The Kansas City Chiefs‘ Week 5 loss to the Buffalo Bills felt like a weird one. For the first time in what feels like ages, the Chiefs not only lost – they were dominated through and through on both sides of the ball for nearly all four quarters. Patrick Mahomes threw an extremely uncharacteristic two interceptions (though neither really his fault), and the defense was porous in a game that dropped them to a paltry 2-3 record, last in the AFC West.
Is it concerning to drop a dud in a game against the best-looking team in the AFC? No. But, is it concerning that KC has now lost 3 of their last 4 games, has a -9 point differential on the season, and has only comfortably beaten the Philadelphia Eagles? I think it is.
There's 12 games left in the season, though, which means a lot of time for the Chiefs to either right the ship or continue spiraling in the loss column. Which of these two will be the outcome? Let's take a deeper dive into their most recent loss, with three key takeaways from the game.
3. The Chiefs need CEH in the passing game
Yes, yes, Clyde Edwards-Helaire was placed on the injured reserve and will miss the next three weeks. However, it's been apparent that, as teams like the Bills key in on Tyreek Hill, the Chiefs need to get the ball to another playmaker in space on safe throws, and that guy needs to be Edwards-Helaire. CEH caught 55 balls for 453 yards in his senior year at LSU, and he's a more than capable of receiver who needs to be utilized on swing plays and legitimate routes just like Zack Moss did against KC this past week to the tune of 3 catches and 55 yards.
2. The defense needs discipline
The Chiefs are, yards-wise, the second worst defense in the NFL. They've given up an average of over 400 total yards of offense per game, but the biggest problem seems to be the broken plays that the Chiefs regularly allow. This week, the biggest culprit was Daniel Sorenson, as he allowed Bills TE Dawson Knox to break free for a long touchdown, simply because he thought the play had ended. Plays like that aren't indicative of a lack of talent on defense; they scream of a problematic lack of hustle and competitive drive. Now that the Chiefs' backs are against the wall and they NEED wins in order to stay competitive in their division, hopefully breakdowns become less frequent and huge hustle plays become more frequent.
1. Things are not as bad as they seem
While the Chiefs are last in the division, they're still only 2 games out of first and their losses have come against some of the league's best teams to start the year. The Ravens, Chargers, and Bills all have 4 wins and the Chiefs also beat the Browns, one of the league's best as well. The schedule will begin to lighten up, and Kansas City is simply too talented to not succeed to the point of at least a playoff berth. They just need to relax, play the brand of football they know how to, and sprinkle in a bigger sense of urgency, and things will come together.
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