Chiefs vs. Saints: Handing out player grades for Week 15

It’s time to hand out our Week 15 player grades and name our weekly Chiefs MVP.

“Weird games only.” That seems to be the Chiefs’ mantra this season as no two games have yet been alike, even as the wins keep piling up for Kansas City.

Moving to 13-1, Sunday’s win over the Saints could easily have been a Super Bowl preview. The Chiefs were seemingly in control for the entire game yet the Saints were also never out of striking distance. Good, tough runs to pick up first downs were enough to ice it away in the end for K.C. It is now time to get into the Week 15 player grades and hand out this week’s Chiefs MVP.

Patrick Mahomes: B+

An absolute magician. That is the best way to describe Mahomes. He was putting the ball in tight windows against the Saints, including a magnificent touchdown throw to Mecole Hardman that was mind-bending. His attitude that “no play should be a throwaway” seems to only apply to him, and he does it while taking the utmost care of the football.

A tough day from the patchwork offensive line resulted in a lot of hurried throws and a couple of big sacks on Mahomes, including one that resulted in a lost fumble. He was throwing the ball often as he was getting hit, resulting in lucky incompletions or balls that were very nearly fumbled away. His 3 touchdowns and clutch first down run as well as the tough throws he made should keep him above Rodgers in the MVP vote, even as he threw a pedestrian (for him) total of 254 passing yards.

Le’Veon Bell & Clyde Edwards-Helaire: A-

Finally getting to see Bell in a larger role, he produced one of his most impactful games. While 15 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown doesn’t jump out at you, it was all in the way he earned those yards. The o-line, as mentioned above, really struggled but Bell’s vision and patience paid off multiple times. The situation looked like Bell would be stopped for a 3 yard loss only to see it turn into a decent gain. On the final driv,e he was able to ice the game away with a bounce outside that showcased his vision and culminated in the Chiefs coming away with the win.

Edwards-Helaire was also effective in this game running for 79 yards on 14 carries before going down with an injury. Let’s hope he is all right as he was running tough in this game and added a nice 1-2 punch with Bell. He was effective even with the patchwork offensive line, and hopefully we will see him more involved in the passing game.

Demarcus Robinson: D

Yikes! Not good. I don’t want to dwell on this, but my goodness, you cannot fumble in that situation. In an absolute poor judgment move, instead of fair-catching a punt return before the end of the half, Robinson decided to run backwards towards the end zone and then got the ball punched out. Luckily, the Saints player must have ate a bowl of buttery popcorn right before, because the ball went out the back of the end zone for a safety instead of a brutal touchdown. Bring on Pringle for punt returns.

Tyreek Hill: B

A couple of circus catches and tying a franchise record for touchdowns highlighted the day for Tyreek Hill. He brought in 6 of 10 targets for 53 yards and 1 touchdown, and his best catch of the day was a beautiful full extension that showcased his elite athleticism and catch radius. He also had a big drop in this game and ended up with a rather pedestrian stat line that could have been the result of Mahomes not having a ton of time to throw deep. He is in prime position to break Dwayne Bowe’s single-season record for most touchdown catches by a wideout with 2 games to play. Hill is easily a top 5 receiver in the NFL and he is finally starting to get the national recognition that he deserves.

Chiefs Cornerbacks: MVP

This is more so for L’Jarius Sneed but Bashaud Breeland and Charvarius Ward both made some huge plays as well. Sneed started the party by intercepting Drew Brees while somehow keeping his feet in bounds. Without the collarbone injury, he really could have been in the running for defensive rookie of the year. He did have one bad play ,and that was the last touchdown given up, but he ended the day with 3 pass deflections and the only sack for the Chiefs. Big game for the rookie.

Ward made a huge stop on Taysom Hill to keep him from the end zone, and he and Breeland both made some solid plays in coverage. Brees only threw for 234 yards, and 51 came against Tyrann Mathieu on a single first quarter play. Holding Brees below a 50 percent completion rate was very impressive and this group continues to grow. They were in noticeably in the receivers’ pockets all night and the Saints struggled to get  any separation.