KC Chiefs: Four things we learned in week 10 loss to Titans

The KC Chiefs lost an ugly game in Nashville on Saturday. What did we learn about the Chiefs in this loss?

Sorry about my absence last week, but it is the holidays and working in retail is hard work, folks.  Anyway, I am back and ready to get this thing going again. This game was a thriller, but it really shouldn’t have been. The Kansas City Chiefs are better than the Tennessee Titans, but they didn’t play like it on Sunday.

This was a classic trap game and the Chiefs fell right into it. There was a lot to learn from this game, so let’s talk about it. Here we go.

Andy Reid Cost the Chiefs

More from Kansas City Chiefs

• How to Bet on the Chiefs vs. Cardinals in NFL Preseason Week 2
• The 3 Most Intriguing Games on the Chiefs’ Schedule
• DraftKings + FanDuel Kansas Promos: INSTANT $150 Bonus Plus Two Chances to Win!
• Fan-Favorite Locks Up Chiefs Roster Spot With Stellar Preseason Performance
• DraftKings NFL Kansas Promo: Bet $5 on Chiefs vs. Saints, Win $150 Bonus!

I am as big of a fan of Andy Reid as one can find, but his love of throwing the ball cost the Chiefs in a must win game. It was 3rd and 2 with just over a minute left, the Titans had no timeouts and you have a running back that can get those two yards; He elected to run a screen pass.

This is a classic game of Andy Reid being way too cute for his own good. If Reid runs the ball, we are talking about a different game. This is just plain sickening. Then it all goes downhill with a missed field goal, which led to the Titans scoring.

The Chiefs got in position to tie, but the field goal was blocked. That is the most unlikely chain of events this Chiefs team has seen under Andy Reid.

Defense not fixed?

After making some strides the last several weeks, the KC Chiefs defense fell back into its old habits of a great pass rush, but giving up big plays and not being able to stop the run.

Derrick Henry ran all over the Chiefs in the second half. Ryan Tannehill made plays with his arm and legs that reminded people why he was a first-round pick. It is clear that the defense still has things to get under control before they are officially fixed.

As I am writing this, things just got a little bit worse from a depth perspective that won’t help things.

Injuries just keep coming

According to BJ Kissel, Andy Reid said that DE Emmanuel Ogbah has a torn pec and that will end his season. It feels as though I write about injuries every week in some capacity.

In this case, the Chiefs lost offensive lineman Martinas Rankin to an obvious knee injury and Mitchell Schwartz had to come out for a little while due to injury as well. Just when the Chiefs start getting guys back, they lose more players, and it is harder to replace them this late in the season.

As is becoming a signature line from me, there are only so many injuries before a team can say when. The Chiefs aren’t there yet considering they are getting guys back, but they are getting close.

Patrick Mahomes and the Offense Looked Great

Now that the doom and gloom stuff is out of the way, let’s talk about the lone bright spot and that was the offense. While there were some obvious miscues and dumb play calls (see point one), it was mostly good for the Chiefs.

Patrick Mahomes looked like his old self after missing two and a half games with a knee injury. He had some iffy throws that should have been picked, but so does every other quarterback in the NFL. It’s hard to believe that we can look at his stat line and not call it a career day, but here we are.

The rest of the offense looked fantastic other than the sub-par running game and some dropped balls, but getting Eric Fisher back should help in the run game and the dropped passes just happen sometimes as frustrating as that is.

Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce continue to show why they are among the best at their positions.  Patrick Mahomes’ jump pass to Mecole Hardman is proof enough for me that his knee is fine. Get healthy on the offensive line and the Chiefs are going to be in business.

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1193628073591132160

Conclusions

The sky isn’t falling folks. Even the best teams have their bad games and this was another one for the Kansas City Chiefs. Just ask Patriots fans how many games they dropped that they shouldn’t over the last 20 years.

There are some mistakes to get fixed in all three phases, but what team doesn’t have those? It is alright to be upset about a loss. Heck, I have to rotate jerseys every loss because of superstition. The KC Chiefs are going to be fine so relax and let’s get ready for next week.