Chiefs vs. Chargers: Kelce, Butker earn high player grades

Let’s hand out some player grades and our MVP award from the Chiefs win in Week 2.

Wow, where to begin here? The Kansas City Chiefs were absolutely dominated for almost the entire game in Week 2 against the L.A. Chargers yet found a way to win down the stretch. (Does this remind you of a slightly more important game?)

The game grades were not pretty for most of the Chiefs players, but one guy stepped up huge to win the game ball and take home the Week 2 MVP.

Patrick Mahomes – B+

Brutal in the first half. The offensive line did him no favors, but you still expect Mahomes to make plays because he is the best quarterback in the NFL.

Talk about a tale of two halves. After only being able to get the ball to Travis Kelce, Mahomes finally connected on an absolute bomb to Tyreek Hill, which set up a two-point conversion. There he became a magician and somehow threaded a needle to Mecole Hardman to tie the game.

Not only was Mahomes instrumental throwing the ball late, but he was also able to scramble for a first on 3rd-and-20 as well as turn in a couple other good gains with his legs. Give the man credit, he’s had bad first halvers a decent amount of times in his career, but he finds a way to turn it on late.

Whether or not you believe in the “clutch gene,” he makes the plays when it matters most.

Chiefs Offensive Line – D-

My goodness was this an adventure. It seemed like every player had a penalty against them including non-starters like Nick Allegretti. Mahomes seemed to be hit more often and harder than any other time I can remember in his career. From false starts to holding penalties, they seemed to be discombobulated.

After seeing how great Harrison Butker (see below) was in this game, I am holding the blocked extra point on the o-line as well. This unit has way more discipline and talent than they showed in this game, and I consider this to be just a terrible day for a very solid unit.

Travis Kelce – A-

Travis Kelce was about the only one playing like himself for the entire game. He had 9 catches for 90 yards and was consistently getting open for nice 10-yard gains. His touchdown route was a thing of beauty, as he lulled the defender to sleep before getting wide open in the end zone. Without Kelce, the Chiefs struggled to move the ball for the first 3 quarters of the game and looked lost on offense. His consistent ability to get open was instrumental in this game and it’s the reason why he is the best tight end in football.

Chiefs Linebackers – D

Don’t let the tackle numbers fool you into thinking they were effective. This group got gouged by the Chargers running backs. Missed tackles seemingly piled up on multiple drives. Austin Ekeler had an extremely effective game both on the ground with 93 yards and through the air with 55.

While I know that Willie Gay Jr. is young and inexperienced, there is no way that dude doesn’t have more talent than what is currently out there. Gay did have a nice tipped punt that showcased his athleticism on special teams. Damien Wilson also had a very nice stop on Justin Herbert, even if he got hurt a bit from laying the wood.

We knew linebacker was probably the weakest position group going into this season and it looks like it still will be. Luckily, the Chiefs have enough talent elsewhere to mask it.

Harrison “Stones” Butker – MVP

Dude is cold. I mean ice cold. I mean Antarctica-in-the-winter cold. Not only did he hit a 58-yard kick earlier in the game, but he nailed another 58-yarder down the pipe to win it. It was made more impressive that he hit a 53-yard attempt, was backed up after a holding penalty, and then drilled one from five yards further only to have a timeout called. From there, he makes a 58-yarder like it was nothing.

I have never been so comfortable with a kick to win a game in my entire life and it was from 58 yards. Almost surprised Butker didn’t ask for a delay of game just to make it over 60. Tony Romo had the best analogy calling him Mariano Rivera, and I think that was the best way to describe it. When he took the field, you just had a feeling the game was over and the Chiefs were going home victorious. Harrison Butker, here’s to you.