The Chiefs-Raiders rivalry was there in full force on Monday night. The Raiders jumped out to an early lead but then we saw what makes this team so special they did not panic they didn’t try to force anything. They stayed calm and rallied around the crowds’ energy to get them through a very tough divisional game. We just have to stop being so streaky on offense and defense. I think a lot of Chiefs fans were premature about how good our offense would be out of the box this season. We have so many new pieces and I think the inconsistencies will level out. So let’s go through my thoughts on the game and how they move forward.
Chiefs Defense Rallies in Second Half
There are a few moments every week when there are some head-scratching decisions made by the coaching staff. This week we saw Rashad Fenton single-cover Devante Adams which is a very bold move from our Defensive coordinator. When doing that you are asking for trouble. We saw the shift to having Sneed trail Adams a lot more and that seemed to limit him more in the second half. Chris Jones played an amazing game he was providing pressure all night and everyone was zoning in on him and he still had results one underrated aspect of Jones’ game that has improved is his run defense and it is very noticeable.
Questionable calls
I generally don’t like complaining about the refs because generally speaking there are enough plays in a game that it shouldn’t generally come down to one call. But for the life of me, I can’t understand some of these calls. The most egregious in my opinion was the Roughing of the passer on Jones. Carr loses possession of the ball and I’m confused about how he’s still a passer when he doesn’t have the ball. The second is the pass interference on Watson against Adams. This seems like you are rewarding QBs who underthrow the ball because what is Watson supposed to do then Adams grabs the back of his helmet and yanks him to the ground. there were so many calls missed on both sides and inconsistent decision-making.
Personnel decisions
With how this game was unfolding I wasn’t too surprised that in the red zone they were seemingly only going to Kelce which I understand because the Raiders could not cover him if they tried. So there I have no problem with that. Mahomes and MVS connection is getting better and better each week. I’m encouraged by the usage of Skyy Moore because late in the game they were throwing at him and I think we will see his usage ramp up going into the bye week. On defense, Watson and Cook had maybe the toughest assignment when they were asked to cover Adams. I think they have room for improvement but they are trending in the right direction.
Mahomes Magic
I think it is incredible how high the bar is set for Patrick Mahomes. How do you have 292 yards and 4 touchdowns that are just expected from you? Mahomes’ best throw of the game in my opinion was his throw to MVS. During the play, we saw Mahomes rely on his fundamentals and his natural ability he stayed in the pocket and shifted around, and then he saw MVS sit down between two defenders. then Mahomes creates magic and throws a sidearm pass right on the money to MVS. but it is the perfect personification of what Mahomes has been talking about how his game can evolve. He talks about how he needs to rely on his fundamentals and this play was an example of what he is talking about.
Moving Forward
The Chiefs need to try and balance out their inconsistencies especially going into week six because the Buffalo Bills are coming into Arrowhead. With how many new pieces we have on defense and how young e are I think you will see a few mistakes but it’s about limiting them which should not be a problem with this coaching staff. With reinforcements possibly coming back for this next game in the form of corner Trent McDuffie that could help relieve some pressure with how talented he is if he does return for this week. This will be the biggest test for the Chiefs on both sides of the ball and they will need to bring their A-game if they want to pull out a win.