The failure of the Kansas City Chiefs this season was definitely a group effort, but some players failed more than other. These are the three key players whose struggles and ultimate failure was most important, along with a note or two about their fate going forward.
Chris Jones, defensive tackle. One of the lasting images from this Kansas City season will be Jones loafing on the Trevor Lawrence run from a yard out as the Jacksonville Jaguars sent the Chiefs on their downward spiral. Jones denied his lack of hustle, then finally owned up to it a week later, but the damage was done.
If you’d prefer the view from 10,000 feet, you can look at Jones as the guy who got paid and then didn’t produce. Yes, he faced double teams on nearly every play, but that never stopped him from making big plays in the past. Jones is still just 31, so if he can turn things around it would go a long way to prevent the kind of problems Kansas City had in one-score games this year.
Isiah Pacheco, running back. We were told that Pacheco was finally healthy this year, so it was natural to expect the kind of big performance he seemed capable of and go beyond the occasionally flashes of promise.
Instead, it never happened, and you have to wonder what will happen to Pacheco next year. Running back Brashard Smith played well in the final game of the season against the Raiders after Pacheco was put on injured reserve, and he’ll get a longer look in camp this summer.
Pacheco always seems to be nicked up somehow, but the Chiefs simply can’t afford to carry him next season if he’s not bringing it in every game.
Rashee Rice, receiver. No Chief has a stranger season than Rice, who started the season with a six-game suspension for his role in a traffic incident that put multiple others in hospital due to his reckless speeding.
Rice was penitent when he returned, and for a while it looked like the Chiefs receiver was going to come together and constantly produce big plays. But this, too, didn’t happen due to subsequent injuries to receiver Xavier Worthy, and while Rice did have some big games, he had just as many crucial drops that were instruments in several of those close losses.