The Kansas City Chiefs took down the Carolina Panthers in a Week 9 matchup, which means it is time to hand out game grades and this week’s MVP award.
The Carolina Panthers gave it everything they had but the Kansas City Chiefs were just too talented for them to pull out a victory at Arrowhead in Week 9.
I’ll give the Panthers some credit, they pulled out all the stops, including a fake punt, a 4th and 14 scramble and a couple of seemingly impossible catches, but even that wasn’t enough to top K.C. and their explosive offense. The defense for the Chiefs wasn’t great, but the offense was outstanding for the most part. The trio of Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, and Patrick Mahomes looked nearly unstoppable.
With the win, the Chiefs moved to 8-1 on the year, and that means it is time to hand out the hardware: our Week 9 player grades and the weekly MVP!
Travis Kelce: A
As one of three potential options for MVP in this one, Travis Kelce is on some sort of tear. Going for over 100 yards again, he is putting up bonafide WR1 numbers. After grabbing 10 catches for 159 yards, including a long of 44, Kelce is getting better with age, like a fine wine. He was not only Mahomes’ safety route but was a middle-of-the-field superstar too. He seemingly was open on every play, and he was picking up first down after first down.
His consistency is absurd. If you have him in fantasy football, you understand the advantage. Everyone talks about George Kittle vs. Travis Kelce in the NFL, but Kelce and his consistency is unmatched. Kelce has 6 touchdowns this season and already has 769 yards. Let that sink in. That is in just 9 games.
He really is the pinnacle at his position and deserves even more national attention in my opinion, which seems crazy considering he already gets so much. Also, his blocking seems to be getting even better, which shows an impressive improvement. Sit back, relax, and enjoy watching history.
Frank Clark: B-
In what seems like a “finally” moment, there was a Frank Clark sighting. While he has been somewhat solid, even if he hasn’t been getting flashy numbers, he was putting some great pressure especially late in the 3rd quarter in this game. Clark earned his first sack since Week 4, which is not ideal, which he will hopefully use as a nice springboard for the weeks ahead.
Clark had a couple of nice pressures in a row against Teddy Bridgewater and that is what the Chiefs need from him. I know he is a great leader and someone that guys look towards, but when you are getting paid that much, production matters.
The Chiefs need Clark at his best. Against really good offenses, they need to get pressure with 4 guys and that starts with Chris Jones and Clark up front. Clark has been solid setting the edge against the run, but you aren’t paying a guy $20 million a year to set the edge. I have faith in Clark to turn this season around and it starts one game at a time. Let’s hope this is his turnaround game.
Harrison Butker: C-
Alright, please don’t yell. I get it. The missed extra points are a problem for Harrison Butker, and they almost hurt the Chiefs in this one. He also missed another field goal as well.
If you focus just on the negatives, this was a brutal game for Butker, but I want to look at the glass half full. For starters, he made 2 other field goals in this game including a 55-yarder. His 55-yarder was huge and in this wind, I’m not sure how many other kickers in the NFL make that. We saw Joey Slye, a solid kicker in his own right, miss a very makable field goal as well.
Let’s talk about the extra points. It is a problem, I’ll admit it even if I think it is mostly a mental issue akin to the yips in baseball. His talent overall is maybe second or third in the NFL and he has all of the tools to fix it. You don’t look for another kicker. Have you seen the kicking woes that other teams have? I’ll take Butker over anyone not named Justin Tucker.
Put down the pitchforks, take a step back and realize no kicker makes everything. Let Butker get right for the playoffs and maybe just start taking a few false starts on extra points to make him kick it from 50 since he seems to drill those. I understand the frustration. Trust me, if my TV had a recorder on the missed extra points, it wouldn’t be radio-friendly, but let’s try and realize the big picture and how lucky we are as Chiefs fans to have such a great kicker and human being.
Tyreek Hill: A
What a game. When the defense tries everything they can to stop you, and you still put up 113 yards and 2 touchdowns, you are just that good. Tyreek Hill was flying around everywhere, juking corners the wrong way and finding space time and time again. He was wide open on one of his touchdowns, which was extremely impressive considering he was schemed against all night.
Hill and Mahomes struggled in their timing or communication early, but they would eventually connect as the game progressed. Hill could have had a monster game, but early on, Mahomes overthrew what would have been about a 40 yards touchdown. I enjoy seeing Hill receive a the ball out of the backfield and he chipped in one carry for 8 yards as well.
Hillis just so elusive and his ability to get to top speed so quick seems superhuman. He is just so talented as a route runner and his ability to make tough catches and come back to the ball seems almost unfair, especially when paired with that top-end athleticism.
MVP: Patrick Mahomes
You can put his name in another location in the history books when Patrick Mahomes became the quickest to 100 passing touchdowns in only 40 career games. It is surreal seeing Mahomes break one record after another and doing it so quickly. By throwing for 372 yards and 4 touchdowns, Mahomes did everything he was asked and then some. Adding in a bit of trickery on one of his touchdowns, he can beat you in so many ways. It doesn’t matter if the run game isn’t working; Mahomes will pick you apart even if you know the pass is coming.
What is so crazy is that Mahomes threw for 4 touchdowns, zero interceptions with over 370 oassing yards and this wasn’t even a top 5 game for him. Most QBs this would be considered a career performance but for him, it’s just a Week 9 win. It makes me smile going from watching guys like Brady Quinn, Tyler Thigpen, Matt Cassel, and Brodie Croyle to a guy who is hands down the best QB in the league. The lows make the highs even sweeter.
Mahomes might have missed Tyreek a bit early, but he was locked in after that. His ability to protect the football while throwing 45 times, and not just dump-offs, is incredibly difficult and his touch and arm strength are a lethal combination. As we watch him shatter records, it is comforting knowing he will be doing it in a K.C. uniform for a looong time to come.