Around the AFC West: Rivals tumble while Chiefs clinch top seed
By Ellen Mathis
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs hosted the Atlanta Falcons in an attempt to secure the lone bye in the 2020 playoffs. This was not a pretty game. Patrick Mahomes, the unicorn quarterback, looked human as the offense sputtered along in what looked like an almost inevitable loss. The Chiefs were entirely frustrating on offense.
The defense, however, turned in a nice performance as they generated pressure on Matt Ryan and lifted the offense, giving them chance after chance to put up points. Chris Jones and Frank Clark emerged from hibernation to wreak havoc while Willie Gay and L’Jarius Sneed showed why this rookie class is turning into a great one.
Tanoh Kpassagnon also (in hindsight) appears to have influenced the outcome of the game:
https://twitter.com/Passinyo/status/1343891420638281730
According to Kpassagnon, he got a finger on the last second filed goal from Younghoe Koo which ultimately went wide. Who knows if it would have gone in, but Tanoh certainly helped.
At the end of the day, despite a relatively poor performance, the Chiefs locked up the number one seed and a bye. That means next week, we likely see a number of starters sit while the depth players get significant playing time.
The most impressive part of Sunday’s win, however, was Travis Kelce. Not only did he become the first tight end in history with multiple 100-catch seasons, he also did this:
https://twitter.com/Chiefs/status/1343308171423543297
What an incredible player and human! Hats off to our Walter Payton Man of the Year.
The Chiefs got a little banged up on Sunday as Kelce came up gimpy on a play and Sammy Watkins injured his calf. Anthony Hitchens was already on the COVID list which meant Ben Niemann got extra playing time. He went down with a hamstring injury. That makes the extra week of rest even more crucial.
Next week, the Chiefs host the Los Angeles Chargers in the final game of the season. The Chargers are coming off a win against the Broncos and will likely be playing their starters while the Chiefs rest a number of key pieces. I anticipate that this will be a very competitive game because the backups have a lot to prove and the Chargers are not that good.
Game time is Sunday at 3:25 p.m.
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