On Sunday evening, the Kansas City Chiefs lost their first game of the season 20-3 to the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. Here are four rapidly written takeaways from the game:
1. Patrick Mahomes feels the backup offensive tackles
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes looked uncomfortable from the pocket against the Seahawks, and it’s a reminder that his pocket presence and confidence can be temporarily skewed when he isn’t familiar with who’s protecting him. We’ve seen it throughout his career when backups are plugged in; it can take him time
to adjust, and he didn’t seem to settle into this game until the fourth quarter.
Mahomes finished with five yards per pass attempt and a 58.3 passer rating, the fifth-lowest marks of his career in both categories. Mahomes has played in 131 career games.
Mahomes threw a handful of off-target passes in the first half, including two weirdly bad throws to tight end Travis Kelce. There was another deep attempt to wideout Xavier Worthy that was severely short and inside. At one point, Mahomes threw five straight incompletions, including an interception.
On a second-and-10 play late in the second quarter, Mahomes rolled out left and tried to throw into a tight sideline window, but he rushed it as safety Nick Emmanwori bore down. A lack of a proper shoulder turn let the pass float into the safety’s hands over the top.
On third-and-7 later in the third quarter, Mahomes stepped up and out of a messy pocket but didn’t account for a Seattle pass rusher as he tried to run to the sideline with the ball out and away from his body. The Chiefs fortunately recovered the ensuing fumble, but it was an example of Mahomes not playing like himself in Seattle.
The offense struggled overall, but Mahomes failed to elevate his play to make up for shortcomings around him. That includes taking care of the ball; two turnovers by the signal caller are unacceptable in a low-scoring defensive battle.
2. There has to be a solution for covering slot receivers
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba proved further that he is one of the best offensive players in the game on Sunday night. Two of his biggest plays were incredible catch-and-throws down the sideline over cornerback Mansoor Delane. The rookie fought hard on both, but Smith-Njigba outplayed him on two big-time plays.
That will happen. The Chiefs’ defense needed to do better at preventing Smith-Njigba — and other Seattle receivers — from catching quick throws over the middle. That happened an inexcusable number of times on Sunday night. The Seahawks started the game 9/11 on third downs by leaning on middle-of-the-field throws to Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp.
The primary culprit for Kansas City was cornerback L’Jarius Sneed. His physicality off the line, disrupting routes and timing, is less useful in the slot when receivers have a two-way go and aren’t usually lined up on the line of scrimmage. After a game like this, it begs the question: does either Delane or Nohl Williams need to start seeing slot coverage reps? Sneed may be more sound in boundary coverage.
At one point, the Chiefs threw Kristian Fulton at Smith-Njigba in the second half. Sneed was not on the field for a third-down stop at the start of the fourth quarter. Adjustments in the secondary may already be underway.
3. The Chiefs lost the third-down battle on both sides
It was easy to see the Chiefs’ defense struggled to get off the field, and the offense mirrored that by starting 0/5 on third down and finishing 3/11. Kansas City didn’t advance past Seattle’s 40-yard line until four minutes remained in the third quarter.
Emmanwori broke up a third-and-one rollout by reading the play at the snap and covering both Mahomes’ scrambling and Walker as a pass option. It was a reminder that this Super Bowl champion defense is elite in every respect, including knowing an offense’s tendencies. The Chiefs manufactured very little open space.
On third-and-8 in the second half, Kansas City went to a screen pass to Walker to set up a fourth-and-short conversion. It reflected the lack of open targets downfield all night, especially on pass downs. As a result, Walker had to carry the load for the team’s pass catchers as a check-down option. He finished with a team-high four catches, but only for 21 yards.
Tight ends Travis Kelce and Noah Gray combined for six catches for 85 yards. The backs and tight ends were Mahomes’ only outlets in Seattle; the Chiefs’ wide receivers combined for 39 yards on 13 targets. We’ll see whether a matchup with the Denver Broncos‘ pass defense is more fruitful for the team’s receivers, or whether general manager Brett Veach will be active before the trade deadline on November 10th.
4. The Chiefs should bring in competition for Harrison Butker
Harrison Butker’s two misses in this game were crucial. Before halftime, after cornerback Nohl Williams intercepted and returned the ball to set up a last-second attempt, Butker left a 58-yard field goal short.
After hitting a 50-yard field goal to get Kansas City on the board in the second half, the Chiefs looked to Butker to bring the game within one possession with less than nine minutes to go. He pushed the 45-yard field goal wide right, dooming any comeback attempt by keeping the score at 13-3.
If Butker’s range is limited, on top of being unreliable from mid-range, the team will need to be honest with itself about trusting Butker in important games later on in this season.
