The KC Chiefs loss to the Colts on Sunday was one to forget. Although the finish was ugly, there are still some silver linings to point out
Sunday’s game in Indianapolis was a dumpster fire. The offense wasn’t clicking, Eric Bienemy was put back on Chiefs Kingdom’s hot seat, special teams was atrocious, and a stupid penalty cost the Chiefs the game at the end. For the first time in 2022, we felt the pain of an offense comprised of new personnel, and the downside of youth on the roster reared its ugly head. The 17-20 loss to the Colts, however, did have some silver linings.
The Colts defense was missing it’s captain—Shaquille Leonard—which justifies each and every frustration about the offense on Sunday. The defense, on the other hand, put on one the best single game performances we’ve seen in recent history. Johnathan Taylor is the undisputed RB1 in the NFL but was limited to 3.4 yards per carry and was stuffed on multiple short-to-go downs. The Cornerbacks were excellent against the wideouts with both Colts touchdowns going to rookie tight end—and massive human being—Jelani Woods. And the front-7 landed hits on Colts quarterback Matt Ryan six times, sacking him on four occasions.
Of all the defensive success on Sunday, six individuals had standout performances.
Darius Harris
In the wake of the Willie Gay suspension, Darius Harris was called up and did more than just fill the void. Harris led the team in total tackles with 13, and recorded one tackle for loss. There seems to be quite a few folks wishing to share some of the blame for Sunday’s loss with Willie Gay and/or the NFL for suspending him, but I’m struggling to connect those dots.
There was one lone instance in which Harris was somewhat exposed: Jelani Woods’ first touchdown. Woods caught a three-yard touch pass from Matt Ryan for the Colts’ first score when the ball floated in over Harris’ head. Maybe if Willie Gay were on that coverage it would have been different. The main point to take away from that play is the fact that it should have never happened. Indianapolis was only in that position after Skyy Moore fumbled a punt. Including Willie Gay in the blame game is blatantly overlooking what Darius Harris did in his absence, and anyone would be hard pressed to truly find the pain of missing Willie Gay on Sunday.