The Kansas City Chiefs suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts. It was a loss, where Kansas City struggled getting out of their own way. Meanwhile, the Colts executed their ball controlled gameplan and their defense stepped up in a big way. Let’s get things going now, with our recap of Chiefs versus Colts.
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Under Pressure
Indianapolis was ravaged with injuries on the defensive side of the ball. But, the Colts didn’t let that stop them from executing defensively. The pressure was constant. Kansas City’s offensive line had no answers and Patrick Mahomes was under duress all night long. Mahomes was sacked four times. The Colts also had eight quarterback hits. Former Chief Justin Houston enjoyed a rather impactful night in his return to Arrowhead. Mahomes was gimpy, possibly reaggravating that ankle injury from Week One. Additionally, guard Andrew Wylie suffered an ankle sprain. Injuries have piled up after last night. Kansas City will hope for better health moving forward, as well as protecting their quarterback too.
Manning The Zones
Not only did the Colts pressure lead to their victory, but the secondary play did as well. Indianapolis executed in man coverage and suffocated any open routes for the opposing receivers. For a team that runs primarily zone coverage, they made man defense look easy. Even when the Chiefs made catches for big plays, their defense hardly missed a tackle. Also, there were a few times where Mahomes was unable to connect with his receivers once they were open on deep routes. For example, Mahomes overthrew Demarcus Robinson by about two steps. If Robinson would have made the catch, it was likely caught at about the five yard line and could have been a score. This is an area where the offense needs to improve. If the Chiefs can’t beat the man coverage of the Colts, then matchups with the Chargers, Patriots and Bears down the line won’t be easier.
Running Movement
Indianapolis’s slogan of “Run the Damn Ball” is not an exaggeration. They controlled this game by not just continuously pounding the rock, however the Colts were rarely not in a manageable down and distance situation. KC was able to force Indy to have to convert plenty of times on third down. But, many of the Colts successful third down conversions came on third and short. Once again, the run defense gave up over 125 yards rushing. To boot, Indianapolis possessed the ball for over 61 percent of the contest.
Undisciplined
This loss was full of undisciplined moments for the Chiefs. 11 penalties for 125 yards will not lead to very many wins, when your opponent is playing keep away. Obviously, players are going to be frustrated. Though, this just felt like a night where the Chiefs didn’t have enough to overcome the Colts because they could not get out of their own way.
Furthermore, this is a typical kind of loss that Kansas City is accustomed to in recent years. In their last nine losses, all of those have been one score games. Their last loss that wasn’t by one score was Week Nine of 2017. In some of their more recent home losses, excluding a few game, this was a similar loss too. The offense largely struggled to score, yet somehow gained a good chunk of total yardage and hit on a few big plays. The defense actually held the Colts to their lowest point total of the season (19). This was a very maddening loss, reminiscent of past home blunders where the score was either 19-17 or 19-14.
Up Next
Next week, the Chiefs will welcome the Houston Texans to Arrowhead Stadium. Led by Deshaun Watson, the Texans are coming off their best game of the year. They will look to continue that positivity in Kansas City next week. On the other hand, the Chiefs will look towards turning their luck around and getting back on track.
That will conclude this week’s recap of Chiefs versus Colts. Be sure to stay tuned to Full Press Coverage for more great sports and NFL content.
– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.
