Chiefs and Chargers both prove Week 1 is an NFL experiment

The Chiefs and Chargers both had stats that made fans second guess what was happening in Week 1.

One week into the season, NFL fans from coast to coast are searching for meaning in the early numbers. With Week 1 in the books, each franchise has fans asking for answers to brand new questions that have surfaced after seeing how things look for the first time in 2020.

It’s easy to understand and even the members of Chiefs Kingdom are scratching their heads over some things about the team’s opening win over the Houston Texans. Everyone is, of course, happy at the final results in the dominant 34-20 victory; rather, it’s about our feeble attempts to discern patterns and redefine expectations after some surprises came out in Week 1.

Here’s what is important to remember for all NFL fans: Week 1 is an experiment of sorts. Even a veteran team intent that brought back a ridiculous number of starters and players from a Super Bowl run is capable of confusing fans. Consider the following:

1. Patrick Mahomes and an electric passing game somehow gave way to an inside run game with Clyde Edwards-Helaire running behind new guard Kelechi Osemele.
2. Mecole Hardman received a single target in Week 1—near the beginning of the game—after a Pro Bowl rookie season.
3. Willie Gay didn’t play a single defensive snap even as others, e.g. Ben Niemann, struggled down after down to cover/catch the ball carrier.

After the game, even while celebrating the win, we were simultaneously asking questions about each position and player. Why didn’t he play? Where were his targets? What are we to make of his playing time (or lack of it)?

Here’s the thing: each NFL team is figuring things out for these first few weeks. The Chiefs play the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2 and that franchise was also asking itself the same sorts of questions after their season-opening win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

For example, Austin Ekeler is one of the NFL’s best pass-catching backs and he received a single target. For that matter, Edwards-Helaire came into the league as the draft’s best pass-catching back and he didn’t catch a single pass from Mahomes despite receiving plenty of playing time. Go figure.

Bolts fans were also likely surprised by how much time was earned by Jalen Guyton as WR3 behind Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. The second-year undrafted free agent played only 11 less snaps than Williams and 35 more than promising rookie K.J. Hill.

It’s not just these two teams, either. Every fan base is asking questions of their own favorite team wondering why this player is earning time or why this other player isn’t a bigger factor. We all enter a new season with expectations based on outsider’s insights—postcards from training camp, projections based on assumed player growth and health. Then when the season hits, we’re often blindsided by performances—good and bad.

Ekeler will catch his passes. Mahomes will make his throws. Hardman will earn more touches, and Gay will see the field. These are experimental weeks in every season’s schedule as coaches observe and adjust in order to find the right chemistry and combinations to make a postseason run. That’s true even for the team that just went all the way.