Kansas City Chiefs Stock Report: Week 13 2022

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The Kansas City Chiefs were unable to exorcise their demons against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Late blunders led to a close loss, and the Bengals have officially become the Chiefs’ kryptonite. With this loss, Kansas City drops to 9-3 and the AFC’s number one seed is currently no longer in their possession. Meanwhile, Cincinnati improves to 8-4 and seems poised to pass the Baltimore Ravens for a possible AFC North division title. Many areas were not good for the Chiefs in this loss to the Bengals. Yet, one side of the ball disappointed quite more than the other.

Each and every week, we will be listing players, position groups or coaches that improved or hurt their respective stock. Who saw their stock rise or fall in Week 13 for the Kansas City Chiefs? Let’s kick it off.

Stock Up

Isiah Pacheco

If there is one thing the Chiefs did well in Cincinnati, it was run the football. Not only did they amass a tremendous total of 5.5 yards per carry. But, Kansas City was able to gain tough, gritty extra yards when they needed it most. A major part of that was Isiah Pacheco. Ever since the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he has been on a tear and has only continued to get more comfortable. He was able to squeeze through a tight hole on a third down to record a touchdown carry. Overall, Pacheco finished with 66 rushing yards on 14 carries, good for 4.7 yards per carry. In his last four games, Pacheco has 324 rushing yards on 67 carries, making him a key cog down the stretch and into the playoffs.

Jerick McKinnon

While Pacheco did a lot of the damage, Jerick McKinnon had an impressive showing as well. On the ground, he finished with 51 rushing yards on eight carries. McKinnon also caught a couple of passes, one of which was a touchdown reception. You saw the intriguing mix of burst, vision, patience and change of direction skills on display for McKinnon. As much as Pacheco has been successful, McKinnon’s veteran experience and leadership are vital traits to have as a depth piece in the Chiefs offense.

Trent McDuffie

While it was a pathetic performance for the Chiefs defense, Trent McDuffie shined in a difficult matchup. He was charted with 42 coverage snaps. In the end, the rookie cornerback was targeted just three times and allowed two receptions in coverage. He made some key tackles in space. He played controlled, yet physical, while also winning reps with excellent body positioning and awareness. It is still early in the career of McDuffie. Nevertheless, the Chiefs appear to have found a star in the making at cornerback, a spot that has been volatile in the last handful of years for Kansas City.

Stock Down

Chiefs Offensive Tackle Duo

Going into this matchup, we knew that the Bengals featured great size at defensive end. They can also convert speed to power well. It was a long day for both Orlando Brown Jr. and Andrew Wylie. You could just see how limited Brown Jr. was when attempting to matchup with the speed of Cincinnati’s defensive front. His athleticism, or lack thereof, is just not a great fit in this offense when facing deep opposing pass rushes. Elsewhere, Wylie got stood up and driven back multiple times. His leverage was lost immediately on many reps. On top of that, Wylie seemed to whiff with many of his punches, showing haphazard blocking technique. It just seems like a given that the Chiefs will be inserting new offensive tackles next season.

Kansas City Safety Duo

Unless you were living under a rock, Justin Reid was spewing some choice words entering the Bengals matchup. That attempt at trash talk forced him into a tough spot entering Sunday. Not only did he struggle, he struggled mightily. Reid was not alone in that department, however. Juan Thornhill also had a miserable day for the Kansas City defense. Both Chiefs safeties missed tackle attempts that would have kept the Bengals short of the sticks. Both Chiefs safeties were caught out of position and lost in space on multiple passing plays. Furthermore, both Reid and Thornhill struggled to make proper reads against the Cincinnati pass catchers. Due to their experience and usually sharp fundamentals, this was extremely frustrating for both Reid and Thornhill.

Chiefs Defensive Front Seven

If you wanted to, you could essentially copy and paste those same mistakes from the safeties and apply them to the Chiefs defensive front seven. Missed tackles, a lack of energy, missed reads in space, horrid body positioning and a failure to get off blocks all hindered the Chiefs linebackers. Moreover, Joe Burrow basically had all day to throw on every dropback. The pressure was nonexistent for the Chiefs pass rush. Kansas City was also displaced by the opposing blockers too often and were moved up the field far too easily, to boot.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles and analysis 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.