Chiefs Reaction: Defense Dominates Love, Packers

The Kansas City Chiefs got a key victory on Sunday at home against the Green Bay Packers. It is the first time that this team has won back to back games all season. Meanwhile, Kansas City is over .500 for the first time since defeating the Cleveland Browns in Week One.

For the first time in a long while, the pendulum started to swing in the Chiefs favor. We saw them come out more prepared than their opponent. Additionally, Kansas City was benefitting from the ball bouncing their way, literally and figuratively. This included turnover margin, special teams mistakes and utilizing challenges, timeouts or clock management correctly.

What are the top five things we learned from the Chiefs in this win? Plus, what player’s stocks are rising or falling entering Week Ten? Let’s kick it off.

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Top Five Things We Learned

Patrick Mahomes Looked More Comfortable

No, it was not the cleanest or most productive day of Patrick Mahomes’ career. There were a few different things that stood out from the quarterback, though. All of these items are essential things for Mahomes to build off of, especially with the offense still working through struggles.

First off, Mahomes looked more confident with his drop backs. You did not see the happy feet that he had displayed in recent weeks. At the same time, Mahomes had better rhythm and timing during his throws. His releases were quicker and came at the top of his drop back more often.

You could also see his accuracy improve greatly compared to previous games. Sure, there were still some off-target throws. Mahomes did a better job of placing it at the chest of his receivers, or to where the opponent could not get a hand on the ball. He even got hurt by his pass catchers dropping well placed balls on multiple occasions.

Finally, Mahomes did not play quite as timid or hesitant as he has in recent games. Throws that were behind the sticks were more questionable towards the scheme than anything when they were not needed. Moreover, he did well to work more areas of the field and felt more willing to push the ball down the field. Some deep shots did not connect. Seeing him more optimistic about those chances was a positive to see, however.

As Andy Reid said after the game, Mahomes looked vintage on the game icing drive. He slid to his right and fired a strike to Travis Kelce just left of the hash marks in the middle of the field to convert on a 2nd and 11. The 3rd and 10 pass to Tyreek Hill was classic of what we have seen Mahomes do. He escaped pressure, rolled out to his right and put the ball right where it needed to be for Hill, while throwing across his body.

Frank Clark Is Playing His Best Football

After battling a hamstring injury in training camp and early in the regular season, Frank Clark is playing as good as ever right now. Arguably this is the best stretch of his Chiefs tenure since the playoffs when Kansas City won the Super Bowl. More importantly, Clark is making an impact physically, mentally and emotionally.

From a physical perspective, Clark increased his playing weight just a bit and is continuing to carry it well when rushing the passer. His drive and power when exploding into blockers may be at the highest level we have seen from Clark in Kansas City. Additionally, the quickness, pass rush counters and tackle attempts have all looked picture perfect in the last few games.

Mentally, we are seeing Clark come out more composed and patient. You see less reps of him getting up the field too far when chasing after the quarterback. The angles he has taken are sharp and tightly squeezed. Furthermore, Clark has done well to read and react to what the opposing offense is trying to accomplish. Late in last week’s game against the Giants, the defender showed more urgency to drop back and take away the flat route that the running back was running. This dump off opportunity was eliminated and it led to a Chris Jones sack on one of the last few plays. Clark again showed poise when dropping back into the flat against the Packers. His play recognition against the run also led to a crucial tackle for loss early on, a play where Jordan Love probably could have kept it.

Lastly, the Chiefs are receiving the emotional leader that they had been wanting Frank Clark to be. He and the defensive line are back to “having fun,” as he stated after the game. It looked like this could be his last season with the Chiefs, based on how his season began. But now, Clark is earning his way as the top defensive end. Continued play like this could make for an even more difficult decision for the Kansas City front office this upcoming offseason.

Spagnuolo Now Has His Pieces In Place

This was a perfect game for Steve Spagnuolo to go into his bag of tricks, given the opposing quarterback was making his first career start. The pressure was relentless. Coach Spags timed extra pressure well. Meanwhile, he forced Love to throw perfect against man coverage. There was largely no room for him to fit the ball into when testing defenders down the field.

