The Kansas City Chiefs are at a perfect 4-0. But are they any good? | Kansas City Chiefs

Any coach in any sport will inform you {that a} win is a win: irrespective of the way you get there, it’s a very good factor. However how good can the defending Tremendous Bowl champion Kansas Metropolis Chiefs really feel about their 4-0 begin this season after Sunday’s scratchy 17-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers?

Sure, the Chiefs are undefeated, however their level differential of +20 reveals simply how susceptible they’ve been and so they might simply be 1-3 – or worse – if a number of performs had gone in another way in every of their video games this season. This Chiefs group appears to be like like final season’s, after they needed to hope for Patrick Mahomes to get scorching on the proper time in an uneven offense with thriller receivers.

By way of Kansas Metropolis’s first three wins, even future Corridor of Fame tight finish Travis Kelce was feeling the burn: he had caught simply eight passes on 13 targets for 69 yards and no touchdowns. Within the week main as much as the Chargers recreation, head coach Andy Reid stated he was utilizing Kelce as a decoy to get different receivers (notably Rashee Rice) open. And when Rice suffered what appeared to be a severe knee harm early on this recreation, Kelce responded with seven catches on 9 targets for 89 yards.

Even this got here with a darkish underpinning. Preliminary studies point out that Rice might have suffered a season-ending torn ACL, which might be an additional devastating blow to the Chiefs’ passing recreation.

Then there’s the matter of 1 Patrick Lavon Mahomes II.

Final season, Mahomes was the NFL’s worst deep passer. Even if the Chiefs received their third Tremendous Bowl in 5 seasons, Mahomes accomplished simply 24 of 76 passes of 20+ air yards for 817 yards, main to 2 touchdowns, six interceptions, and a passer score of 49.1 (the league’s lowest score amongst quarterbacks who took a minimum of 50% of their groups’ snaps). Coming into Sunday, Reid and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy hadn’t given Mahomes too many alternatives to chuck it deep this time round. Mahomes had accomplished 4 of simply seven deep makes an attempt for 171 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, and a passer score of 101.8. The improved effectivity is good, however turning somebody with Mahomes’s interstellar expertise right into a checkdown artist appears reductive at finest.

Mahomes did hit rookie pace receiver Xavier Worthy for a 54-yard landing within the second quarter towards the Chargers, however apart from that, these explosive passes got here few and much between on Sunday.

Are the Chiefs in an identical spot to final season – after they need to depend on Steve Spagnuolo’s protection to even get into the playoffs – whereas Mahomes offers with an unsure receiving corps outdoors Kelce? We’ll know much more because the Chiefs go into a very robust a part of their schedule: they face tough defenses – the New Orleans Saints, the San Francisco 49ers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Denver Broncos, and Buffalo Payments – in 5 of their subsequent six video games. Las Vegas present what often is the solely “get effectively” recreation, and also you by no means know which Raiders protection you’re going to get.

So sure, a win is a win. However to paraphrase George Orwell in Animal Farm, some wins are extra equal than others.

MVP of the week

Baker Mayfield, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Coming into Sunday’s recreation towards the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Vic Fangio’s Philadelphia Eagles protection had performed no cornerbacks in press protection on 88% of its snaps, by far the best fee within the league. Many of the NFL is present process a return to the old-school press protection of prior eras, the place cornerbacks are manned up on receivers from the snap via the route, as a result of there are such a lot of extra fast throws. And while you don’t have time to disrupt the quarterback, you had higher disrupt the receivers.

Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen had actually studied the Eagles’ passive protection tendencies, and most probably believed that Mayfield might have a area day towards Philly, which is strictly what occurred. In a 33-16 Bucs win, Mayfield accomplished 30 of 47 passes for 347 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Mayfield additionally had a dashing landing within the recreation, and when he was actually dealing as a passer you noticed how Tampa Bay’s passing recreation was capable of exploit Philly’s preferences for enjoying their cornerbacks yards off the road of scrimmage.

Mayfield’s efficiency might have been a easy instance of his making the most of an unprepared protection, however he’s by no means performed higher in his NFL profession.

Video of the week

Talking of the Eagles, they need to have recognized they had been in bother earlier than the sport even began. At Raymond James Stadium, the Bucs are well-known for taking pictures cannons as a part of their pregame ceremonies, and that actually spooked Philadelphia tight finish Dallas Goedert.

Goedert did catch seven passes on eight targets for 62 yards within the recreation, however maybe he would have performed much more with out the trauma.

Stat of the week

-7. That’s what number of yards Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix threw for within the first half of his group’s recreation towards the New York Jets at a rain-sodden MetLife Stadium. Amazingly, Nix managed that complete on seven completions. Nix wasn’t significantly better within the second half, finishing 12 of 25 passes total for 60 yards, a landing, no interceptions, and a passer score of 67.9. And one way or the other, the Broncos beat the Jets, 10-9. Aaron Rodgers was hardly stellar himself, partly as a result of he was sacked 5 occasions by Denver’s aggressive, hyper-blitzing protection.

