Who, Why, and How did the Kansas City Chiefs Lost

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver

(13) Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Well let me start by saying as a Kansas City Chief fan, I was crushed yesterday as I set there, and watched the collapse of my beloved Chiefs. As I watched our key players leave the game one by  one with injuries I wanted to cry. I can usually handle losses but when you lose players to injury that always affects future success of the Kansas City Chiefs.

I mean I sat there, and thought even if we did win the game, would we really stand a chance against the Patriots (I knew San Diego would beat the Bengals) without the likes of Jamal Charles, Brandon Flowers, Justin Houston, Donnie Avery and Knile Davis.

I got to give Alex Smith credit  – he is no longer just a game manager. He did his best to get this team its first playoff win in 20 years. The real question is why the Chiefs lost.

Who: The Indianapolis Colts are a decent team. They beat the Super Bowl favorites Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos. It seemed as they played up to their competition in wins, and played down to their competition in loses to Miami and St Luis Rams. Andrew Luck, in his short career, has 11 fourth quarter comebacks, so though it seemed impossible that they would come back on the Chiefs, but Luck seems to be the new comeback king.

Why: As you set there and watched T.Y. Hilton go off on the Chiefs secondary, you might feel like it was deja vu. It seemed like every game there was at least one wide receiver that had at least 100 yards receiving. Against Dallas Cowboys, Dez Bryant had 9 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown. In the game versus  New York Giants, Victor Cruz had 10 catches for 164 yards and a touchdown.  Oh yeah, and Josh Gordon of the Cleveland Browns had 5 catches for 132 yards and 1 touchdown.

Those games occurred when the  Chiefs were undefeated. it got worse after that. In the Denver games, Demaryius Thomas had 5 catches for 121 yards, and Eric Decker had 8 catches for 174 yards and 4 Touchdowns.  Let’s not forget what Keenum Allen of the San Diego Chargers did when he went off for 9 receptions and 124 yards. This point is that T.Y. Hilton ridiculous video game numbers of 13 catches for 224 yards and  2 touchdowns shouldn’t have surprise anyone.

Kansas City Chiefs head coach

. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports

How: This was the hardest to figure out; I wanted to blame a lot of people for the lost. It came down to a couple of key reasons. First reason why the Chiefs lost, and the main reason was the inside linebacker corps for weeks.

I heard how Derrick Johnson was a Pro Bowl snub. I was not one of those people. To be a Pro Bowl inside linebacker, you have to be at least in the top 10 in tackles. Derrick was 34th in tackles with 107. Well, guess how many tackles our Pro Bowl linebacker had in the biggest game of the year with 3.

The other inside linebacker, Akeem Jordan, didn’t register a single tackle. So when Andrew Luck was avoiding the pass rush by stepping up in the pocket and running for key first downs you can blame our inside linebackers for being nowhere in sight.

Next, blame our safeties Kendrick Lewis and Quintin Demps are the last line of defense. Eric Berry always covers the tight end, or plays the run so he is excluded.

One play that is ingrained in my mind is on that 63 yard bomb that Andrew Luck threw to T.Y. Hilton. No other wide receiver on that play went deep, so you would think that they would notice him running by but evidently not.

Finally, coaches, why would you start Dunta Robinson, and have him cover T.Y. Hilton? Dunta Robinson at this stage of his career, can not cover speed receivers. In the first quarter he constantly got burnt by Hilton. T.Y. Hilton got comfortable early and often, and once he got going, he was unstoppable.

So there you have it fans; that’s my take on the heartbreak that was. I love to hear who you blame, and what is your healing process? I plan on avoiding Sports Center, and social media for the next month. In my next post I will discuss what are the off-season needs of the Chiefs.