On the other hand, this defense may finally be built to Coach Spags liking. There have been some changes made that he was originally hesitant to make, of course. Yet, there is a greater sense of cohesion across the board. Chiefs defenders are also playing positions that they are more comfortable or more successful in. For example, moving Jones exclusively back to the inside of the defensive line has fueled the entire pass rush. Melvin Ingram looks to still have plenty left in the tank as well. On his first defensive snap, Ingram worked the opposing blocker backwards with a bull rush and got a hand on Love just as he let go of the ball, leading to an incompletion and a Green Bay three and out on the first drive.

The linebackers are feeling more content on the second level. With Nick Bolton controlling the MIKE position, it has allowed him to stay grounded and under control against more athletic offensive opponents. Having Anthony Hitchens at SAM and Willie Gay at WILL in the base defense gives the Chiefs quicker reactions in the outside areas of the field. You can truly see players are being placed in more positions to succeed.

Puzzling Play Calling

The Kansas City offense is still finding themselves. And while there was some aggression and emotion derived at the most vital moments against Green Bay, the play calling heavily stunted momentum throughout the course of the contest. It occurred in seemingly all areas of the field too. On drives where the running game was finding a groove, the Chiefs looked to hit on two deeper passes right after. This not only resulted in a quick punt a time or two. But, it also forced Kansas City’s defense to get back on the field quickly.

Let’s examine an attempt to go for it on 4th and short. When it did not work, Coach Reid called something that was too cute. A play action pass to the flats on one play gave the Packers a clear jolt. There were other plays where Kansas City became too flashy after they had just dominated for a strong running play upfront. An end around rushing attempt for Hill was quickly snuffed out by Green Bay and resulted in a loss of yards. Elsewhere, quick passes actually made life difficult on the Chiefs rather than the defense.

The red zone offense was hard to watch at times as well. You could see Darrel Williams was punishing his way down toward the goal line multiple times. However, quick passes to Mecole Hardman or throws behind the line of scrimmage only stalled the Chiefs drives. Kansas City was definitely more loose offensively against the Packers than they were in recent weeks. The confusing play calling could have led to the pressing we have seen by major playmakers. Though, most of them fought through that in crucial moments.

The AFC Is A Mess

We have seen some wildly unexpected results from the NFL in the last couple of weeks. That has been heavily felt across the AFC. Just on Sunday, there were a couple of surprising road losses by AFC division leaders. The Buffalo Bills did nothing offensively and the 16.5 point favorites lost in Jacksonville to hand the Jaguars just their second victory of the season. On the other hand, the Raiders looked the worst they have in a long time. Derek Carr struggled to see the field as well as he has through most of the season, and threw two interceptions, one of which resulted in a pick six. Vegas blew a major opportunity against the New York Giants.

On the flip side, there were positive moments for some AFC teams that were unexpected. The Denver Broncos came out of nowhere to make the Dallas Cowboys look the worst they have all season. In Jerry’s World, the Broncos stormed out to a 30-0 lead at one point. If you look in the AFC East, the New England Patriots have quietly won three games in a row and four of their last five. They sit just a half game back of Buffalo for the division lead. Anyone could be considered an AFC favorite currently, let alone a Super Bowl favorite, after the craziness of the NFL in the last few weeks.

Report Cards

Winners

L’Jarius Sneed And Charvarius Ward

L’Jarius Sneed has begun to play at the level we became accustomed to late last season. His sticky coverage and correct reads have made quarterbacks punchless when throwing his direction. Sneed made one pass breakup where the Packers threw towards the front right pylon. He turned around his head just in time to deflect the ball out of bounds. Then, his interception was played perfectly. He gave Davante Adams no room to get his hands on the ball and timed his jump correctly.

