The Kansas City Chiefs saw their five game winning streak come to an end today. Here are my quick thoughts on the loss to the Buccaneers.
Riding a five game winning streak, the Kansas City Chiefs were looking to keep the momentum going today at home. Unfortunately the Buccaneers had another plan in mind. Tampa Bay came into Arrowhead Stadium this week and simply outplayed the Chiefs all around. It wasn’t the kind of game Chiefs fans were expecting.
A lot of the blame for this loss will fall on Alex Smith. Some of that is justified, but a lot of it isn’t. Smith threw a key interception that would eventually lead to a touchdown for the Bucs. However, the KC quarterback also went 24 of 31 for 261 yards and a touchdown, while running for another. Hard to put the blame on a guy who probably had the best day for the Chiefs.
It wasn’t like the rest of the offense was terrible either. Travis Kelce went over 100 yards receiving. Tyreek Hill had a big play in the passing game. Spencer Ware ran for 69 yards on 17 carries. None of that is “bad”. However, it wasn’t enough to get the job done.
The Defense Wore Down
Well, the real key to this game is that what we feared would finally happen, did. The Kansas City Chiefs defense finally just wore down. Without Allen Bailey, Jaye Howard, Josh Mauga, Justin March, Marcus Peters, and eventually Dee Ford, the defense just gave way. The Chiefs got only one turnover (a fumbled handoff by Jameis Winston) and just one sack. That was a clear difference this week.
The Buccaneers were also able to keep the ball for most of the game. The Tampa Bay offense controlled the clock, eating up over 35 minutes of the game. On top of that, the Chiefs were simply unable to get the Bucs off the field on third downs. That was largely due to the absence of Marcus Peters as Winston was able to target his WRs almost at will.
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What Does It Mean?
Ultimately, this is just one loss for the Kansas City Chiefs. Yes, it sucks to lose to a team they should beat, but KC still sits at 7-3. The Chiefs are still in good position to make a run at the playoffs. While it isn’t good to lose a game, this season was going to hinge on the remaining division games anyways.
The Chiefs have three tough games coming up with the Broncos, Falcons, and Raiders on deck. Simply put, KC needs to win at least two of these three games. That would preferably be the games against Denver and Oakland. Winning division games is key at this point in order to gain position in the AFC West.
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The Kansas City Chiefs are still a good football team. This is the same team that won five games in a row. It is the same team that beat up on the Oakland Raiders. It is the same team that we have been cheering for over the past nine weeks. This was one game. It sucks to lose, but it is still just one game.
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