Arrowhead Pride
Five Things We Learned in NFL Week 2: Chiefs Are No Longer Among NFL’s Elite | SI
The Eagles usually have to do more than lean on the tush push to beat the legitimate contenders, but it’s been easy for them to push around the Chiefs in their past two meetings, including Sunday’s 20–17 win and the Super Bowl LIX rout.
Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean the Chiefs are no longer contenders because of the very concerning 0–2 start. But it’s safe to say they have become inferior competition for the undefeated Eagles.
The Chiefs appeared helpless whenever the Eagles had a short-yardage situation. No one on the Eagles’ offense seemed concerned about having to convert on fourth-and-1 near the goal line after Jalen Hurts was ruled short in the fourth quarter. As for the Chiefs, they probably longed for the days when teams settled for field goals instead of going for it on fourth down. Of course, Hurts got the touchdown on the following play for a 20–10 advantage with 7:48 left in regulation.
What matters (and doesn’t) from the Chiefs’ 0-2 start: Sando’s Pick Six | The Athletic
“I don’t think there is a crisis being 0-2 when you play two good teams to start,” a coach from another team said, “but it does not look like they had the rigorous four-week training camp at the away college that hardly anyone else goes to anymore, when I look at the timing of their offense.”
Speaking of timing, before this season, Mahomes was 41-2 in the 43 games when he got rid of the football the quickest (2.6 seconds or less), per TruMedia. He was usually in rhythm and on point in those games, not running for his survival and trying to make heroic plays.
Mahomes is 0-2 this season when unloading the ball that fast, falling to the Chargers (Mahomes’ eighth quickest time-to-throw start, 2.31 seconds) and on Sunday to the Eagles (his 25th-quickest throwing game, 2.47).
NFL Week 2 grades, results: Lions, Ravens get perfect marks as Jets fail massively | CBS Sports
C- Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes showed lots of spirit as a scrambler early on, all but carrying the Chiefs’ stagnant offense. Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite match the energy through the air, trying but often failing to stretch the field against a stingy Eagles defense until it was too late. Steve Spagnuolo’s own defense prevented Philly from hitting any home run plays, but K.C. also had no answers for the “Tush Push.” This group needs a spark.
NFL Week 3 panic meter: Bears, Bengals raising alarms; Chiefs, Giants merit patience | NFL.com
The Chiefs haven’t been 0-2 since 2014, which was back when quarterback Patrick Mahomes was a freshman at Texas Tech. Mahomes also is enduring his first three-game losing streak in the NFL, when you add February’s Super Bowl humbling to Kansas City’s first two defeats of this season....
