drop and kicks don’t travel as far, look for more returns.
“It’s return season now,” special teams coordinator Dave Toub said.