Charvarius Ward has been frustrating opposing receivers multiple times in each game since returning from a quad injury. His ability to press at the line of scrimmage often puts pass catchers off balance and takes their focus off of the football. Moreover, Ward is always seemingly step for step with his opponent when going deep down the field. That has been hit or miss for him in the past. However, Ward handled the challenge of Adams well when matched up with him.

Frank Clark

We mentioned the roll that Clark is on earlier. In this particular game, his box score stats will not truly jump out. Clark did manage three quarterback hits and a tackle for loss. But still, it is his discipline, reads against running plays and effectiveness as a pass rusher that is showing up time and time again. He is leading as the top defensive end. Clark is answering the bell and staying fresh all game long.

Travis Kelce

There were a couple of drops by Kelce that really took the air out of the offense’s sails. Mahomes placed one of those right where it needed to be over the middle of the field. Overall, Kelce had his biggest impact in a few weeks. His early touchdown and a later wide open catch on a deep over route showed off his ability to find weaknesses in the defense. That wiggle and twitch was absent in recent games. To boot, he and Mahomes got more in sync in the latter stages of the game. Green Bay could not eliminate that connection once they got in a rhythm.

Tommy Townsend

It is rare to enjoy the punting, especially during a victory. Nonetheless, Tommy Townsend may have had his best career day against the Packers. His airtime and average yards per punt was jaw dropping on every kick. Townsend finished the day with an average of 56.83 yards per punt on six total kicks. That is huge, given the lack of experience with the Packers quarterback and the dominance that Kansas City’s defense showed.

Townsend’s kicks also left the Packers scrambling. One kick was muffed by Amari Rodgers and was nearly recovered by Chris Lammons of the Chiefs. And, Townsend got a lucky bounce off of the toe of Malik Taylor, allowing Kansas City to take over deep in Green Bay territory. Finally, he had two other punts that pinned the Packers inside their own 10 yard line.

Losers

Daniel Sorensen

We did not see much of Daniel Sorensen on Sunday. He still found a way to hurt the Chiefs defense, though. The only score of the game by Green Bay came on a pass to Allen Lazard. Sorensen already being placed in man coverage was dangerous enough. He failed to locate the football and whiffed on a horrid tackling attempt. The defense worked hard all day and deserved a shutout. Sorensen ruined it on one play.

Mecole Hardman

Every time Hardman is near the football you have to hold your breath. He had two awful drops that could have resulted in explosive plays. One occurred inside the Green Bay five yard line on a quick pass to the left. The other drop came on a third down where Hardman had a good step or two on the Packers cover man. He was a couple of yards past the sticks for a first down. The throw was perfectly placed by Mahomes. And, Hardman still dropped it.

He muffed another punt later on and was able to jump on it before chaos ensued. Later on the game icing drive, Hardman nearly struggled to fight off the defender’s tackling attempt, despite him holding on for dear life. This is year three of this player in the Chiefs program. Drops, ball security and a limited route tree are too magnifying for a wide receiver who was taken in the second round of 2019. Arguably, his best ability right now is catching a pop pass behind the line of scrimmage. You still have to worry about fumbles even in those instances, though.

Rest of the AFC

Just when the Chiefs looked to be at their lowest point in a long time, the AFC has mostly failed to capitalize around them. The Titans are definitely taking care of opportunities. Tennessee now sits at 7-2. The aforementioned Broncos and Patriots continue to be a thorn in the side of many other contenders.

Buffalo’s two losses to Tennessee and Jacksonville are going to be vital if the Bills fail to get the AFC’s top seed. The Raiders once again failed to come through on a cross country trip to MetLife Stadium. As a result, this weekend will be a key one to look back on in the AFC West. Vegas was the only team to lose on Sunday out of those rivals, and now all four teams have five wins on the season.

It is still going to be a battle for the Chiefs to get into the playoffs. Their schedule is extremely challenging with no room for hiccups down the stretch. It is just too much of a cluttered mess in the AFC to take a step backwards now. Kansas City must cash in on this opportunity in a conference that is weaker than many expected.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles throughout this week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– 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.