Nix made some attention-grabbing historical past. Per Professional Soccer Reference, there hasn’t been an NFL quarterback since 1950 on the successful finish of a recreation throwing 60 or fewer yards on 25 or extra makes an attempt.

Elsewhere across the league

– The 1992 San Diego Chargers are the one NFL group to start their season with an 0-4 file and nonetheless make the postseason. Bobby Ross’s group again then is the one hope for head coach Doug Pederson’s Jacksonville Jaguars, who’ve that very same ignominious mark after Sunday’s heartbreaking 24-20 loss to the Houston Texans.

The Jags collapsed spectacularly final season, inflicting them to spend decisively in free company, and the choice was made to present alleged franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence a five-year, $275m contract extension. “Make no mistake: that is the very best group assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars ever,” Jags proprietor Shad Khan stated earlier than the season started. “Finest gamers. Finest coaches. However most significantly, let’s show it by successful now.” There’s been no successful to date. Pederson might need to mirror Ross’s unbelievable comeback to outlive this mess.

— One week after they demolished the Dallas Cowboys’ run protection, the Baltimore Ravens had been at it once more on Sunday evening towards the Buffalo Payments. Within the first half alone, Baltimore ran the ball 14 occasions for 146 yards, together with this Derrick Henry 87-yard landing run early within the first quarter.

Henry is 30 and had 2,251 profession carries coming into this recreation, so all of the age and workload warnings affected his worth this previous offseason. He wound up signing a two-year, $16m contract with Baltimore with simply $9m assured, however he’s as ridiculously quick as he’s all the time been. Per Subsequent Gen Stats, Henry reached a most pace of 21.29 mph on his landing run. Henry has reached or exceeded 20 mph 27 occasions as a ballcarrier since 2018, trailing solely Tyreek Hill, who has 73 such performs.

Henry completed his day with 199 dashing yards on 24 carries because the Ravens evened their file at 2-2, dominating the previously undefeated Payments in a 35-10 win. The mixture of Henry, Lamar Jackson’s excessive menace as a runner, and Baltimore’s smaller backs like Justice Hill and Keaton Mitchell (who’s quickly coming back from harm and was wonderful in 2023) – to not point out an excellent offensive line – make Baltimore’s run recreation robust to deal with.

— Of their first three video games of the season, Brian Flores’s Minnesota Vikings protection had allowed simply 30 complete factors, the fewest towards any NFL protection since 1998. It was a extra combined bag on Sunday because the Vikings held on to beat the Packers 31-29. However Flores has proven he’s a high-quality defensive thoughts. Inexperienced Bay QB Jordan Love was in a nightmare within the first-half, thanks partly to Flores’s schemes, finishing simply 12 of 24 passes for 118 yards, one landing, two interceptions, and a passer score of 43.4. The Vikings constructed up a 28-0 first half lead. Then, within the second half, Packers head coach and offensive shot-caller Matt LaFleur (additionally among the finest within the enterprise) threw a shot at Flores with a ton of no-huddle performs, which compelled Minnesota to play extra base defenses with fewer wrinkles.

There isn’t one factor Flores adheres to on the expense of anything. Flores prefers zone protection to man, however how he will get to his protection shells is very devious. It’s the uncommon play when Flores’ cornerbacks and safeties don’t begin in a single spot within the formation pre-snap, after which cost shortly to dramatically totally different positions after the ball is snapped. As a lot as any defensive coach at any degree of soccer, Flores has taken the NFL’s new preferences for pre-snap movement and tough receiver distribution, and thrown these concepts proper again within the faces of these offenses.

Is Flores the NFL’s finest defensive coordinator? Proper now, you’d be onerous pressed to place anybody above him. Whether or not that will get him one other shot at a head teaching job is debatable, given his lawsuit with the NFL and the aftermath of his tough relationship with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa throughout his time answerable for Miami.

— Anthony Richardson was dominated out for the remainder of the Colts-Steelers recreation after two large hits within the first quarter. Richardson is a transcendent expertise who, at this level in his profession, veers sharply between the spectacular and the ridiculous. One factor he wants to resolve is his proclivity for working straight into onerous contact. Most cellular quarterbacks have discovered when to slip and in any other case keep away from hits; Richardson doesn’t appear to have gotten the memo but.

In his rookie season of 2023, Richardson missed all however 4 video games with a mess of accidents, and until one thing modifications, the story might be comparable this time round.

The Colts turned to veteran backup Joe Flacco, who will rejoice his fortieth birthday in January. Flacco accomplished 16 of 26 passes for 168 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer score of 105.9 within the 27-24 win over Pittsburgh. Going again to his 2023 stint as Deshaun Watson’s harm substitute with the Cleveland Browns, Flacco holds the NFL’s longest streak of video games with two or extra passing touchdowns. You might have received a whole lot of bets with that titbit. Additionally, per Baltimore Ravens PR, Flacco has helped his group win video games with Baltimore, the group that misplaced a group to Baltimore (the Browns), and the group that left Baltimore (the Colts). Should you play within the NFL lengthy sufficient, time is certainly a flat circle.