The sky isn’t falling for the Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs may have lost their first game of the season to the New England Patriots Sunday night but that doesn’t mean the sky is falling.

As time expired, the Kansas City Chiefs were forced to watch as Stephen Gostkowski kicked the game winning field goal that gave the New England Patriots a 43-40 win in Foxboro. It was the Chiefs first loss of the season. They made a great comeback in the second half but ultimately came up just short.

There were numerous things you could point to when trying to determine why the Chiefs lost. The two biggest probably being that the defense was, well, bad again and Patrick Mahomes was flat out off in the first half. Despite those issues the Chiefs were close to beating one of the best teams in football on the road. That is why Chiefs fans shouldn’t be too down after this loss.

I understand being frustrated that the Chiefs lost a game that they could have won.

I understand being disappointed that the Chiefs weren’t able to put a stranglehold on the AFC.

I understand wanting to pull your hair out because the defense went right back to being a hot mess one week after looking better against Jacksonville.

I understand wanting to drink yourself into oblivion because Breeland Speaks had Tom Brady in his hands and just let him go.

I get it. I do.

Despite all those things being completely valid, Chiefs fans should still be feeling okay about where their team is. The Chiefs had one of the hardest schedules to start the season in all of the NFL and despite that and despite having a first time starting quarterback they are still 5-1 and have the best record in all of the AFC.

There isn’t a single Chiefs fan that wouldn’t have signed up for that before the season started. They have road wins against the Los Angeles Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Denver Broncos. They still have a one game lead over all the other contenders in the AFC and their only loss is a three point loss to Tom Brady and the Patriots where you gifted them a 24-9 halftime lead.

Plus, the Chiefs have done this while dealing with more than their fair share of injuries. Patrick Mahomes was without two of his starting interior lineman in the second half with Mitch Morse joining the injured ranks with a concussion (and right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is already out). Justin Houston wasn’t able to play Sunday and I think its safe to say Houston wouldn’t have let Brady out of his hands on that late touchdown scamper. Eric Berry has still yet to take the field for the Chiefs this season. In fact, their safety depth is so bad right now that somebody named Josh Shaw was covering Rob Gronkowski on his big catch that set up the Patriots game winning field goal.

Seriously, Josh Shaw?

Look, injuries are part of the NFL and every team has to deal with them, but the fact that the Chiefs were that close with two of their best defensive players (Houston and Berry) not playing and Patrick Mahomes not playing well in the first half is a sign that this team has plenty of room to get better. The fact that they’ve gone 5-1 and took Brady and the Pats down to the wire while still trying to hit their stride is a good thing. You just have to keep the big picture in mind.

We’ve gotten used to Patrick Mahomes making our jaws drop but he’s still a first time starting quarterback in the NFL. He’s going to have bad halves. He’s going to get fooled by things good defenses do that he hasn’t seen before. The idea is that he learns from them and hopefully doesn’t continue to make the same mistakes going forward. Everything we’ve seen from Mahomes points to him being a smart player and when he’s had a bad half like he did against Denver and again against the Patriots he’s answered with a much better second half. The sky is the limit for this kid and I feel every bit as good about him as our quarterback after that game as I did before it, despite the rough first half.

Scary as it sounds (at least for opposing teams), this offense should only get better as the season goes on.

As far as the defense goes, I’m certainly not going to sit here and tell you they’re good. They’re clearly not. However, they were doing their part early until Mahomes threw a pick that the Patriots returned inside the ten yard line. They also did just enough to give Mahomes a chance to get them back in the game down the stretch. Yes, they gave up the game winning drive, but they were playing against Tom Brady for crying out loud! Do you know how many teams he’s led game winning drives on in his career? The Chiefs defense was trying to stop the greatest quarterback of all time on a last minute drive with a bunch of defensive backs that weren’t even supposed to be on this team going into the season.

SERIOUSLY!?!? JOSH. SHAW.

If I was Brett Veach I would be on the phone tomorrow to try and get some safety or linebacker help. I actually think the Chiefs can win with Kendall Fuller, Steven Nelson, and Orlando Scandrick at cornerback. They aren’t great, but they haven’t been near as bad as the safeties and inside linebackers have been. If KC were to trade for someone like Landon Collins AND eventually got Eric Berry back on the field this would be a completely different defense.

I don’t know what to say about the inside linebacker play. Anthony Hitchens was a guy I was excited about coming into the season but he’s been absolute garbage. Reggie Ragland hasn’t been much better and for some reason the Chiefs are still playing Terrance Smith instead of Dorian O’Daniel. I sent out the following tweets this week before the Patriots game and I certainly didn’t see anything Sunday night to make me feel any different.

If the Chiefs think there is someone out there that could help them at inside linebacker I certainly wouldn’t hate them making a deal at that position either (maybe Arizona’s Haason Reddick).

The point is that there is room for this defense to improve. They can definitely execute better even with their current personnel. That’s on Bob Sutton to get these guys to stop trying to do too much and just take care of their assignments. Each guy just needs to do his job. Period. They should get better as more guys get healthy and they can also get better by going out and bringing someone in to help. This isn’t a team that is as good as its going to get this season. They should only continue to improve.

The Chiefs have another tough game next Sunday night against the Cincinnati Bengals in Arrowhead. If they can win that game they will keep their lead for the top seed in the AFC and the schedule definitely gets easier in the second half of the season. This is a team with a TON of upside going forward. They’ve been the best team in the AFC to start the season despite not hitting their stride yet. A three point loss to the Patriots in New England doesn’t change that. So there’s certainly no need for Chiefs fans to being turning into Chicken Little after this loss.

Chiefs fans would be wise to follow the example of New England’s Hall of Fame coach Bill Belichick.

We’re on to Cincinnati.