Five things that stood out in the Chiefs’ season-opening loss to the Detroit Lions
Travis Kelce watched from the sideline. Chris Jones watched from the comfort of a stadium suite.
Patrick Mahomes was still behind center, though.
Turns out, he needs a bit of help. Or at least a bit more than he got Thursday. We’ll get to that.
The Lions beat the Chiefs 21-20 on the NFL’s Opening Night, spoiling a Super Bowl celebration that the Chiefs all but avoided by remaining in the locker room. They had hoped to put 2022 behind them.
Guess they accomplished that, because this didn’t much resemble 2022. In that vein, here are the observations from immediately after the game:
1. The receivers
To be honest, it would’ve been the top of the list even if the Chiefs had found a way to win.
Mahomes can cover up some offensive weaknesses. But, man, he’s going to need a bit more help from his seven receivers.
They nearly reached double-digits in drops — including three on the drive that essentially ended their chances to win the game.
Wasn’t the worst of it, though.
Without Kelce to occupy attention, the new-look wide receiver room struggled to consistently create separation. Mahomes might’ve been scrambling frequently, but don’t let that fool you. He was offered time. He was not offered options.
Kadarius Toney had a particularly difficult night. A ball slipped through his hands for a pick-6. And another slipped through his hands that would’ve put the Chiefs in field-goal range in the final three minutes.
The Chiefs could’ve avoided that situation altogether, though ...
2. Short yardage
Ah, a staple.
The offense’s biggest weakness of 2022 is already the culprit three hours into 2023.
Facing a third-and-1 with less than six minutes to play, the Chiefs elected to put Blake Bell under center — heard of that one before? — only for him to hand the ball off to rookie wide receiver Rashee Rice on an end-around.
It went about as well as that sentence structure.
I’d thought all along that the Blake Bell quarterback sneak in a preseason game in New Orleans was actually a sign they’d use something else in the regular season.
I just didn’t know it would be that.
And I’m sure we’ll hear about the execution of it, because the interior offensive line got blown up. But don’t lose sight of this: On the biggest snap of the game, the Chiefs took the ball out of the hands of the best player in the world. Used him as a decoy, no less.
Wasn’t the only time, either.
3. The fourth downs
There might not be a worse lead in football than a six-point advantage midway or late into the fourth quarter.
And the Chiefs opted for the objective.
Rather than leaving the offense on the field for a fourth-and-2 play with 12:11 remaining, Andy Reid opted to have Harrison Butker kick a 39-yard field goal to give the Chiefs 20-14 lead.
Six-point lead.
The Lions scored seven.
We’ll focus a lot on the lack of execution for the final two drives. In reality, this represented the Chiefs’ best chance to score more points. And they voluntarily gave it up.
4. Chris Jones was in the building. Chris Jones was not on the field.
Chris Jones had the most expensive seat in the house Thursday night — a club-level spot for, oh, about $1.1 million.
His holdout endures.
But as the Chiefs sell a next-man-up philosophy, they did not just roll on without Jones. They adjusted the game plan.
How? By asking the linebackers and secondary to contribute to the pass rush — and even run blitzes. In the first half alone, I counted seven different linebackers or cornerbacks who blitzed. In the game, the number stretched to 10.
Sure, it’s not unlike defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to bring some extra rushers, but it was evident this was part of the Jones-less plan — and probably will be as long as Jones remains out.
He blitzed on nearly half the snaps — and the overwhelming majority of third downs.
5. The offensive line
There have been plenty of transitional storylines to follow this offseason, but this one has slipped too far under the radar:
The offensive line.
The Chiefs replaced both tackles this offseason, up against a defensive line that included Aidan Hutchinson, last year’s second overall pick.
And Mahomes had all day to throw the ball.
He averaged 3.19 seconds to throw per dropback. He was at 2.89 seconds last season, for reference.
Detroit will not be the most difficult test the Chiefs’ offensive line sees — so this isn’t based on how it all fit together in just one game — but is it possible this is the best offensive line Mahomes has played behind? His early career was strong at the tackles. The past couple of seasons have been strong on the interior.
This one might just have both.
This story was originally published September 7, 2023 at 10:39 PM.