Kansas City Chiefs: Injuries Are No Excuse

By Leigh Oleszczak | Oct 17, 2015

The Kansas City Chiefs have not played well this season. Injuries seem to be the biggest excuse, but that really is not the issue for this team.

The Chiefs‘ problems started long before running back Jamaal Charles was lost for the season with a torn ACL. They started before nose tackle Dontari Poe was ruled out for several weeks with a high ankle sprain (Source: ESPN).

No, the Chiefs’ problems have been prominent since their week 2 Thursday Night Football loss to the Denver Broncos.

That game, despite being as close as it was, was the beginning of the bad for the Kansas City Chiefs. It was a game that saw the offense turn the ball over five times, and not execute in the red zone. It was a game where the Chiefs, despite poor performance on offense, had every chance to come away with a victory.

But they didn’t execute. That’s been this team’s problem all season long is that when it comes down to it, they don’t go out and execute when they need to. They’re playing mistake filled football rather than mistake free football.

Part of the reason the 2013 Kansas City Chiefs got off to an undefeated start wasn’t because of their healthy roster, it was because they played mistake free football. The offense didn’t turn the ball over and the defense forced turnovers. That year the offense struggled early on, but the defense picked them up and kept them in the game. The later half of the year was the opposite for the two sides.

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The Chiefs had a healthy team for their three losses against the Broncos, the Packers, and the Bengals, and still got embarrassed. Injuries aren’t the problem here.

It won’t be easy to win without Jamaal Charles, but it’s not an excuse for the Chiefs because they weren’t winning with him. Even last year when Kansas City lost Mike DeVito and Derrick Johnson in the first game of the season, they came out and played good football (well, most of the time) and won games. That was without two of their best run defenders.

If the Chiefs want to turn their season around, they need to execute this Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings. The defense needs to step up without Poe and stop Adrian Peterson from having a big day. The defense needs to make Teddy Bridgewater look like a bust in Minnesota.

The offense needs a lot of things. Without Charles, Alex Smith is going to have to throw the ball more. Knile Davis and Charcandrick West are going to have to run the ball well. Travis Kelce and Jeremy Maclin need to do their best to fight off defenders and get open so that Smith can get the football to them.

If the Chiefs fall to 1-5, their season is done. A case could be made that their season is already done, but crazier things have happened in the NFL and in sports in general. Last year the Carolina Panthers lost six games in a row, but went on to win the NFC South and the Wildcard playoff game.

Yes, the NFC South sucked last year and the Panthers ended the year with a losing record, but still. The point is that the Chiefs could pull out multiple victories in a row and turn their season around.

Injuries are a part of sports and the Chiefs will have to roll with the punches and start playing better football if they want to make any type of positive impact this season.

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