For the first part of this game, it felt like the Kansas City Chiefs might be heading for another disappointing outing — only this time, it wasn’t against one of the better teams in the NFL; it was against the cellar-dwelling, lame-duck New York Jets.
Early on, a sinking fear set in that if the Chiefs couldn’t take care of business against the Jets, this team’s flaws ran deeper than we thought.
Thankfully, Kansas City woke up in the second half and, in the words of the GOAT Mitch Holthus, laid the hammer
down.
Here are five things we learned from the Chiefs’ 35-12 victory over the Jets.
1. The Chiefs are a good team
Good teams look great against bad teams, and bad teams look bad against great teams.
Will the Chiefs make the playoffs?
Probably.
Will they catch the Denver Broncos and win the AFC West?
Who knows.
Can they win a playoff game?
Sure, why not?
Will they make the Super Bowl?
Probably not.
But that’s okay. After going 6-11 last year, you want to see a return to competitiveness from this team, especially if the franchise keeps heading in the right direction. But if we look in the mirror honestly, this is probably a Wild Card team.
A Wild Card team that could go on a run and surprise some people, but their margin for error against good teams isn’t slim; they are starting at a deficit in enough areas that the Chiefs need to play perfect football to win against the cream of the crop in this league. It didn’t used to be this way, and maybe it won’t be again someday. But for now, that’s who this team is.
2. Andy is fed up with Butker
Just before the half, up by two points, the Chiefs had a chance to take the lead 17-12. They trotted out their much-maligned placekicker, Harrison Butker, for a 56-yard field goal attempt. He, of course, missed it, because Harrison Butker is in his missing 50+ yard field goals era.
Thankfully for the Chiefs, a flag was thrown on the play—a member of the Jets lined up in the neutral zone. The refs moved the ball five yards closer, and Butker got a second crack at it, only this time, it was just barely in his trouble zone of 50+ yards. But if Butker is one thing, it’s that he’s consistent. As before, he booted the ball just wide of the goalpost, and the Chiefs went into halftime clinging to a narrow lead.
As he left the field, reporters asked head coach Andy Reid what he needed to see from Butker in the second half, and his response was simple. “I need to see them go in.”
Now, that’s about as close as you will ever get to the old ball coach throwing one of his players under the bus.
The fans booed Butker as he left the field.
After the game, Butker said that he understood the fans’ frustration and that he is booing himself for missing these kicks.
Andy is fed up.
The fans are fed up.
Butker is fed up.
We are at the point where the leash is too long, especially when you are trying to keep pace in a division race with Denver.
3. Eyes are on the front office
The Chiefs narrowly dodged a possible season-derailing injury to quarterback Patrick Mahomes when rookie standout edge rusher David Bailey Jr. blew past right tackle Jaylon Moore nearly untouched and hit Mahomes’ arm as he threw the ball.
All of Chiefs Kingdom’s hearts sank when they saw Mahomes get up off the turf clutching his arm in pain. Thankfully, early reports say the injury is mild.
The issue is that this is not the first time Mahomes has been hung out to dry by his linemen.
It’s not the second or third. It’s been a continuous process for the last few years — the Chiefs haven’t been able to find the right guys to protect the greatest player in franchise history. Kansas City also can’t field a fully capable receiving unit.
General manager Brett Veach’s biggest priority has to be to protect Patrick Mahomes. His second priority should be to give Mahomes the weapons he needs.
Players haven’t panned out as we hoped. But guess what, that’s the job. Brett Veach is paid to get it right, and when I see Mahomes lying on the ground in pain like we did today, I can’t say that he did.
4. The Chiefs should not abandon the tush push
On the Chiefs’ first drive of the game, they faced third and one from their own 34-yard line, and to everyone’s amazement, the Chiefs did something fans have been clamoring for. They lined up with backup quarterback Justin Fields under center to take the snap and hopefully run for a first down. Unfortunately, Fields was stopped short of the one yard he needed for a first down, and to make matters worse, he fumbled the ball away to the other team.
I could easily see Andy Reid pointing to this turnover in the future as a reason why they don’t run QB sneaks, but here is the thing: even though the Chiefs fumbled the ball, it was still the right call to make.
Failure to execute should not be the reason you remove a play from your call sheet.
5. The Chiefs need two WR’s
The Chiefs needed help at wide receiver before Xavier Worthy went down with a hamstring injury. Soft-tissue injuries like this can linger for the rest of the season, especially at wide receiver.
Reports say Brett Veach is trying to add a guy before this week’s trade deadline. But one might not be enough. The Chiefs probably need at least two new wide receivers
