http://sports.yahoo.com/news/chiefs-...220558032.html
Chiefs seeing red after loss hurts chances to win tight AFC West race
If the Kansas City Chiefs are going to emerge from the three-card monte that is the AFC West, they’re going to have to avoid two things: losing to teams below them and missing on chances to score points.
Both happened Sunday.
The Chiefs inexplicably blew a chance to push the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders, playing later in Week 11, with a game they should have won. But the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — imagine this — were the more poised and efficient team on Sunday in a 19-17 win over the Chiefs.
That’s saying a lot. The Bucs have been a wild affair this season, replete with turnovers, defensive breakdowns and The Roberto Aguayo Experience. But Aguyao, on a day when kickers lost their ability to kick league-wide, was a perfect 4-of-4, and the Chiefs couldn’t count on them beating themselves.
Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs lost a tough game Sunday. (AP)
Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs lost a tough game Sunday. (AP)
More
This is a team that had won 10 straight at Arrowhead, but the Chiefs are just not a dynamic offensive team right now. In addition to bogging down in the red zone (2-for-4 on Sunday, after 0-for-6 the previous two games), they also gave away points when Alex Smith was picked in the end zone by Bucs safety Chris Conte with 12 minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
That was a back breaker, and Smith couldn’t get the ball back in time to make a charge for a late field goal. It might not have mattered. The Chiefs ran 52 plays Sunday, and 49 of them went for 17 yards or shorter. Jeremy Maclin’s absence made a difference, but even with him on the field the Chiefs can’t afford to not capitalize on drive and give teams such as the Buccaneers chances.
Despite some shaky moments from Jameis Winston, he often diced the Chiefs up. The Bucs converted 69 percent of their third-down attempts against the Chiefs, which — like their red-zone troubles on offense — is a disturbing trend that is going on three weeks now.
Now the Chiefs have four of their final six games against AFC West teams. The good news is that they can take care of business in games that matter more than this one. The bad news? They’ll have a very hard time doing so with efforts such as these.
– – – – – – –
Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at
[email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
Media knows