A loss that shakes: The Chiefs must prove they are not who they now appear to be

[Hammock Parties]

Most ominous shit Sam has ever written

https://www.kansascity.com/sports/sp...223500455.html

SEATTLE

Do this job long enough and the signs make themselves obvious. The worst losses have a different sound afterward, the busy silence occasionally broken up by a locker door slamming, or team leaders declining to talk to reporters, or hope for hope’s sake.

The losses that sting make clear the difference between a team that’s earned the AFC’s No. 1 seed and a team that might still wear that title despite itself.

The moments that shake are the difference between a team that lost, and these Chiefs who lost their swagger after a 38-31 nationally televised loss here to the Seahawks.

“It seems extreme right now but that’s not the reality of it,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “Just a fix a couple things and we’ll be alright.”

He might be right. Actually, that’s not true. He is right. Just a couple things. The Chiefs have now lost four games, by a total of 10 points, each of them decided in one form or another late in the fourth quarter.

They’ve lost to two AFC teams. The Patriots have lost three of five, and the Chargers have led the Chiefs for exactly 4 of 7,200 seconds this season. The Chiefs play the Raiders at home next week, which is the closest thing the NFL offers to a week 17 bye. Win that and the Chiefs have the No. 1 seed.

So, Reid is right. Just a couple things. This is not a disaster.

But you sure can see disaster from here.

“You have to find a way to win these games,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “We haven’t been lately, so that’s the most frustrating thing. Everybody’s got to step up.”

Repeat: Just a couple things. We’ll be alright.

That works enough as coach speak in a postgame press conference, words that nobody in the room believes tell the whole story, but let’s play along. A couple things.

One would be the run defense. The Seahawks ran for the most predictable 210 yards in NFL history. Up the middle, around the edge, quarterback Russell Wilson on a scramble. Whatever. It all worked.

One would be the pass defense. The Chiefs again could not cover, and when they did cover, they could not make the play. They made up for all of that by missing far too many tackles.

One would be penalties. They padded their league-leading total with eight more, including one on a missed field goal and four others that gave the Seahawks first downs.

One would be the offense. Nobody wants to admit it, but this is two games in a row the offense has not been good enough. Last week against the Chargers, they needed one first down on their last possession. They went three and out. This week, they managed just 10 points with two turnovers (one that gifted the Seahawks a touchdown) before halftime. They had five possessions in which they punted or turned it over within three plays.

This team was always going as far as the offense would take it, whether that’s fair or not, and the last two weeks the offense hasn’t been good enough.

That’s four things, which is technically more than “a couple,” but this is no time for nitpicking so let’s get to the point.

Do you have confidence the Chiefs will fix these problems? And if so, why? How?

The Chiefs are in a precarious place. They are the probable No. 1 seed, even still, and are giving seldom-used rookie defensive backs the ol’ screw-it-how-much-worse-could-they-be opportunities in week 16 road games.

They have been the AFC’s best team for virtually the entire season, but at this point that feels more like an indictment on the rest of the conference than a reason to be confident in the Chiefs.

Assuming they beat the Raiders next week — and if they don’t, they’ve got much bigger problems — we are still three weeks from the Chiefs’ next real test.

And the heck of it is that Reid is factually accurate. They’re not that far off. The NFL’s gravitational pull means parody rules the day, always has, and the Chiefs will likely have homefield advantage, the best quarterback, and the best offense in the field.

That is an incredible place to be, particularly in what the organization originally forecasted as a transition year.

But the Chiefs are trending the wrong way, at the wrong time. That offense isn’t as dynamic as it once was. Eric Berry is playing again, but most of the biggest problems on defense still exist, even when he’s not on the sideline during the most important moments.

The Chiefs have everything in front of them, even still.

But the truth is a lot of their fans are terrified of what that means.

[In58men]

I thought this game didn’t matter?

[lcarus]

Our offense can afford to not score on a couple possessions. Hell we forced Seattle to punt 3 times and held them to a missed FG (twice if we don't rough the kicker). What we CAN'T afford to do is fumble the ball at our own 20 yard line like we did last night. That's too much to overcome with this defense.

