The Arrowhead Autopsy: Top 10 takeaways from Chiefs vs. Bengals

Our initial Arrowhead Autopsy is here with a look at the top 10 takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs’ loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Hey, Addicts! For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Adam Best, and I co-founded this site with my brother way back in 2007. I recently returned to AA to do a weekly podcast, write a newsletter, etc., and will also post on this site occasionally.

Now that the intro is out of the way, here are my thoughts on Sunday’s disappointing Chiefs-Bengals game.

10. The Chiefs had a 77% win probability after the Patrick Mahomes Air Jordan touchdown with 3:56 left in the third quarter. They had the Bengals right where they wanted them despite a slow start. No other way to put it: they choked.

9. Juan Thornhill (who had an awful night) and Khalen Saunders, who went at fans on Twitter after the game, probably need to log off. Didn’t we get enough of players lashing out at fans last season? Look, fellas, you rep K.C. You rep Chiefs Kingdom. Fans pour their heart, soul, and, yes, money into supporting you. We respect that you put your bodies on the line, but that doesn’t mean we can’t publicly voice our opinions about the team. That’s not how this works. Ignore the trolls, let the rest of the base vent, and maybe process your frustration privately instead of lashing out on social media. Just an idea!

8. Joe Burrow is the fourth most sacked quarterback in football, behind only Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, and Daniel Jones. The Chiefs hit him once on Sunday. ONCE! (Twice if you count Taylor Stallworth’s dicey roughing-the-passer call.) Mahomes was under duress all afternoon, while Burrow could’ve built a campfire and roasted S’mores back there. The Bengals rebuilt offensive line only allowed five hurries on the night. Can’t get whooped in the trenches like that.

7. Quarterback scrambling played a massive role in this game. Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo had a masterful plan to contain Mahomes. The Bengals executed perfectly and banished Mahomes to the Phantom Zone like he was General Zod. Stuck. Nowhere to go. Meanwhile, Burrow had some wide-open running lanes. He rushed 11 times for 46 yards.

6. Chiefs fans are upset with Chris Jones for not making his presence felt during last night’s game, but after watching the game again, I must say he played fairly well. PFF gave him a team-high grade of 86.3. He had four pressures and three stops on running plays despite seeing double teams (and even a triple team once) all night long. The Bengals did many creative things to scheme him out of the game, but he still played well. Ever seen a movie with a mostly atrocious cast except for a lone-star performance? That was the Chiefs’ defense yesterday.

5. Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith played decent, but overall the Chiefs’ offensive line struggled without Joe Thuney as its anchor. Nick Allegretti should file a restraining order on Bengals defensive tackle DJ Reader after the beatdown he took. Orlando Brown Jr. also got worked several times. The worst instance was an inside move by edge Joseph Ossai on the Chiefs’ final third down. You have to wonder if Thuney’s presence could’ve prevented that sack and bought Patrick an extra split second. Outside of Mahomes, Jones, and Travis Kelce, Thuney might be the most valuable Chief.

4. Rookie receiver Skyy Moore has had bizarre usage this season. It’s not just special teams coach Dave Toub inexplicably going back to him after a zillion muffed punts, either. The Chiefs desperately needed Moore’s shiftiness against Cincy because Kadarius Toney and Mecole Hardman are injured. Plus, JuJu Smith-Schuster was never himself after taking a big shot early on. Kansas City used Moore once on a gadget run—he gained 12 yards—and never went back to him. Zero targets. He flashed last week against the Rams (a team-high 2.44 yards per route run), then the coaching staff forgot about him again. I give up trying to make sense of this fiasco.

3. You’d have to use the Hubble Space Telescope to find bright spots for the Chiefs this week, but one might’ve been the pass rushing of George Karlaftis. His pass rush win rate was 20%, the highest on the team among defensive linemen.

2. The Chiefs’ offense was mostly fine despite missing three crucial contributors. KC was fifth in the NFL in offensive DVOA at 29.9% for the game. The problem? The Bengals were first in offensive DVOA  this week and put on an absolute clinic. Their 41.1% topped even the Cowboys, who exploded for 54 points. This Bengals team is a real problem. Once again, they are clicking at the right time. I came into the year thinking they were a fluke who was given some verisimilitude by a lucky Super Bowl performance. I was wrong about that one. But not about Cincinnati’s beloved Skyline Chili. There should be a surgeon general’s warning on that stuff. Borderline toxic.

1. In nine years of playing, Travis Kelce has 12 total fumbles. He lost 10 of those. That’s about one a season. You will happily make that trade considering that he’s one of the greatest yards-after-the-catch performers the league has ever seen. His fumble against the Bengals was horribly timed because the Chiefs had a chance to put Cincy away, but we should show him some grace. Trust me; nobody is madder at Travis than Travis. He’s been doing mental self-flagellation since that happened.