Arrowhead Pride
Let’s see how Kansas City is ranked after its first loss of the season.
Here’s a summary of this week’s comments about the Kansas City Chiefs...
Don’t overreact about Kansas City’s first loss, which didn’t happen until almost Thanksgiving; it felt like it was coming for the past several weeks. The Chiefs came down to earth, losing a rare two-possession game at Buffalo. [That means] we’ve gone from talking about an unbeaten season to suddenly wondering if Kansas City will end up with a first-round bye in the playoffs. [But] now, the Chiefs know precisely what they can and cannot get away with. [For example]: Rashee Rice was off to a great start to the season, leading the NFL with 24 receptions and the second-most receiving yards (288) before Week 4. [Now, however,] they got Xavier Worthy going against the Bills. That will be big down the line. [Since] Andy Reid needs 62 more wins to pass Don Shula and become the NFL’s all-time winningest coach in the regular season, they’ll just shrug and keep going. Three of the next four games are against teams at least four games below .500 — which should mean bonus tickets at Arrowhead in late January.
Here’s this week’s sampling — some of which may sound familiar:
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If the Chiefs had won Sunday, they might have all but wrapped up the AFC’s No. 1 seed. Now that race is in doubt, with the Bills on their tails and the Steelers a few lengths back (a Week 17 meeting in Pittsburgh looms). So we’ve gone from talking about an unbeaten season to suddenly wondering if Kansas City will end up with a first-round bye in the playoffs. We know from history that only matters so much; for two of their three Super Bowl wins during the Andy Reid era, the Chiefs were not the conference’s top seed. Taking the long, hard road to a third straight Super Bowl title is still a big, big ask, even for this legendary dynasty. The most difficult part about Sunday’s defeat to Buffalo is that some of the big dogs came up short. Patrick Mahomes threw two tough picks, Travis Kelce was held in check, DeAndre Hopkins was quiet and the vaunted defense did not perform up to its typical standard.
— Eric Edholm
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Preseason hot seat: WR Rashee Rice
Current temperature of hot seat: Cold
Rice was off to a great start to the season, leading the NFL with 24 receptions and the second-most receiving yards (288) before Week 4. Then he injured his right knee in an accidental collision with Patrick Mahomes and had posterolateral corner surgery in early October. The concern before the season was Rice’s legal troubles, which still haven’t been resolved. But he was crucial as the Chiefs’ leading receiver prior to his injury.
— Adam Teicher
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**Head coach seat temperature...
