Chiefs Clinch AFC West, Leave Houston With Mixed Bag

Embed from Getty Images
For the seventh consecutive season, the Kansas City Chiefs have won the AFC West division. That is nearly unprecedented for other franchises in NFL history. The Chiefs were able to escape Houston with a win over the Texans. However, it took overtime to down them by a score of 30-24. Kansas City once again struggled with fundamental errors, discipline and executing in certain areas. Those problems continue to be at the forefront of the Chiefs’ minds. Even with those hiccups, a few key players stepped up to help keep Kansas City afloat.

In today’s FPC Chiefs reaction article, we will focus on those struggles, while also recognizing the brilliance of Kansas City’s top performers. All told, the Chiefs still have a shot to win out and clinch the AFC’s number one seed, so long as they get a little bit of help along the way. What main takeaways resulted from the overtime victory in Houston? Let’s kick it off.

Penalties, Turnovers, And Missed Kicks! Oh My!

We will start with the struggles. In this game, the Chiefs just could not get out of their own way. It has often been said that when Kansas City does lose, they often shoot themselves in the foot, more so than just being completely controlled by the opponent. Well, the Chiefs certainly handcuffed themselves in more ways than one on Sunday.

Kansas City was called for 10 penalties, which accounted for 102 penalty yards. That is not to mention the penalties that were possibly declined, to boot. Meanwhile, the Chiefs had more boneheaded turnovers. Isiah Pacheco and JuJu Smith-Schuster each lost fumbles, due to poor ball security. Amazingly, the Chiefs have committed a turnover in nine straight games. They also have 21 total offensive turnovers this season. Kansas City has gone only two games without an offensive turnover this season. And overall, the Chiefs have had multiple turnovers in seven individual games this season.

Lastly, the Chiefs have been horrible in the special teams department. No one has struggled more than kicker Harrison Butker. Possibly, he is still dealing with an injury from earlier in the season. Either way, Butker has reached the lowest depth of his Chiefs tenure. It happens to every kicker. But for Butker, he cannot be much worse in crucial moments. He missed an extra point in Houston. Additionally, he missed a potential game-winner at the end of regulation.

Offense Stalls On Third Down

Early in the season, the Chiefs were basically automatic on offense during third downs. In the second half of the season, though, Kansas City has been more up and down. You have seen items like sacks, miss communication on throws and misfires from Patrick Mahomes show up more often. Not to mention, those ghastly aforementioned turnovers have risen as well. Third downs just look more nervous for this team right now, depending on the situation. Is the confidence lower for the Chiefs offense on third down?

In Houston, the Chiefs only converted on six of their 12 third down attempts. This made for anxious results for Kansas City on both sides of the ball. Offensively, you could see specific players begin to press. The Chiefs were also unable to respond most of the time on defense, if the offense did not come through. Even with the occasional success, the Chiefs will surely want to clean up some of those offensive third down attempts moving forward.

Is It The Scheme, The Players, Or Both?

Generally, we are used to seeing the Chiefs hit their stride on defense in the final months of the season. You usually see them improve in the points allowed area. Furthermore, defensive turnovers are typically growing for this group by the latter stages of the season. Kansas City has not been shining in those areas over the last few games.

The Chiefs have allowed a combined 79 points in the last three games, accounting for 26.3 points allowed per game. Moreover, this defense only has 15 takeaways on the season. A late fumble created by Kansas City’s defense helped setup the game-winning score in overtime, of course. Yet, the Chiefs are not getting those momentum-swinging takeaways very consistently.

Finally, you can tell that Kansas City is struggling with the little things on defense. Attempting to stay in position, especially in the middle of the field, has been maddening. There is also a sense of pride and effort that appears to come and go. Are the Chiefs young on defense? Absolutely. Is Steve Spagnuolo a perfect defensive coordinator? No. However, this group has the capability to get on a roll. Kansas City’s defense just continues to not meet certain challenges, nonetheless.

M&M

While there were struggles, a few players put the Chiefs team on their back, in order to win the game. Mahomes did misread a few plays. Nevertheless, he could not miss through the air when he had to complete a challenging throw in a vital moment. He only had five incompletions on the day, completing 36 of 41 passes. Mahomes finished with 336 passing yards, two touchdown passes and some key rushing yards, with a rushing touchdown.

Elsewhere, Jerick McKinnon had yet another monster performance. He totaled 52 yards on the ground. Obviously, he won the game in overtime with his 26-yard carry. As a receiver, McKinnon caught all eight targets for 70 yards. He had another receiving touchdown as well. Like we have continued to say, McKinnon is so important for the Chiefs come late in the season and into the playoffs.

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.