Kansas City Chiefs: 10 Likes and 10 Dislikes from Week 5 vs Indianapolis

10 Dislikes

1. The 4th-and-1 Run

The run game hadn’t been working all night for the Kansas City Chiefs, so why did head coach Andy Reid decide to run it up the gut with the game on the line? Don’t understand that play call at all.

2. Bashad Breeland’s Forgettable Night

A week after returning a fumble 100 yards for a touchdown, Breeland had a very rough evening against the Colts. At one point, he could’ve made a nice open-field tackle on running back Nyheim Hines, but whiffed, allowing Hines to pick up a first down. And Breeland had four penalties. Best forget this night, No. 21.

3. Fumble!

Yet another fumble lost, this time by LeSean McCoy after a nice catch-and-run on a screen play. While McCoy was covering the ball well, he didn’t carry it well enough, as it was punched out of his grip. Rather comically, it didn’t appear that many Chiefs on the field (except McCoy and Kelce, who dove to try to recover it) knew what had happened as McCoy’s blockers just kept on blocking.

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1181019492496789504

4. Cam Erving, Back-Up Lineman

Woof. Last week, the Chiefs didn’t allow any sacks against the Lions. For the season, Mahomes had only been sacked thrice. That narrative changed, and Erving was a big part of why. The Colts sacked Mahomes four times, and on the first two, Erving was badly beat, first by former Chief Justin Houston, and then by cornerback Kenny Moore II.

Eric Fisher: you’re needed.

5. Time of Possession

This statistic is gross. Look away if you have a weak stomach.

Still here? Okay, here it is. The Colts held the ball for 37:15 while the Chiefs had possession for just 22:45.

Of all teams, the Chiefs can overcome such a discrepancy. But that didn’t happen Sunday night. Instead, time of possession was clearly one of the top reasons the Colts came away with the victory at Arrowhead.

6. Penalties. Penalties Everywhere!

For the game, the Chiefs had 11 penalties for a total of 125 yards. One in particular stands out: Erving’s personal foul for a late hit after Mahomes’ interception that wasn’t. Making the tackle, Erving manhandled the defender for a 15-yarder, and even though the call was overturned (somehow), the penalty remained. So instead of a 4th-and-2, the Chiefs faced a 4th-and-17.

7. That Hungry Little Injury Bug

It struck the Chiefs. First, Sammy Watkins barely played. (He was questionable up until the game started.). But then others started dropping, including: the aforementioned Wylie, defensive tackles Xavier Williams and Chris Jones, and linebacker Anthony Hitchens. Defensive end Frank Clark also missed some time, but re-entered.

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8. A Depleted Offense

Also previously mentioned: the Chiefs need back Eric Fisher. He would provide some stabilization to a suddenly struggling offensive line. But the Chiefs also need back wide receiver Tyreek Hill. The Chiefs were fine without Hill for a couple of games, but the past two weeks, the passing game has greatly struggled without him.

Normally, I’d write, The sooner these guys can get back, the better. But that’s not exactly true. They need to get back as healthy as they can be to help elevate this offense to levels at which it previously operated.

9. The Rushing Defense

Or lack thereof. The Colts ran the ball 45 times for 180 yards and one touchdown. Running back Marlon Mack bulldozed the Chiefs on 29 carries for 132 yards. Brissett added the team’s only touchdown on a scramble on their first drive of the game.

10. The Rushing Offense

Or lack thereof. The Chiefs ran the ball 14 times for 36 yards, which is an average of 2.6 yards per carry. McCoy didn’t touch rush the ball at all. Damien Williams “led” the charge with nine carries for a whopping 23 yards.

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A Final Word

Despite the loss, let’s try to keep it in perspective: this loss was only by six points and came at the hands of a tough team. Plus, Mahomes was hobbled for a good portion of the contest while the Chiefs suffered multiple injuries on top of already being down their starting left tackle and top two wide receivers.

Losses sting, but I’ve faith in Reid that he’ll get the team back on track next Sunday versus the Houston Texans.