Arrowhead Pride
After the Kansas City Chiefs collected a 37-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday afternoon, the team has generally edged up in the national rankings. One outlet moved Kansas City from 12th to fourth!
Here’s this week’s sampling:
(up from 11)
It wasn’t hard to see the Xavier Worthy effect on this offense in Kansas City’s 37-20 win over Baltimore. His mere presence helped open things up, and Worthy averaged a scalding 17.3 yards per touch in his first game back from a Week 1 shoulder injury. When Patrick Mahomes has a trustworthy offensive line in front of him and playmakers to throw to, Kansas City’s usually in good shape. Even the running backs did some damage against the Ravens’ troubled defense, which was a nice sign. The Chiefs’ defense also did its job, with Chris Jones turning in a star performance after attending his aunt’s funeral in Mississippi. At 2-2, Andy Reid and Co. aren’t out of the woods yet, but this game announced they’re not going anywhere.
— Eric Edholm
(up from 9)
Biggest issue on offense: Running back production
After the return of speedy receiver Xavier Worthy — and the upcoming return of No. 1 receiver Rashee Rice in Week 7 — the last major issue for the Chiefs is their rushing attack. Kansas City is able to get some production on the ground, but none of it is coming from the running backs. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes still leads the team in rushing with 130 yards, and the Chiefs’ longest designed run this season (35 yards) was from Worthy on an end around. The Chiefs could consider adding another running back before the league’s trade deadline.
— Nate Taylor
(up from 12)
Rookie spotlight: Josh Simmons
The first-round tackle has started every game and played almost every snap in Kansas City, and he may finally stabilize the left tackle spot for the Chiefs. However, he hasn’t been perfect. Simmons has allowed nine pressures this year, which is the seventh most among rookies with at least 100 pass-blocking snaps. Still, the Chiefs put up a season-high 382 yards on Sunday.
— Josh Kendall
(up from 12)
Patrick Mahomes is now throwing at about a 2.5 second per dropback clip. That’s almost 0.03 seconds faster than he was averaging in 2020. The evolution of Mahomes into a quick-game artist is underscored by the fact that he can still throw the deep ball better than any quarterback in the NFL. The Chiefs look fully recovered — and before offensive reinforcements even arrive.
— Conor Orr
(up from 11)
Don’t ever write off Patrick Mahomes.
— Mike Florio
(up from 12)
The four-touchdown passing game from Patrick Mahomes against the Ravens had an old-time feel to it for this offense. It’s amazing what having speed outside can do for a quarterback.
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