Welcome back to the Arrowhead Pride Mailbag! Throughout the season, keep watching The Feed for an opportunity to submit your questions about the Kansas City Chiefs!
Coming off a monster 31-10 victory over the Denver Broncos on “Monday Night Football,” let’s see what’s on our readers’ minds.
TheSovereign1587 asks:
What specifically stood out the most about the passing game that made it look as rough as it did? Was it Patrick Mahomes being rusty? Did his knee affect his throwing ability/accuracy? Was it the WRs, not getting open, mistakes, etc? Were the pass plays and routes not effective?
Tackle play will take the bulk of the blame for the Chiefs’ disappointing results through the air Monday. That certainly played a role as rookie Kahlil Benson’s inexperience at left tackle significantly dictated the game plan. The uncertainty on the left side masked legitimate concerns about Jaylon Moore’s ability to man the right tackle spot.
However, I think other factors combined with Benson and Moore to make for a perfect storm against the Chiefs’ passing attack.
Mahomes definitely appeared rusty, especially in the first half. He looked like a player who had not been on the field competitively since December. In addition, wide receivers Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy played as they had been in and out of the lineup throughout training camp. Week 1 was essentially the preseason for the full starting offense.
Also, the Denver secondary — arguably the league’s best and a group very familiar with the Chiefs — deserves credit. The Broncos’ defensive backs apparently were Denver’s only unit that was aware a game was scheduled for Monday night.
I think Mahomes will get at least some of his timing back, the tackle play will improve, and most defensive backfields do not have the talent to match Denver’s game plan. However, I am taking real concerns from Monday night and am unsure how much it can be improved. I will probably wait until after Kansas City’s Week 5 bye to determine how panicked or confident to be.
RoyalsFanBill asks:
Will the Chiefs continue to feature the running game? Hope this isn’t the ole Marty Schottenheimer trick of starting a game with a deep pass only to not pass the rest of the game. I don’t think we will revert back to the old offense, but it would be my major question going forward.
Kenneth Walker is effectively signed to a two-year contract worth $28.7 million with a team option for a third year in 2028. I think the Chiefs plan to make him their workhorse over that period. Outside of Mahomes and defensive tackle Chris Jones, Kansas City’s biggest investment has been on the interior of their line.
With the money owed to Walker, center Creed Humphrey and guard Trey Smith, it would be incompetence not to rely on the run game early and often.
I do think we will see a bit more balance in the coming weeks. It also won’t surprise me if rookie Emmett Johnson sees more work in the backfield on a short week after Walker’s heavy Monday night workload. But I think the days of the run game being an afterthought in the Andy Reid offense are officially over.
ReadyForFBSeason asks:
What will other teams see on film that they can exploit? Denver clearly didn’t adjust well during the game. What will the Indianapolis Colts be preparing to do differently in Week 2?
The Broncos’ inability to answer Walker may be all that is keeping the Indianapolis Colts’ struggles against Derrick Henry of the Baltimore Ravens from becoming a major Week 1 story. Indianapolis gave up 324 passing yards and 202 yards on the ground. We will see what adjustments they make, but Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo — a longtime Mahomes nemesis — has a lot to fix in a week’s time.
One mistake on Denver’s part was abandoning the run game early and only having 11 rushing attempts by running backs. Expect the Colts to try to work around Kansas City’s rejuvenated pass rush with a heavy dose of tailback Jonathan Taylor — who totaled 121 scrimmage yards and a pair of touchdowns on Sunday.
wbenk307 asks:
Can we continue to expect that level of domination from our D-line and third down defense? Denver had the best offensive line last season, so I am wondering if this was Week 1 wonkiness or the tone for the rest of the year.
Broncos quarterback Bo Nix might still be having nightmares about Kansas City’s newfound pass rush when the teams meet again in Denver during Week 8. I think what the Chiefs did early on should be taken very seriously.
The most encouraging sign of the Chiefs’ defensive dominance came via the snap counts. Chris Jones, Peter Woods, R Mason Thomas, and Felix Anudike-Uzomah all made their presence felt while playing less than 60% of the defensive snaps. The timeshare approach may not lend itself to individual players putting up huge sack numbers, but the Broncos’ offensive line quickly proved more tired than the Chiefs’ defensive front, with fresh players constantly switched in.
George Karlaftis will assuredly lead the group in defensive snaps most weeks, but I expect his 86% snap count to trend down, likely inversely to Ashton Gillotte’s 27% trending up as his foot heals. The Chiefs have the players in place to imitate the constant rotation that helped the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots advance to last year’s Super Bowl.
Health will ultimately determine Kansas City’s defensive dominance. The Chiefs’ secondary worked around the absence of rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane after the first defensive series. However, an effective pass rush needs top-notch defensive backs to be maximized.
The Chiefs’ defensive line played inspired against Denver, but it remains a group with little depth. With the current roster, even one injury could prove catastrophic to what the Chiefs want to do. Second-year defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott will hopefully return from the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list soon after the bye. We will see if rookie edge rusher Jack Pyburn — recently claimed off waivers — can carve out a role this season. But Monday night’s group missing any round of rotational snaps could leave the defensive line very tired, very fast.
Papajazz asks
What are reasonable expectations going forward?
Week 1 is generally a terrible sample to use for the sweeping predictions people inevitably fire off immediately after. I am not going to predict the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl based on one game. I remain high on the Chiefs as a playoff team that should challenge for the AFC West title. The next few weeks should dictate our expectations.
In the short term, Kansas City came out on top of their seemingly toughest early-season matchup. It would be very disappointing if they enter the bye week (with the Colts, the Miami Dolphins, and the Las Vegas Raiders on tap) at anything less than 4-0.
Thank you for reading this week’s Arrowhead Pride Mailbag! We will be back after the Chiefs’ season continues with the Colts on “Sunday Night Football.” Keep watching The Feed for an opportunity to ask your questions.
