Chiefs Cut Into the Pāst-riots

Chiefs Cut Into the Pāst-riots – much is being made of the Kansas City Chiefs offensive failings in their game against the New England Patriots on Sunday but nothing could be further from the truth. Do I have concerns? Sure, but Patrick Mahomes and his band of merry men scored 23 points on a defense that has been allowing 12.1 points per game to that point in the season. There are many big numbers that the Chiefs put up so let’s’ take a look.

The Chiefs have secured their 4th AFC West Division title in a row… and it now means nothing to the powers that be. Since the Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl following the 2015 season, the Chiefs have owned the AFC West. Winning their division is always the first goal of every team in the NFL so it’s no small feat that the Chiefs have done so four years in a row. However, now the players… and coaches… and front office… all recognize that there is a bigger fish to be caught, beginning with the Lamar Hunt trophy, which the Chiefs have never won. Plus, while getting to the Super Bowl is the next goal to achieve, Andy Reid has been there before so we know he wants more than just getting there.

The Chiefs Defense was the big winner on Sunday. That could best be seen when the Patriots were on 3rd down. The Pats have converted 3rd downs to 1st downs this season at a rate of 38% but on Sunday, the Chiefs defense held them to a 16.6% rate of conversion. That’s insane. Insanely good, if you’re a Chiefs fan. It’s hard to think of another reason that is a more important reason the Chiefs won on Sunday. Forcing 3rd downs then keeping the other team from converting… that’s what good (great) defenses do.

Perhaps the most important offensive reason the Chiefs cut the Patriots down to size on Sunday was the number of passing yards Patrick Mahomes threw for: 283. The last two seasons the Chiefs have been able to score plenty of points on the Pats but N.E. HC Bill Belichick has found ways to minimize Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce to keep the Chiefs offensive juggernaut scoring machine from running away with the game. That didn’t really work this time as 283 was the most yardage the Pats Defense has given up this season:

“The Chiefs are now giving up just 21.6 points per game. That’s down from 26.3 points per game last season which has K.C. ranked about 14th in the NFL in points allowed.” That’s from Lyle Graversen’s piece yesterday called, “The West if Not Enough For the Kansas City Chiefs.” When the Chiefs cut into the Pāst-riots on Sunday, the Chiefs defense was the dominant force and what Chiefs fans hoped would happen this year… is happening. That is to say that Steve Spagnuolo and his coaches have brought this defense along until they are in the top half of the league. We have yet to see them crack the top ten… but they’re headed in the right direction. Anytime you can break a team’s 21 game home winning streak, there’s a good reason for it… and this time it didn’t have much to do with the Patrick Mahomes offense outscoring the competition.

The Chiefs Defense held the Patriots leading rusher, RB Sony Michel, to 8 yards on 5 attempts. Sure, the Pats leading rusher for this game was James White who had 33 yards. However, holding the Pats to 94 yards total rushing yards for the team is what stands out even more. The Pats weren’t able to run the ball at will and control the game that way. That forced them into a passing game were the Chiefs pass rushers had a decidedly consistent advantage continually putting Tom Brady under pressure. Taking out Sony Michel was a brilliant move on Andy Reid’s part and their other RBs couldn’t make any headway so that game plan worked like, holding an overeaters anonymous convention at a Dunkin’ Donuts Bakery: the Chiefs ate em up!

ProFootball Focus has the Chiefs Ranked #5 in this weeks Power Rankings. Here’s what they have to say about the Chiefs and Andy Reid: “Andy Reid is a Hall of Fame coach and a leader in our play-by-play coaching metric in large part due to the decisions he makes on second down. Over 76% of his second-down decisions are the optimal one, with almost 47% of such plays yielding positive expected points added (seventh in the NFL). The Chiefs are running play-action on 23 % of their total offensive plays while running the ball on 33 % of plays. Their rate of 0.71 play-action passing plays per run play is best in the NFL by 0.14. In a league where deception is increasingly important, Andy Reid remains ahead of the curve even in a season when Patrick Mahomes has both been injured and seen his play regress (if only slightly).”

BONUS NUMBER – 145:00: I don’t know how it happened but, most of the Chiefs equipment never made the airplane transfer in New Jersey with the team so they were in danger of having to forfeit the game if it didn’t arrive. I did arrive but not until one hour and forty-five minutes before the game. I was listening to Pete Swanson on 610 radio who was doing his show from Foxborough and he commented when the equipment bags arrived. Now, an hour and forty-five minutes may not sound like much to you and me but to a team who should have already been dressed out and ready to take the field for stretching… that was a close call.

I’m not usually in favor of extra league controls but, having assurances that a game will take place, NO MATTER WHAT (expect in the event of lightning) that league might want to consider a backup plan for each team. I’ve heard some say it would help if the stadium was made available to opposing teams days in advance. To be honest, I wasn’t aware that stadiums were NOT made available to opposing team days in advance. If that’s what it takes then it is “legally” incumbent upon the league to make sure games come off as planned. Who wants to be notified that their team has just forfeited a game: if you’re a fans at home you don’t want that… if you’re a fan at the stadium who has traveled two thousand miles and spent hundreds of dollars you don’t want that… if you’re an announcer for the game you don’t want that… if you’re one of the countless behind the scenes employees of the stadium and league you certainly don’t want that… you get the idea.

It makes the Chiefs win on Sunday even more amazing when you consider that most players didn’t have their equipment until the last moment before the game. The league has provided the necessary health supports for athletes in the event they’re hurt during that game (e.g., concussions)… now, let’s ensure that the games actually happen.

Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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