Are the Chiefs in Trouble?

 

Written by Max Freud of Swish Tribune 

While the scoreboard didn’t look too bad, the Chiefs should’ve gotten blown out by the Lions on Thursday night. The Chief's best player was Nick Bolton and Mahomes was once again outshined by Jared just like when Goff beat him in that shootout game on Monday Night Football a couple years back. Mahomes may have been at a disadvantage because of his receiver play and Travis Kielce being out, Jared Goff was still able to make it work with Sam LaPorta at tight end and the occasional pass to Amon Ra St. Brown. Josh Reynolds also played a huge part as he converted some key third downs. 

The Chiefs showed an inability to stop the Lions running game and the Lions also always seemed to get the big conversion on the passing plays. Chris Jones being out for the Chiefs proved to be a big problem and the Chiefs are going to need him back soon to win the tough games especially against the up and coming Jaguars next week. Hopefully Travis Kelce will be back by then but any injury to the knee area is scary and might take longer than expected to heal. 

With Kelce’s uncertainty, the Chiefs will not be able to produce the same offensive production they have been able to in the past couple seasons. The wide receiver core proved to be atrocious on Thursday night as Kadarius Toney played the worst game a receiver has played since 2018. He had three drops and a couple other misplays including one that lead to a Lion’s pick six. 

The Chiefs were fine last year without Tyreek Hill, but perhaps coaches have figured out the Chief’s ways and their receivers aren’t good enough this year to take over a game anymore. If Mahomes does not become Superman and Travis Kelce isn’t at 100%, the Chiefs will have a problem and may not even win the division. The Chargers, Broncos, and Raiders all look to be competitive this year and if the Chiefs don’t figure it out, their playoff hopes will be in danger.