The Kansas City Chiefs were stunned into submission by the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3, 20-17, at the Lucas Oil Stadium. A late Colts interception bookended a scintillating fourth-period comeback that pulled the rug from under Patrick Mahomes & Co. Here are some critical takeaways from the Chiefs' Week 3 loss.
One key moment was when Colts quarterback Matt Ryan connected with Jelani Woods for a 12-yard touchdown with 24 seconds left in the game to put the Colts up three.
Though Patrick Mahomes brought the Chiefs back down to field goal range, his last ball intended for Juju Smith-Schuster was tipped and intercepted by Rodney McLeod. That gave the Colts their first victory of the season. Mahomes' interception was also his first of the 2022 campaign.
Here are our four takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs' Week 3 loss vs. the Colts.
Final. pic.twitter.com/7MQaK1zWd3
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) September 25, 2022
4. Chiefs pressured Matt Ryan well
Let's begin with the one bright spot for the Chiefs. This was defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's play-calling and execution by his unit.
The issue of how the Chiefs would handle a spell without linebacker Willie Gay Jr. during his suspension was the top narrative all week. This first game without him gives the impression that everything will be okay. Linebacker Nick Bolton produced big play after big play, and Darius Harris battled through some coverage issues to lead the club in tackles. Cornerback L'Jarius Sneed also looked dynamic in one of his greatest performances of the season.
Spagnuolo realized early on that Colts quarterback Matt Ryan would struggle under additional pressure. As such, he structured his game plan to maximize that pressure, especially on third-down attempts. Throughout the afternoon, the Chiefs tallied 10 quarterback hits, five sacks, and produced crucial stops. The exception, of course, was the last drive, which is an unpleasant but essential footnote.
Despite the absence of three crucial players — Gay, Mike Danna, and Trent McDuffie — the defense objectively played well. That bodes well for them in the coming weeks.
3. Chiefs special teams left wanting
Sunday was possibly the worst special teams performance Chiefs fans have seen from a Dave Toub-coached club in a long time.
To begin the game, rookie wide receiver Skyy Moore fumbled two punts. One of those even resulted in a score for the Colts after they began their offensive drive from Kansas City's 4-yard line.
Kicker Matt Ammendola went flawless in his debut game in relief of Harrison Butker. He was, however, far from that form against the Colts on Sunday. He missed an extra point to start the game that forced the Chiefs to try for two after their second TD.
Following a 26-yard field goal, Ammendola failed from 34 yards out in the fourth quarter. This prompted head coach Andy Reid and Toub to call a fake field goal try. Some questioned Reid's coaching choice, wondering why he would bench arguably the game's finest quarterback for a trick play. In a loss, of course, such decisions always come across as much worse. It's one of those here-or-zero calls.
A delay-of-game penalty on a field goal was also called against the Chiefs. Rookie Isiah Pacheco was injured after a kick return and had the Chiefs beginning short of the 25-yard line on many occasions after pulling the ball out of the end zone.
Punter Tommy Townsend played well, but it wasn't enough to save the team. Fans should expect Butker or someone other than Ammendola to step in as the kicker next week.
2. Costly Chiefs penalty
The costly penalty from veteran defensive lineman Chris Jones' lapse in judgment will be a hot topic of conversation this week.
It went down like this. Nick Bolton sacked Matt Ryan on third down with little over five minutes remaining in the game. With a 17-13 lead and a chance to win, the defense would have turned over the ball to the offense. This is when Chiefs DT Chris Jones and Colts QB Matt Ryan were jawing at one other after the play, prompting officials tossed a penalty.
Jones was flagged for unsportsmanlike behavior, giving the Colts an automatic first down. It also prolonged the drive, giving Indianapolis a chance to march down the field and score. Needless to say, that's something the Colts took full advantage of.
We should learn more about what Jones exactly said to Ryan that prompted an official to throw an unsportsmanlike conduct flag on a game-winning, 9-yard sack. Whatever he said, though, the fact of the matter is it contributed to Kansas City's losing the game.
According to Kansas City Star columnist Sam McDowell, “Chris Jones says he doesn’t remember exactly what he said, but he took full blame for the loss. But when I asked if he’s done this type of thing before without a flag, he said, ‘Listen, I’ve never been flagged for talking.'”
Chris Jones says he doesn’t remember exactly what he said, but he took full blame for the loss. But when I asked if he’s done this type of thing before without a flag, he said, “Listen, I’ve never been flagged for talking.”
— Sam McDowell (@SamMcDowell11) September 25, 2022
1. Chiefs offense out of sync
The offense seemed to be out of sync all day. They had missed throws, dropped passes, and an inability to consistently move the ball on the ground. All afternoon, quarterback Patrick Mahomes had to bail from the pocket. All of this resulted in a 20-of-35, 262-yard, one-touchdown, one-interception performance. Those aren't terrible numbers, but they obviously fell short of netting win No. 3.
“We just didn’t play good enough, especially on the offensive side of the ball, starting with me,” Mahomes told USA Today post-game. “Obviously, we missed some kicks and stuff like that, but at the end of the day, we had multiple opportunities to score. So we have to find ways to get the ball in the end zone. That starts with me, we can’t just get yards, we have to get in the end zone when we’re down there.”
The Chiefs got things going after a poor start in the first quarter with a Travis Kelce score and a Clyde Edwards-Helaire touchdown. The team even led at halftime, but the Chiefs only managed three points in the second half of the game. Those three points came after the offense stagnated in the red zone during the third quarter.
Aside from the miscues mentioned by Mahomes, the Chiefs had multiple opportunities to score touchdowns in the second half. They stalled out three times within the 25-yard line, including Ammendola's field goal. One opportunity resulted in a failed field goal, while another resulted in a turnover on downs on the aforementioned fake field goal attempt.
Mahomes believed that if the offense had performed well in those instances, the outcome of the game would have been very different. We agree.
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