Chiefs Reaction: Kansas City Collapsed Vs Bengals (Again)

Just when the Kansas City Chiefs looked to be set up well following their epic Divisional Round playoff win, the end to their 2021 season came in a crushing way. It also came prematurely of their ultimate goal. Instead of making a third consecutive Super Bowl appearance, the Chiefs’ season ended at the same spot where it did in 2018 during Patrick Mahomes’ first year as the starting quarterback. The AFC Championship Game was played in Kansas City. Nevertheless, the team founded by Lamar Hunt failed to bring another Lamar Hunt Trophy home.

It was a game that was eerily similar to their first meeting with the Cincinnati Bengals just a handful of weeks ago. Kansas City roared out to a dominant start on both sides of the ball. Mahomes was nearly perfect in the first half, going 18 of 21 passing for 220 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. He became hesitant and reckless in the second half, though. The play calling was not as aggressive anymore. And finally, the defense failed to get off the field against Joe Burrow time and time again.

What were the main issues from the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game? How did they blow an 18 point halftime lead? Here are our top five reasons as to what happened.

Mahomes Goes From Hot To Cold

As mentioned above, it was about as an efficient or stellar first half of football that you could have, if you are Mahomes. What went wrong in the second half? Largely, we saw mistakes and issues resonate that plagued the Chiefs quarterback during the early portion of the 2021 regular season.

For example, the Bengals started to drop eight guys into coverage and began double teaming certain options more often. This led to Mahomes feeling pressed and flustered throughout most of his dropbacks. His base and footwork in the pocket became erratic. When Mahomes did try to scramble around and buy time, it usually led to more chaos than what Kansas City was hoping for. That obviously led to some of his throws and timing being off. We saw some late releases by Mahomes, as well as passes that were too wide or behind his intended receiver.

Once he felt the pressure, the Chiefs quarterback served up some questionable decisions. The tipped interception by BJ Hill only made him more unsure of himself. As a result, the misreads and missed throws culminated into attempts that were either risky, or had a low percentage of being successful.

Reid Coached Not To Lose

During the second half of the Chiefs season, you could see a greater emphasis from head coach Andy Reid in staying aggressive. The mindset of needing more and more points was mostly at the forefront for Kansas City’s offense. Mostly, that led to a win in almost every game since the beginning of November.

That appeared to be absent in the second half of the AFC Championship Game, however. Just from a passing standpoint, we saw some of the same mistakes in Reid’s play design that we saw in the early part of the regular season. Pass catchers were asked to run routes to only the sticks and not beyond much too often. Moreover, there were many occasions late in the game where those pass catchers were crowded too close at once in certain areas of the field.

There were also a few instances where Reid did not go for the kill or failed to keep his foot on the gas. Overall, this same approach also cost the team late against the Bengals the first time around. A couple of instances stand out in particular. Just before halftime, the final offensive play was one where Kansas City should have taken a shot toward the end zone. Maybe you get a touchdown pass to go into the locker room up 28-10 at the break. Or, you may draw a flag and receive another chance to run a play. Whether that was a decision by Reid or Mahomes, it sucked the air out of the Chiefs offense.

Later on, we saw them play conservative after getting first and goal at the Cincinnati five yard line on the final drive of regulation. Chewing up some of the remaining game clock is understood. Nonetheless, Reid got too cute with the passing game. Kansas City could have ran it one or two times to get closer to the goal line. And if you do in fact get a touchdown to go up 28-24, the Bengals would have obviously needed a touchdown to win. The Chiefs were not necessarily dominating defensively. But, it would not have been a guarantee that the Bengals would have scored a touchdown if they got the ball back.

Once Again, No Trust In Kansas City Running Game

The Chiefs have once again failed to show any trust in their running game. And honestly, it is baffling as to why. You do of course have Mahomes at your disposal. The balanced approach was working, though. Kansas City finished the day with 139 rushing yards on 24 carries, good enough for 5.8 yards per carry as a team.

Both Jerick McKinnon and Clyde Edwards-Helaire were rolling. We saw them break tackles, bounce runs outside into the open areas and kept up with the early pace that the Chiefs were enjoying. Most rushing attempts were picking up at least four to six yards a pop. More importantly, the reconfigured offensive line was rather commanding in the running game, paving the way for Kansas City ball carriers to avoid contact until they were deep into their rushing attempt.

McKinnon and CEH were also making defenders miss. No matter if it was with elusiveness or power through contact, the duo was gaining momentum for their backfield. The Chiefs even got a couple of big gains from Mecole Hardman’s rushing attempts. Straying away from the running game has led to more than one blown lead for Kansas City in playoff games under Reid. Despite wanting to sling it around the yard, finding that fine line of balance will be important at some point.

Spagnuolo Made Decisions Easier For Burrow

Early on, the Chiefs defense was showing tremendous poise and patience against the equally controlled Burrow. We saw a cornerback and Tyrann Mathieu set up to double team Ja’Marr Chase early. That definitely kept the rookie wide receiver in check and prevented him from making explosive plays. Elsewhere, Kansas City did well to spy Burrow from the outset of the game. The Bengals quarterback did not feel comfortable taking off and running for much of the first half.

Later on, something changed and things got much easier for Burrow. He operated smoothly without feeling much pressure. That in and of itself is extremely frustrating for a Chiefs defensive line that has veterans like Chris Jones, Melvin Ingram, Frank Clark and Jarran Reed. To boot, the Cincinnati offensive line was atrocious all season and was coming off of a game where they allowed nine sacks. For the Chiefs to not get home consistently, was obviously disappointing.

On top of that, Steve Spagnuolo began to bring extra pressure. This did not really have any effect on Burrow. It also led to more space for the Bengals dangerous wide receivers to work with. Many one on one throws were fairly easy for Burrow to complete late in crunch time. Finally, Kansas City failed to contain the quarterback as well late in the game. Burrow had much too many times where he had a wide open field to prance through, once he decided to tuck it and run.

Defensive Talent Discrepancy Caught Up To Chiefs

We mentioned already how the Chiefs lack of pass rush was monumental, especially when you consider the career resumes of each starting defensive lineman. We did not see as many plays being made by the linebackers as well. Part of that was due to the areas of the field that the Bengals were willing to attack. On the other hand, some of the more reliable defensive backs were unable to provide much of a resistance against the Cincinnati wide receiver corps.

It has always been a tricky toy that the Chiefs have played with in recent years. However, the talent discrepancy within the defensive roster and makeup is quite large. Some of the players that are leaders upfront need more help around them in order to succeed. Meanwhile, the lack of premium investments in the cornerback position lead to a tall task in matchups like these against versatile and formidable opposing pass catching groups.

There are certainly some younger pieces in place that will be leaders for the Chiefs defense in the near future. But at some point, the readjusting and retooling of the Kansas City defensive makeup must come after three years of being mostly the same unit.

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.