Chiefs: Feasting on Crow Mignon!

David Bell

I commented that this would be a Statement Game. It was. The Cincinnati Bengals stacked up their 3rd win in a row vs. the Kansas City Chiefs. Unfortunately, our hero, namely Patrick Lavon Mahomes II, could not get it done. He was sacked twice and under pressure in 4 of 10 snaps in the game. Below, Mahomes in a drop-back, looking clean!

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JuJu Smith-Schuster was a constant target for PM II. The thing is, the Bengals took away Travis Kelce’s deeper routes most of the game.

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I wrote that the Chiefs players should have a lot stuck in their collective craw. They weren’t choking on Crow’s bones enough to change how the team played. The Chiefs have now lost the lead for the AFC Bye, handing it back to the Buffalo Bills. Both clubs are now 9-3, but the Bills have the upper hand, having beaten KC in Arrowhead earlier in the season. Now the complete mystique of losing one of the three games to the Indianapolis Colts looms like the ghost of Christmas past, terrorizing the Chiefs, who collectively are haunted like Ebenezer Scrooge McDuck.

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The Chiefs have had a 4th Quarter lead in all three games they have lost, Dan Harms tweeted earlier today. Of course, that statistic eats away at the hearts of Chief’s fans everywhere.

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Still, the Chiefs had two shots at a comeback. The first was foiled when Travis Kelce was stripped of the football after a meaningful catch and YAC. Then, the Bengals grabbed the lead. Then later, Mahomes tried to mount a comeback, but was prevented by a shoestring sack, ending the chance for a rally.

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I was wrong about the Chiefs making a statement game back east. Instead, Joe Burrows held the upper hand. As the competition closed, I found his antic calling down the crowd for accolades, but Burrows deserved the cheers. They had the football and made the Chiefs defense eat different pieces of the black bird. I was not pleased with the K.C. defensive effort at all. Nick Bolton was stymied from Tackles at the LoS countless times. Gay struggled with pass defense, as did Bolton. Sure they both made plays, but it was shy by angles and yards as the game flowed by. What hurt worse was the lack of getting pressure on Cincy’s QB, let alone sacks. That was where I believed the defense would carry the day. It didn’t.

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On offense, missing Joe Thuney was a factor, but a more prominent factor loomed like a shroud over Patrick Mahomes. He was sacked twice, with Andrew Wylie and Orlando Brown opening easy street to the Bengal pass rush. Andy Reid and OC Eric Bieniemy erred by not making adjustments on the fly. When it appeared that the Chiefs had an answer to the pass rush, the Bengals quickly adjusted, dropping eight into coverage. Occasionally, plays worked, taking on the attack in the underneath area with quick hits to the flats, such as the quick screen to Travis Kelce in the 3rd Quarter. The Bengals countered quickly, making it tough for the play-calling to mount significant drives. It all started with the first possession, a three-and-out. Suddenly the Bengals were up two scores, and the Chiefs were playing catch-up up to the half and beyond.

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Eating Crow has sufficiently been said.

Enough.

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The Chiefs are still a top-tier team. They are tied for the leading records in the AFC with the Bills.

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The Chiefs could win easily out in their remaining games this season — Broncos, Texans, Seahawks, Broncos, Raiders — and finish 14-3, which was my prediction for the season. Losing to the Bengals hurt, but the team will bounce back. It is not true that the Chiefs cannot win games against a physical team. They are a finesse team that wins its share of games and goes deep into the playoffs: the road is more arduous, not getting the AFC Bye. However, it doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t be done. Who knows, the Bills might well lose game four. The Bengals are on a roll but going as far as they have is a tough deal for any team to continue and they are not the division leader either. The Chiefs face the Broncos twice as they close out the season. That should end up with two notches in the win column.

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It’s a disappointing Monday after a tough loss on foreign turf. I suppose when you think about it, the Chiefs came down to two possessions in the 4th Quarter that could have turned the tide. Unfortunately, neither worked out to KC’s advantage.

There were some high points in the game, such as Isiah Pacheco’s running TD.

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To Iterate again, what I thought the Chiefs would do didn’t happen. Instead, the Bengals made a statement. The road to the Super Bowl has had twists and turns added to the pathway for them to get back to the big game. Yes, I still believe the Chiefs are the superior team… but… but… the team was out-hustled, out -physical’ed and out-coached.

I am suffering from feathers in between the molars and in a significantly experiencing torrid and depressing mood today. Yuck.

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David Bell — ArrowheadOne

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