Warts and all, here’s a kindly reminder elite KC Chiefs have earned benefit of doubt
Well, OK, so much for 20-0, even if you knew that was always a guideline, not a vow, and about the striving and the journey itself.
Also having vanished now is that apparent spell over the Ravens and hex on quarterback Lamar Jackson, who had been 0-3 against the Chiefs before the 36-35 victory on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
And, ugh, this has been some hideous defense, which has surrendered 96 points in its last three games and largely was hapless against the Ravens other than Tyrann Mathieu’s two pivotal interceptions.
The reconstituted offensive line has been exploited at times. And whatever happened to Clyde Edwards-Helaire, anyway?
Oh, and what’s with Patrick Mahomes actually throwing an interception in a September game for the first time after throwing 38 touchdown passes in those 12 outings along the way?
Then again, maybe the Chiefs win, anyway, if coach Andy Reid is thinking touchdown on the last drive instead of angling for the field goal … and thus keeps the ball in Mahomes’ hands instead of calling for the ill-fated handoff that led to Edwards-Helaire’s first NFL fumble?
Safe to say it sure took a lot to go wrong for the Chiefs to suffer a one-point loss on the road against a proud franchise reeling with injuries but also quite arguably stoked by an opening loss at Las Vegas.
Still, add it all up, and the dynamics have ignited paranoia and fury in the compulsively and impulsively triggered world of social media. Of course.
But the loss also is of ample, and legitimate, distress in more rational and patient forums as the Chiefs prepare to play host to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
So we’re not here to make light of the issues afflicting the Chiefs, some of which are more worrisome than others, as much as to try to cast light on them.
Or at least ladle in some modicum of perspective.
First, let’s start with truths that remain self-evident despite a 1-1 start that is hardly startling in the big picture:
By any objective measure, virtually nothing has changed in the context of the team itself since the two-time defending AFC Champions entered the season as an overwhelming favorite of oddsmakers to play in a third straight Super Bowl.
The Chiefs remain quarterbacked by Mahomes, who with the exception of the Super Bowl LV debacle against Tampa Bay (that was badly skewed by a mangled offensive line) had led the Chiefs to victories in 26 of their previous 27 games he quarterbacked.
Even without that qualifier, that means 26 of 29 now.
And perhaps you’re onto the fact that he’s still the same transformative force (completing 24 of 31 passes for 343 yards and three touchdowns against Baltimore) who has created a paradigm shift in how the Chiefs are viewed and played against … and still been unstoppable nearly every time he plays.
Meanwhile, Mahomes, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce animate Mahomes’ talents in a way few others in the NFL could do as a tandem. And just when you wondered how much the Chiefs needed to diversify their passing attack, Mahomes connected in substantial ways with Mecole Hardman, Byron Pringle and Demarcus Robinson on Sunday.
All of which brings us to the less reassuring elements of all this:
First, part of the ultimate appeal of this newfangled offensive line was that it not only would protect Mahomes but also barge for and blaze paths for the running game and its presumptive best option, Edwards-Helaire.
In part because the group is a work in progress, in part because of game situations and in part because Edwards-Helaire seems a tick less explosive and all-seeing so far this season, the Chiefs have managed a total of 135 rushing yards in two games — a feeble figure further magnified by the 153 yards Cleveland grounded out and the 251 yards the Ravens amassed by land.
Some are pinning this on Edwards-Helaire. And it’s easy to picture several plays (including a wide-open left side against Cleveland) where he didn’t hit the hole as promptly as he should have or didn’t seem to feel the opening where it was.
Maybe those problems will persist. But maybe they’re the equivalent of a slump or some other issue with Edwards-Helaire, who dealt with ankle injuries last season and in the preseason.
Whatever the case, I’m old enough to remember him rushing for 138 yards in his first game last year against Houston and for 161 at Buffalo and feeling like he had a knack for landing 2 or 3 yards from where it appeared he was going down.
And I figure that’s still in there, but … we’ll see.
And “we’ll see” is the broader point here, really.
We’ll see if the line gets better and better. It should. But we knew it might take a while, right?
We’ll see, too, if the defensive woes can be solved. It should: Because as bad as it has looked, why shouldn’t it be fixable with a coordinator (Steve Spagnuolo) credited with the crucial resurgence two seasons ago (albeit not until about the 11th game of the season) and most of the key personnel back?
That doesn’t mean it will be simple or that substantial changes won’t be needed as the Chiefs try to emerge again in the AFC with the likes of Cleveland coming of age and the Ravens having now demystified the rivalry and the AFC West seemingly posing a challenge again.
So maybe beyond remedial tackling drills some schemes need tweaking on defense. Or Chris Jones should just go back to defensive tackle. Maybe Juan Thornhill should be playing more.
On the other side of the ball, perhaps Edwards-Helaire isn’t quite the answer.
And you can be sure ever-resourceful general manager Brett Veach and his staff are looking for sensible upgrades across the roster all the time.
Meanwhile, though, maybe the Ravens game was just … one of those days. Or as Reid put it on Monday:
“When two good teams play each other, these mistakes just get amplified and magnified and everything else,” he said. “So, we’re sitting here with two turnovers at a crucial time of the game, we’re sitting here with the missed tackles, more so in the first half than the second half, but enough there, and shedding blocks—fundamental things that we’re better than that, but we’ve got to do it.
“So, we’ll go back to the drawing board here on Wednesday and work on these things. These are things we can control, and we’ve just got to get in the right mindset to do so.”
That they do. And the challenge is evident.
But the talent highlighted by Mahomes and the track record of this coaching staff guided by Reid, the fifth-winningest coach in NFL history (239 victories), suggests the group knows what it’s doing and has a way of finding solutions.
Even if the Chiefs won’t go 20-0, well, everything that matters remains in their grasp … and there’s much more to believe in here than not despite that revolting development against the Ravens.