Three Thoughts: Kansas City Chiefs Play Poorly Against the Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith (11) runs the ball during the second half of the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Arrowhead Stadium. The Colts won 23-7. (Denny Medley, USA TODAY Sports)

The Kansas City Chiefs find themselves once again on the wrong side of the scoreline. When a team loses by 16 points, it doesn’t come down to one single aspect. There was a lone bright spot in running back Jamaal Charles, but for the most part the Chiefs did not look like a playoff-bound team.

Where Are You, Pass Rush?

At the beginning of the season, the Chiefs were able to rush the opposing quarterback, but now it seems the opposing teams have learned their lesson. You saw it during Sunday’s game: Andrew Luck would drop back five steps and throw, no hesitation, no waiting for a man to get open. The Colts employed passing routes that didn’t get many yards, but made it hard to defend the pass.

Another aspect that’s troubling is the omission of linebacker Justin Houston, who has not been on the field in four games. When he was apart of the defense, the pass rush was much better. It would help to have him back when we get into the playoffs. He can shave a few extra milliseconds off of the time to the quarterback, which can make a big difference.

The Colts know that a fast passing time partially eliminates the threat of the Chiefs’ pass rush, but Houston is a good enough player that he can help in other ways on the field. One thing that is certain: the Chiefs need to find another defensive strength than just the pass rush.

Also Missing: Discipline

The game was littered with miscues by the Chiefs. They had seven penalties for 65 yards, five fumbles (luckily, only two were lost), two interceptions, and countless times when offensive linemen just didn’t seem to know what to do. No, all of these failures aren’t directly attributed to disciplinary issues, but there wouldn’t have been so many if the team was playing with a little more focus.

Penalties are obvious discipline problems. Their usually just stupid mistakes that could have been prevented with just a few extra seconds of concentration. It completely wastes yardage. Any time a team gets over 60 yards of penalties, you know that the coach isn’t going to be happy. That is equivalent to an entire drive in some cases. A team can’t do that if they want to win their first playoff game in 20 years.

The Week Ahead

The fanboy in me is just saying this loss was a product of the Chiefs already knowing their playoff fate. They can’t move up, they can’t move down. Maybe they just played horribly so that they wouldn’t show what they’ve got up their sleeve for the Wild Card game. Right?

Hopefully that’s it, but it may well continue into the game next week against the San Diego Chargers. The Chiefs really have nothing left to gain in the regular season (other than the historical record of 12-4). They can lose by fifty points and it won’t matter at all. There is a potential chance that head coach Andy Reid will sit most of his starters. I’m not a big fan of letting the starters sit out. It often seems that they lose their edge for the playoff game, whenever a player hasn’t stepped onto a field in two weeks. I (aka, some unprofessional blogger) suggest that they get in maybe for half of the game, just like what they did during the preseason, but what do I know.

The Chiefs will travel to either Cincinnati or Indianapolis depending on the outcome of the Cincinnati vs. Baltimore game next weekend. The Bengals are undefeated at home, meaning they’ll probably win against the Ravens.