First, I want to take a look at the Chiefs Injuries that affected the outcome of the Game versus the Bengals.

The Injury Report as of Wednesday

1. Orlando Brown – injured (tweaked) a calf muscle during warm-ups before the game. He was ruled out for contest. This meant that we were going to see Lucas Niang at LOT. Brown was active in Practice on Wednesday. I was very impressed with the duty that Joe Thuney put in at LOT. Thuney is that good.
2. Lucas Niang – Out for the remainder of the season. Lucas suffered a torn patellar tendon in the first quarter and left the field not to return. You know it was bad when he had be carted the Chiefs locker room. We learned later it will require surgery. He is out and the fact is, this late in the season, Lucas will not likely be ready for the season opener in 2022. I get it. Brett Veach will need to bring another OT forward via trade or draft. We won’t know what the result is until the Chiefs get into any transactions that will need to occur or adding the OT to the “must draft” a quality OT for the 2022 “work-to-do” list. Bad luck for Niang. I felt KC needed to draft an OT anyway. Of course, in the background is Mike Remmers and Kyle Long as well as Prince Tega Wanogho.
3. Clyde Edwards-Helaire – he could have played, if he had practiced. He didn’t practice and was ruled out for the game by HC Andy Reid. Clyde will be ready to go this week and is practicing as far as the Wednesday report is concerned.

I mentioned Joe Thuney above, but feel that I must recognize Nick Allegretti who stepped in and took over the LOG Position when Thuney moved outside. The Chiefs didn’t miss a beat.

White Hat Substitutes: Why?

An NFL Conspiracy?

What better way for the NFL to promote parity than hand the Bengals a win via hook or crook. I found no reason that John Hussey’s crew was not in full force over the officiating crew that called the game.

The Hussey team info: they were the officiating crew for the Chiefs-Dallas Game in Week 11. They are not a flag-throwing bunch. In that game, they called 12 penalties total, 6 on each team. What’s more, 5 of the 6 flags were thrown on the offense. Only 1 on defense. Why did the NFL substitute Torbert for Hussey’s crew? Ronald Torbert was flagged for errors before the season began. I don’t know what the complete story was, but he botched a tackle reporting in as an eligible receiver in 2020.

In September, the NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams asking their employees to refrain from making public comments about the officiating. The league admitted in the letter to being concerned that the criticism could “draw significant and unwanted public scrutiny.” If I were an official, I wouldn’t want to be called on the public carpet either. The Teams were warned about sharing info by the VP of Officiating, Dean Blandino.

There has been no announcement as to why Torbert’s crew substituted for Hussey. I thought they blew several calls and most of them kept the Bengals moving the chains. How else can I describe the fact that the Bengals had long drives in their second-half possessions and the Chiefs were limited to only three? It defies all logic. So my NFL Conspiracy is that the NFL wanted an eastern team to advance. I guess that includes the Titans as well. Something smells about this in my suspicious mind. None dare call it a Conspiracy? I am not a fan of the NFL head power structure east of the Hudson River.

Among the Plays and Calls that Cost the Chiefs the Football Game

Bad calls and bad plays added up to missed opportunities. Nick Jacobs put together a video evidence series that shows why the Chiefs lost the game. Glaring was the call of holding on Zayne Anderson, which negated the KO return for a TD by Byron Pringle. Then came the dropped pass by Hill, and not shown was the dropped pass by Travis Kelce. With time left on the clock before the half, the Chiefs might well have scored a TD and certainly, the Pringle TD changes the complexion of the game. The thing about the call on Anderson was that it was not a factor in the return… or was it? You decide. such calls which are off the play are usually not called since it was away from the play. But it was called. Flag Anderson for a dumb stunt on that one.

Even if you watch the return and decide the hold by Anderson was the reason that Pringle burst past into the clear, you have to really spot the action and decide that the hold made the return successful. See that video piece, here:

At that point in the game, had Pringle’s TD been allowed or had Hill caught the pass, the Chiefs would have led by at least 3, or even 6 points as the 2nd half-opened. In either case, the Chiefs blew opportunities and shot themselves in the foot. Of all the times that Hill has had a drop this year? That was the most glaring one of all.

The Chiefs Need a Valid, Hands Down #2 WR

I like Byron Pringle and I have supported Mecole Hardman all along. However, we don’t have that essential player at WR that can be counted on, week-in and week-out to be a playmaker from the WR. I thought Hardman would advance this year. it was not to be. I hoped Josh Gordon, having been brought to the fold, would accomplish the feat. Then after Pringle’s big game the preceding week, my hope flourished with the idea that maybe Byron Pringle is the answer. Strike 1. Strike 2. And Strike 3.

Mecole Hardman did have a great grab during the game (photo above). Gordon was not a factor and neither was Pringle.

The Chiefs need to trade for that WR or make it a high-priority pick in the 2022 draft. Like a lot of things that hit the rumor mill, there is the possibility that the Houston Texans would trade away one of their receivers, adding the likely power draft that the team is trying to build after Deshaun Watson. There is even today a rumor of Baker Mayfield being included in a package as the Browns unload Mayfield… and the Texans unload Watson. That rumor is flying round and round today.

I am as certain in my own mind that Mayfield is out in Cleveland as I am about Watson being done in Houston.

Laddie and I had a far-ranging phone conversation on Tuesday. At least he could talk for a while without injuring the vocal cords. I told Laddie that I thought Cleveland was done with the idea that Baker Mayfield would be able to lead them to the promised land–the honeymoon and romance are over. Turn around and I see Albert Breer stating the same idea. Breer observed:

“I’d expect (the Browns) to be a player… Are they going to be willing to go the distance (with Mayfield)? I don’t know that. Let’s call this an educated guess.”

