Chiefs vs. Chargers: What we learned in Week 2
By Jake Kokoris
The Linebackers are a Concern
While the Chiefs only allowed 20 points, they struggled mightily to contain the Justin Herbert-led Chargers. The Chiefs couldn’t stop the LAC rushing attack and allowed 183 yards on the ground. They also failed to slow screen passes and throws to Hunter Henry. You can scatter blame on each positional unit, but I think the linebacking core deserves the lion’s share of the blame—and concern.
Part of this concern is pessimism that the Chiefs can solidify the linebacking group. The defensive line should improve once Mike Pennel returns. The secondary has played admirably in the absence of two starting cornerbacks. In fact, it looks like they’re found a new starter in L’Jarius Sneed.
The same cannot be said for the linebackers. Anthony Hitchens is a capable run defender, but struggles in coverage and misses tackles regularly. Ben Niemann, who has seen an uptick in snaps as a result of Reggie Ragland leaving, also struggled mightily on Sunday, both in coverage and with missed tackles. This issue extends to the rest of the linebacking lot. They can’t seem to keep up with running backs in coverage nor provide reliable tackling on screen plays or in runs that reach the second level.
The optimism surrounding Willie Gay is that he was a strong coverage linebacker, explosive in a way the Chiefs could really use. Curiously, Gay played an extremely limited role this week. Granted, it’s Week 2 of an unusual season, but problems with the linebackers extended back to last year. The hope going forward is that the Chiefs can get some production out of Gay, and depend on Spagnuolo to out-scheme the deficits with this group.