The Chiefs loss to the Giants brings up more questions than ever

The Kansas City Chiefs have some serious issues, and the loss to the New York Giants made it more apparent than ever.

In case you missed it, last week I wrote a column titled “Why the Giants will beat the Chiefs” And boy has it never felt worse to be right.

The Giants, despite a 29th ranked defense, won a defensive battle against the Chiefs who ranked top 10 in offense going into week 11. The offense even had a chance to redeem themselves in overtime with first possession of the ball.

On 2nd and 10 Laurent Duvernay-Tardif was called for holding and wiped out an 8-yard run by Kareem Hunt. The run would have made it 3rd and 2. Instead the Chiefs were backed up 2 yards and after 5 total yards in 2 passes on offense, the Chiefs punted the game. The Giants marched down the field and kicked an easy 23-yard field goal for the win.

You can bash Alex Smith all you want for those 5 yards on 2nd and 12 and 3rd and 10, but those were Andy Reid’s play calls. There’s no reason, especially on 3rd and 10, that there should even be a call for a play at the line of scrimmage. Reid must have had confidence the defense wouldn’t allow the Giants to march down the field. But that is not how you play in overtime against a 1-8 team when you’ve been 1-4 over your last 5 games. That is playing to lose.

As pointed out by Nick Jacobs:

Hill was targeted just one time on a route further than 1 yard past the line of scrimmage. That is insane considering Hill’s speed and ability. Also considering the Giants had been one of the worst teams in the league on 20+ yard throws.

Alex Smith didn’t play well this game. There is no argument there. However, you can not discount the playcalling when it comes to how the offense was performing. Conservative playcalling has killed this team. The offense plays like it’s scared to make a mistake when its got three of the better offensive weapons in the game.

Another thing that has to fall on Reid’s shoulders is the penalties. The Chiefs are 3rd in the NFL in penalties with 81. They are on pace for the most penalties under Reid, and has gotten progressively worse since his 2nd season in 2014. Back then the Chiefs had the 4th fewest penalties in the league. Conservative playcalling and frequent penalties will not win you football games.

Reid needs to start seeing that the season is on the line, and if he doesn’t change things up himself. Then he’s in danger of losing a lot more than just the season.

I don’t have any fancy analytics or stats to tell you where the Chiefs need to improve here or there. Even when Reid has had some good play calls the team has had issues consistently performing. Bob Sutton has had a top 10 defense every year so far in his four full seasons in K.C. There’s no reason to assume he’s suddenly fallen off a cliff of competency. Players aren’t executing, and the coaches aren’t adapting.

Everyone needs to look themselves in the mirror and figure out whatever is plaguing them. And the question that has been asked a lot over the last few weeks continues to repeat itself.

Who are these Kansas City Chiefs?

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