Arrowhead Pride
Welp… at least we ate well.
On Thanksgiving Day, the Kansas City Chiefs managed to take another step back in the AFC playoff race with a 31-28 road loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
Here are a few Chiefs who stood out on a very rough day.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes: The guy continues to make plays, even when they don’t result in a win. He’s not perfect, but he’s still dragging his team to the cusp of victory each week. Unfortunately, his teammates don’t always come through for him.
Tight end Jared Wiley: The box score only has one catch for four yards — but the tight end was impactful as a blocker, taking over tight end Noah Gray’s duties admirably.
Special teamer Kevin Knowles II and punter Matt Araiza: The punter dropped four of his five punts (and nearly the fifth one) inside the 20-yard line. On consecutive failed offensive drives, Araiza had near-perfect punts — and Knowles was right there to down each of them inside the 5-yard line. Field position matters — and on Thursday, these guys did what they could to flip the field in Kansas City’s favor.
Wide receiver Rashee Rice and tight end Travis Kelce: They combined for eight catches, 137 yards and three touchdowns. The team’s No. 1 wide receiver and history’s No. 1 tight end continue to be the offense’s most reliable playmakers. They generated half of the team’s passing yards, along with 75% of the scores.
Wide receiver Rashee Rice and tight end Travis Kelce: Yes, the wide receiver and tight end are making a rare double-list appearance. For all of their production, each has had critical drops in multiple games this season, which seems to derail a drive like little else can. Down a touchdown against the Cowboys with 11 minutes to go, the Chiefs had a golden opportunity. A good punt return by Nikko Remigio set up a drive that should have tied the score with plenty of time left. Instead, two drops — and a penalty charged to guard Mike Caliendo — led to what was, effectively, a three-and-out. That allowed Dallas to get a two-score lead on its next drive.
Running back Brashard Smith: After making some plays last week, there was hope that the running back was finding his role in the offense. But against Dallas, he was in for only four offensive plays — and never touched the ball. While he did show off his speed on a kick return, the coaches need to find a logical way to use him. Yes.., running back Isiah Pacheco was back in the lineup, so there were fewer snaps to go around. But that shouldn’t mean that one of Kansas City’s fastest playmakers should be sidelined.
Head coach Andy Reid: The offense punted on both second-quarter drives and both third-quarter drives. All four of those punts were between the Kansas City 49-yard line and the Dallas 35-yard line. After sacks and penalties pushed them to...
