The Kansas City Chiefs were supposed to win yesterday’s game agains the Los Angeles Chargers, just like they were supposed to win most of their games this year. The Chiefs entered this game as slight favorites based on their history and home-field advantage, but instead they slowly let the Chargers take control of the game and wound up losing, 16-13.
That wasn’t the big story, though. Kansas City lost quarterback Patrick Mahomes to a devastating left knee injury that was later reported to be an ACL tear, and losing Mahomes added yet another question to an offseason that will be full them, with the biggest being “what’s next?”
Nate Taylor of ESPN offered some thoughts about this in the site’s aggregate Sunday wrap-up, and one was that coach Andy Reid might have to make changes to his staff after the offensive struggles that hindered the team for much of the second half of the season.
Taylor also mentioned improving the team’s running game, which isn’t exactly a new suggestion. Running backs Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt have struggled to make big plays, and passing on New York Jets running back Breece Hall may have been the Chiefs’ biggest mistake of the season.
As a result, Mahomes was left to do it all himself, and it finally caught up to the Chiefs and their quarterback. The pivotal mistake that Taylor pointed out was a late red-zone interception that took away the Kansas City’s chance to tie the game, 16-16, with a field goal.
In a separate piece, Taylor mentioned the lackluster pass rush and possibly finding a new tight end if Travis Kelce retires. Another Taylor source also suggest that the Chiefs should pursue a big receiver who can make plays on the boundary, which would be a welcome shift in the passing game. A competent backup quarterback will also be on the list given Mahomes’ injury and Gardner Minshew’s inept performance yesterday, but another big question going forward will be how much needs to be done given the Chiefs 1-7 record in close games.
One executive from another AFC team quoted by Taylor said a lot of this was just the result of too much cumulative football over the Chiefs’ extended run of excellence. The Chiefs have played 81 games in the last four years, which is the most in the league, and the result has been more penalties, more drops and more unforced errors.
“They've just looked tired," the executive said.