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Zero confidence


They won’t fix a damn thing.

...says the guy who pimps our opponents, and predicts losses before the game.
.

Go away Deberg downer...,, go cheer for the Chargers

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by notorious

will pail in comparison

That's the spirit of the thread. . . .

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by stevieray

...says the guy who pimps our opponents, and predicts losses before the game.
.

Go away Deberg downer...,, go cheer for the Chargers

So you think things will change?

[notorious]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

That's the spirit of the thread. . . .

I know. I was too lazy to look up the spelling.

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

So you think things will change?

Not on defense. We are ****ed just got to hope the offense scores on every possession even then we could still lose.

[O.city]

As much as the defense sucked down the stretch, they kept them in the game early when the offense was sputtering.

You aren’t going in there and turning it over twice and commuting a penalty on a play to give them more points and winning

That’s what they can’t do in the playoffs

[Pushead2]

I hate that people keep lumping the offense into this - please stop.

[bobbything]

Originally Posted by lcarus

Our offense can afford to not score on a couple possessions. Hell we forced Seattle to punt 3 times and held them to a missed FG (twice if we don't rough the kicker). What we CAN'T afford to do is fumble the ball at our own 20 yard line like we did last night. That's too much to overcome with this defense.

5 touchdowns, 1 field goal, 3 punts, 1 missed field goal. The missed field goal they were still in position to score. That was pure luck and had nothing to do with the defense.

These are horrible stats for a defense. Seattle averages over 4 punts per game. They punt a lot. We forced 3 punts. Three.

This offense is really good but they are not capable of carrying the team game in and game out. And I'll keep saying it, I will not listen to any argument regarding the deficiencies of this team if the word "offense" is muttered. We hung 31 points on a playoff team, on the road, and still lost by 7. This defense is a bag of shit and should be humiliated each and every week.

Edit: Sorry, there were three punts by Seattle. I thought there were just two. My mistake.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

The saddest part of this defensive shit show is that the AFC will never be as winnable as it is now. Every team has serious flaws, and we’ve got home field advantage there on a plate.

Chiefs: awful defense, can’t win with them
Patriots: not really good in any one area, bad defense
Texans: awful OL, lack of offensive weapons, inconsistent defense
Ravens: can they pass with any consistency?
Chargers: probably most complete team but they Charger’d it up Saturday
Colts: not talented enough yet on either side of the ball IMO
Titans: see Ravens

And yet we’re still gonna **** this up with the blood all over Bobby Sutton’s hands.

[CoMoChief]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Zero confidence


They won’t fix a damn thing.

this

[NJChiefsFan]

Originally Posted by In58men

I thought this game didn’t matter?

Plenty of people felt it was important. Go read that thread again.

Originally Posted by Pushead2

I hate that people keep lumping the offense into this - please stop.

It depends on what the point is. Fair or not, if we expect to win, the offense is going to have to play better. That doesn't mean they suck. It just means that for this defense to be overcome, the offense is going to have to score 35 plus against good teams.

Did the offense play well and did the offense play well enough to overcome this defense are two different discussions.

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by bobbything

Two punts. Not three. 5 touchdowns, 1 field goal, 2 punts, 1 missed field goal. The missed field goal they were still in position to score. That was pure luck and had nothing to do with the defense.

These are horrible stats for a defense. Seattle averages over 4 punts per game. They punt a lot. We forced 2 punts. Two.

This offense is really good but they are not capable of carrying the team game in and game out. And I'll keep saying it, I will not listen to any argument regarding the deficiencies of this team if the word "offense" is muttered. We hung 31 points on a playoff team, on the road, and still lost by 7. This defense is a bag of shit and should be humiliated each and every week.

When you break it down like that. ****

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

So you think things will change?

ya, it's hilarious..amirite? I mean it's SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO funny.


I don't think YOU will change.

Go be a Chargers an.