Kansas City Chiefs grades: offensive disaster
By Andrew Jones
Defense: C
The defense did what it could. It didn’t do it very well but without Marcus Peters and with Dee Ford leaving early due to injury, allowing 12 points through 3.5 quarters isn’t terrible. The defense consistently gets put in terrible positions by the offense and by the end they are completely exhausted. Think if he didn’t have to work so hard and often in Carolina that Peters might have been on the field Sunday. The defense forced fourth down in the redzone which for most teams is good enough to win. Who knew that one of the worst kickers in the league would go 4 for 4 on field goals and hit his only extra point attempt on a day where kickers were missing everything?
The reason this unit gets a C is because Tampa started an offensive line of backups and got zero sacks. Their only turnover occurred on a fluke fumble by Jameis Winston where he tried not to throw and it slipped out of his hand. They allowed 11-of-16 third downs to be converted including a game sealing third and three. Still good enough to win with an offense that actually produces but not what we expect from a “championship” defense.
Special Teams: A-
Still the unit that functions well when everything else is going bad. Dustin Colquitt had an especially good day punting. Without Tyreek Hill in coverage however it was tough to stop one of the bigger returns. Cairo Santos was again solid in kicking under pressure. It seems like he is always under pressure with his kicks but we have yet to blame Santos for any game lost and that is the mark of a good kicker. The only area of special teams that struggled was the return game. Only Hill managed to get the ball past the 25-yard line on a kick return.