Kansas City Chiefs: 10 Dislikes and 10 Likes after Week 10 vs Titans
By Cullen Jekel
In Week 10, the Kansas City Chiefs suffered their first road loss of the season, falling in Tennessee to the Titans, 35-32. With the loss, the Chiefs dropped to 6-4.
Now, the Kansas City Chiefs have to turn the page after this ugly loss as they prepare for Monday Night Football in Week 11 against the Chargers in Mexico City.
And unlike in weeks past, where I’ve stated that I’ll always start with the positives in this column, I’m starting with the dislikes. I’d hoped that after a period of time the shock of this bad loss would fade, but it hasn’t. Yet, I doubt I’m still as pessimistic as a lot of fans.
Here are my 10 dislikes.
10* Dislikes
While I’m going to start with a sequence of plays in the final two minutes of the game, I will touch on other topics, including a costly loss to injury.
*Eleven.
1. The Blake Bell Screen Pass That Wasn’t
The Kansas City Chiefs took over the football with just 1:48 left in the fourth quarter clinging to a 32-27 lead after the Titans turned it over on downs. Even better, the Chiefs had great field position, taking it over at Tennessee’s 32. But the Titans still had all three of their timeouts.
After two runs by Damien Williams–and two subsequent timeouts by the Titans–the Chiefs faced a third-and-two at the Titans’ 24. Gain two yards, and the game is over.
Why, then, did head coach Andy Reid a) go away from Williams, who’d just had runs for three and five yards, and b) call a play specifically designed for back-up tight end Blake Bell, who hadn’t been targeted on any of Patrick Mahomes‘ first 47 pass attempts?
Not trusting the run game, sure, I can see that. But you’ve got Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, and even Sammy Watkins as better options than Bell. Hell, there are probably at least eight better options than Bell.
Simply put, Reid tried to outsmart the Titans with a screen to a seldom-used player, and it backfired. He was covered, and Mahomes smartly slid, taking a five-yard loss and forcing the Titans to use their final timeout.