KC Chiefs vs. Giants: Key takeaways from a miserable win in Week 8

Josh Gordon is still missing

On a night where the passing game was desperate for someone to step up and create separation against the Giants’ lesser defensive backs, the Chiefs still couldn’t find a way to get Josh Gordon involved in the offense for the fourth consecutive week.

When the Chiefs signed Gordon after the first month, it felt like the rich were getting richer and that this offense might take things to the next level. After all, the Chiefs had been searching high and low for a wideout on the free agent market to replace Sammy Watkins but had come up empty. When Gordon was reinstated by the NFL after a season-plus, multiple teams were reportedly interested but the Chiefs won out.

So far, Gordon has received only a couple targets on the season and went without a single one on Monday night. Given how well the Giants played against Travis Kelce, the Chiefs need someone else to command respect against better defenses or this season will turn out poorly. Here’s hoping Gordon can still wake up but this wait makes it seem foolish to believe he’ll emerge as the weapon we’ve been waiting on.

Still shooting themselves in the foot

What else can be said about this team’s mistakes? Against the Giants, they committed another two turnovers to extend the NFL lead at 19—the most ever in a single season since Andy Reid arrived (and we’re not even officially halfway through the season).

At this point, watching a fumble like the one Travis Kelce served up in the third quarter, is laughable simply because there’s nothing else that can be said. The Chiefs have had a single game without a turnover this season and that was back in Week 1. Meanwhile, they’ve had six games with two or more turnovers including Week 8 against New York.

Even worse are the consistent penalties that keep drives alive for the opposition. They had 12 for 103 yards on Monday. If the other team isn’t receiving a free gift of an extra drive via turnover, then the Chiefs are at least coughing up extra first downs via careless errors to ease their offense along. Whether it’s Trey Smith holding a lineman or Chris Jones going offsides multiple times on the same drive, the Chiefs simply cannot keep shooting themselves in the foot and expect to win.