Chiefs’ clunker-loss to Bucs deals near-term blow to Super Bowl chatter

Sure, three key starters were sidelined for the game, including receiver Jeremy Maclin and cornerback Marcus Peters, who arguably has become the Chiefs’ most pivotal defender. And linebacker Dee Ford missed the second half with a hamstring injury.

And, yep, the Chiefs would have won this game against Tampa Bay if confounding quarterback Alex Smith didn’t all but resort to Morse code before forcing a pass into the end zone that was plucked by Chris Conte and returned 53 yards.

The play was such a preposterous mistake that coach Andy Reid didn’t even wait for questions before taking blame for a call he insisted was a pre-determined throw in which Smith somehow had no alternatives.

It’s also true that even after this deflating 19-17 defeat on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium to a team that had been 4-5, the Chiefs are 7-3 and entrenched in the playoff hunt.

“It’s a long season,” Conley said. “Everything is right in front of us where we want it to be.”

Absolutely right.

But the rub here was nicely captured in one burst by tackle Mitchell Schwartz when asked about Reid’s postgame message.

After noting it is just one game, and hopefully an aberration at that, Schwartz may or may not have begun adding his own perspective in as he continued with words that resonated most:

“It’s not the type of thing that a really top-tier team would let happen to them. That’s kind of the unfortunate thing. If you want to take that next step, these are games that you should be winning.”

In more ways than one.

Sunday wasn’t merely about the Chiefs having a five-game winning streak snuffed out.

First, it was about how this loss changes the complexion of where they stand as they head into the thorny schedule ahead.

That features two games with the Broncos (7-3) starting next Sunday in Denver, a trip to NFC South leader Atlanta (6-4), home games against Oakland (7-2), Tennessee (5-6) and the Broncos, and the regular-season finale at San Diego (4-6).

By squandering this game, the Chiefs have no cushion in their hopes of hosting a playoff game (or two) and scant margin for error in their path to the postseason … and into it.

Especially since until proven otherwise the road to the Super Bowl goes through New England, which is a far more daunting task played there than elsewhere.

Then there is the matter of what this game leaves you wondering about who these Chiefs really are.

Between last week’s insane rally from 17 points down to win at Carolina and their 21-point comeback to beat San Diego in the opener, between fending off late bids by New Orleans and Jacksonville, they sure seemed to be demonstrating a “find a way” persona as they live on the brink.

And that may well be who they ultimately prove to be.

But Sunday was a reminder of how thin the line can be when it comes down to whether you’re charmed or not.

And it asks whether their good fortune most of the season is a reflection of a certain mojo or has just masked flaws that will be exposed as the season gets tougher.

The loss calls further into question all that they’ve managed to win despite, particularly an offense that is at best sporadic and at worst is stagnant and inadequate.

The Chiefs have mustered 18 offensive touchdowns in 10 games now with no sign of that feeble trend changing, and it’s hard to see how that fits a championship profile.

The defense has been good enough most of the season, and outstanding at times, particularly in creating turnovers and even points.

But on Sunday, it was part of the problem, too, allowing Tampa Bay to make good on 11 of 16 third-down conversation attempts and forcing one punt in the first 59 minutes 38 seconds.

Now, it’s not like this necessarily portends the demise of the 2016 Chiefs.

We may well look back and see this either as a blip or an asterisk, something like Denver’s 15-12 home loss to then 5-7 Oakland on its way to winning the Super Bowl last season.

We could look back and see it as a springboard.

“Maybe it’s good we go through this now,” kicker Cairo Santos said.

That proved true the last time the Chiefs lost, the 43-14 humbling at Pittsburgh back on Oct. 2 before they reset with a bye week.

As punter Dustin Colquitt pointed out, Reid’s teams often have been known for just that quality: Just last season, they alchemized their 1-5 start into an 11-game winning streak and the franchise’s first playoff win in 22 years.

So everything remains right in front of them.

But lofty hopes of winning a Super Bowl absorbed a dent on Sunday, both in terms of how the Chiefs might be positioned in the postseason and what this game suggests about their true ceiling.

This story was originally published November 20, 2016 at 7:03 PM with the headline "Chiefs’ clunker-loss to Bucs deals near-term blow to Super Bowl chatter."