There are a ton of things to go into such a deal. They would have to “take Mayfield off the Browns Hands.” The Texans would have to put Mayfield into the mix competing for the next starting QB role in Houston, then use him as a placeholder QB in 2022 and draft their own QBoF. I can see this being a possible avenue for both teams though. A side note on this today is that Houston’s 610 Sports radio conducted a poll of fans and it was 70% against bringing Mayfield to Houston.

Can the Chiefs possibly to lure WR Brandin Cooks from Houston in a trade deal. It won’t be cheap, but it is exactly the kind of addition that Patrick Mahomes needs as his #2 WR. Making do with Hardman, Pringle, Robinson, and Gordon isn’t working.

It. Isn’t. Working.

We miss Sammy Watkins to be quite truthful. The idea may be far-fetched, but I like the following proposition. It is enough of a dream world that I can’t see it but, see this article at Heavy.com, called: “Dream Trade Sends 3-Time 1,000-Yard Receiver to Chiefs Before Playoffs.” Could Brett Veach make a trade for Brandon Cooks happen over the offseason? We saw him try and sign JuJu Smith-Schuster late offseason, so why not?

FUBAR – 4th Down and Offsetting Penalties

The Bengals committed a foul in the last moments of the football game. I saw, after reviewing the play, no hands-to-the-face violation by a Chiefs player. The call against the Bengals could then have been declined and the 4th down would have resulted in Cincinnati turning the ball over on downs. You go watch the video of this. I have watched the video and the coaches’ view. This was a phantom violation by the Chiefs and a travesty by the officials who invalidly called offsetting penalties. Even if the Chiefs took a knee each snap and ran the clock out to get to OT, would have been an expectation that I could have seen. I referred to Nick Jacob’s video series above but go back and check the final plays of the video — the Officials handed the game to the Bengals. Go back and review the final plays in Nick’s video collection (see link above).

If you look at all the plays run at the goal line, the calls led up to the Bengals kneeling and then kicking the winning FG with literally no time on the clock. It was similar to a game that the Chiefs played against the Raiders long ago. The Flags kept the Raiders alive then, just as the flags kept the Bengals alive on Sunday.

Chiefs Lb Anthony Hitchens said Spags did have the play called, “Freeway” which would allow the other team to score if they ran the ball again, but it was called too late.

Then you place your faith in our GOAT. Led by Mahomes, the Chiefs could have marched down the field, score a TD, and then go for 2 to win the game. I have seen this in both the NCAA and the NFL.

Self-Inflicted Wounds: Andy Reid Conspiracy?

There were so many plays in the Bengals game where the Chiefs just clearly did themselves in, and those errors cost them the game. A win would have extended the Chief’s win streak to 9 games and then the following week, versus the Broncos the Chiefs would likely have made it 10. At that juncture, they would have to win 13 in a row to attain the NFL Crown and Lombardi Trophy possession.

Could Andy have been sly enough to see such a feat as being extraordinarily difficult to accomplish? Best to write off the #1 Seed, then go on the next streak?

My suspicious mind has gotten the best of me, I guess.

Faux Pas Parade Crusade

Seth Keysor wrote 3 sequential articles at his Chiefs of the North site (subscription required), all beginning with a piece called, “Self-Inflicted.” It is true that the Chiefs own errors cost them a game which they should have won… despite the officiating crew assisting the Bengals advances. Despite the topic below related to “Drops,” the real thing that caused the crusade was the inability of the secondary to cover Ja’Marr Chase with a single defender. This consideration more than any other is a critique that must be made.

Keysor wrote in Part 3 of his series of articles:

“Yes, the referees played a wildly substantial role in the Chiefs’ loss to the Bengals. In some places that role was quite literally the difference between winning and potentially losing. As in, the Bengals went from a tie ball game with Mahomes having the ball (with 46 seconds left, to be fair) to having nothing to do but a chip shot field goal to win based on a flag that was, at best, a rather “strict” call. Of course, there were also a pair of missed false starts in key moments. And a phantom pass interference that converted a 3rd down failure into a first down on a crucial drive. All in the 4th quarter. That’s a bummer, and it definitely affected the game. But those are the breaks in close games.”

Seth delivers a pretty condemning view of Spags and his stubbornness, saying that his assistance in using Dan Sorensen and the play in the 3rd Quarter that resulted in a Ja’Marr Chase TD made things obvious.

Sorensen was to be the ‘high’ safety, but then he bit on the shorter route. Also covered was the failure to use an over-the-top deep-cover against Chase. I think both those observations are something that needs to be addressed by Reid before heading to the playoffs. Sorensen on the field up in the box is one thing. Sorensen in pass coverage is quite another.

Drops That Kill Drives

This topic really gets me. Both Hill and Kelce, the Chiefs fabulous playmaking duo, had dropped passes during this game. Kelce’s was a first-down type catch on 2nd and 9. He flubs the reception. The next play doesn’t succeed and the result is a failed drive. I have already mentioned Hill’s big drop just before the half. Mahomes did a superhuman thing, got clear to launch a 62-yard pass to Tyreek Hill (which he threw outside of one set of hashmarks and it ended up one the other side of the field’s hashmarks adding who knows how many more yards to the throw).

That’s a game-changer right there. However, Tyreek drops the pass.

I don’t know where you end up on the idea of “Conspiracies,” but this game was ripe in the fruition of opportunities to decide it must be a “Conspiracy.” I have mentioned a couple of major themes. Do you have one to add?

Boneheadedness is my last conspiracy. It wasn’t just one thing ➡️ it was many. Maybe that’s the best diagnosis of all. What else explains the losses of the 2021 season?

David Bell — ArrowheadOne

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