Chiefs overreactions: Hot takes from Week 1 vs. the Cardinals
As the Chiefs come off of a 44-21 whomping of the Cardinals in Glendale, what over the top assumptions can be made about their performance?
It was thrilling, it was dazzling, and it was never in doubt.
While many in Chiefs Kingdom expected to come away from Sunday’s season opener in the desert against the Arizona Cardinals with a win, not many expected the Kansas City offense to come out with the firepower that they did. Patrick Mahomes set the Cardinals on fire going 30 for 39 with 360 yards and 5 touchdown passes. Mahomes found 9 different receivers on the day with 4 of those pass catchers finding the endzone. Travis Kelce, Mecole Hardman, and Jody Fortson had a touchdown each and Clyde Edwards-Helaire caught 2 out of the backfield. The Chiefs RBBC (running back by committee) approach paid off with 128 team rushing yards and a score for rookie Isiah Pacheco, and the defense clamped the Cardinals down before allowing two garbage-time touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
That paragraph is a lot to process. What does it all mean? To most, it means that the Chiefs were well prepared as always for their Week 1 matchup with the Cardinals. Arizona had a number of key contributors on the shelf with injuries and it was apparent at times on the defensive side of the ball. The Cardinals could not get anything going offensively, punting the ball or turning it over on downs on 6 of their first 7 drives of the game. Kansas City ran 66 offensive plays and notched 33 first downs. They dominated the time of possession battle 34:42 to 25:18. They outgained the Cardinals 488 yards to 282.
This game was dominated in every aspect and was over before we even got to halftime. So what do we draw from that? Well, if you’re a normal human being you can chalk it up to preparation, experience, and talent all being advantage Chiefs. But this is the internet. You’re probably found the link to this blog on Twitter or Facebook. You know what we do here – we overreact.
Before the game yesterday, I developed a scale that I will be utilizing personally week to week as the Chiefs trudge through their brutal 17-game schedule. Much like the surveys that you get after you utilize many services, the scale is based loosely on a 1 to 5 “Very Satisfied” to “Very Dissatisfied” rating format.
- The Chiefs are trash and need to rebuild.
- The Chiefs look decent, but the division is still in question.
- The Chiefs are pretty good and should win the AFC West.
- The Chiefs are AFC elite and could beat anyone on the right day.
- The Chiefs are winning the Super Bowl without question.
I entered yesterday at a 2.5. You can’t tell much from the preseason, but I had quiet confidence because A.) Patrick Mahomes is a god among men, and B.) the Chiefs young defense looked like it was going to fly around, create turnovers, and pressure the quarterback. But still, there were doubts in the back of my mind. How would other teams look? Is Josh Allen actually a human Buffalo? Are any of the Chiefs’ new receivers actually good?
So much was made yesterday of the new faces in new places talk that we’ve been drowning in since March. How will Aaron Rodgers look without Davante Adams? Can the Chiefs’ offense be as dangerous without Tyreek Hill? On the flip side – what impact do those two key offensive pieces have on their respective new teams? Is one game enough to make the final judgments on those roster moves and more? Absolutely not. But we’re going to do it anyway because each week is a mental and emotional roller coaster during football season, so let’s take a look at the overreactions we should be feasting on this week, shall we?