Reasons for Hope/Reasons for Concern

[frozenchief]

Today's game really highlighted reasons for hope and concern for KC.

Hope:

1. Mahomes. Duh. Who else would be reason #1 for hope? He's the best player in the league and as he matures, he is able to cover his mistakes better and better. Today, he threw three picks, although 2 were off deflections and 1 was an incredible one-handed interception. He took a sack for a 30 yard loss. Yet it never felt like we were out of it. And when Miami only got 10 points off our mistakes, you knew that was going to hurt them.

2. Kelce/Hill. This is the best pass receiving tandem in the league. Having these two with Mahomes means that as long as they are healthy and playing, we are never out of a game.

3. Playcalling/Coaching. Reid and company have done a great job of calling plays and putting our talent into position to win. Andy's time management issues have seemingly diminished when he's had the best quarterback in NFL history.

Concern:

1. O-Line. We saw it the last couple of weeks when we couldn't stuff in someone from the 1 yard line. We see it this week when our run game is anemic at best. I get that there have been injuries, including Mitchel Schwartz who is one of the best, if not the best, RTs in the league. And I expect our O-line to improve upon his return. LDT, while not great, knew the scheme and would have made a difference this year. I get there are reasons, but our O-line is a reason for concern.

2. Running game. This goes along with #1, but our run game is not in the same league as our passing game by a wide margin. We have not had a true threatening running game since Kareem Hunt left. CEH has had flashes of brilliance but he's had other games where he's disappeared. Based on play over this entire season, if we were down receivers or played in horrendous weather and had to rely upon our running game, that is cause for concern. Someone is inevitably going to say, "We beat Buffalo with our running game so you are a moron." We beat Buffalo because Buffalo determined they would not lose to the passing game. So the box was always light against the run. We ran numerous RPOs against Buffalo and given how Buffalo was keeping many defenders deep or ready to defend against the pass, PM went with the run. I admit we beat Buffalo on the ground but a large part of that was Buffalo saying that they were not going to let us beat them in the air.

3. We don't play a whole game. Time and time again I see this team do really well for a portion of a game and seemingly step off the gas. I see Reid call some plays showing that he is not letting off the gas, so it isn't just that Andy gets conservative. Rather, it seems that once we get up by enough points, execution just gets soft. Hardman had a great catch and run today and then fumbles it away. We go up by 18 and then suddenly we see Thompson a lot more. I know that if we have Mahomes, Kelce and Hill we are never out of it. And I know that this game wound up with a score that was closer than the game felt. I just think that playing against playoff-calibre opponents in a one-and-done system, that has the potential to catch us sleeping and then we are finished.

This sweet and sour balance makes for an interesting time watching the Chiefs. I also hope that we address some of these issues (*cough* OL *cough*) in the off season.