The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Indianapolis Colts 33-30 in overtime on Sunday Night Football. It was a game with some thrilling highs, but also some frustrating lows for most Chiefs fans. While it would be great if every win came with the dominance of KC's season opener against the Broncos, the good teams find ways to win even when things don't go to plan. Last season, all of those games seemed to go against the Chiefs, so it is still encouraging that this time the Chiefs found a way to win.
The reason they were able to come away with a win is because Kenneth Walker continued to look like the best free agent signing of the NFL offseason, and Patrick Mahomes was much more prolific throwing the ball than he was in Week 1 against the Broncos. The defense did make a couple of key stops, and Harrison Butker made two field goals in overtime to get the job done, but you can definitely make an argument that the defense and special teams had issues as well.
The Chiefs are 2-0, and that is a great start, but a few issues popped up in this game that they must find a way to improve if they want to get back to Super Bowl contender status.
The Chiefs Issues That Almost Cost Them The Colts Game
1. The Special Teams
The Chiefs' special teams have been an issue for a while now. The coverage units continually allow good starting position. The return teams continually commit penalties at a rate that would make Jawaan Taylor jealous, and Harrison Butker missed a field goal that would have allowed KC to win the game in regulation had he made it. Dave Toub was seen as one of the best in the NFL for a long time, but these issues have been obvious for too long, and KC has to get them cleaned up or next time it could cost them a close game like this.
2. The Pass Rush/Coverage Took A Step Back
Last week against the Denver Broncos, it looked like the pass rush was greatly improved from last season and that the young secondary was more than capable of stepping up with Trent McDuffie and Jaylon Watson gone. This week against the Colts, it looked more like the same issues they had last season. The Chiefs didn't register a single sack on Daniel Jones on 31 attempts, and they couldn't stop Josh Downs on key downs for most of the night. L'Jarius Sneed and Kristian Fulton got picked on a lot, and KC looked like they desperately needed Mansoor Delane back out on the field. Jonathan Taylor was also an issue, but everyone knew he would be a big challenge for the defense.
3. The Chiefs Wide Receiver Depth Chart Still Has Serious Questions
Despite Patrick Mahomes' big night, going for 382 yards passing with 3 touchdowns, the wide receivers still provided more questions than answers in this game. Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy are supposed to be KC's top two wideouts, but both came up short on key drives late in the game. Meanwhile, Tyquan Thornton continues to look like KC's best weapon in the receiver room, and rookie camp star Cyrus Allen can't even get on the field despite KC's inconsistent receiver play. As the season plays out, the Chiefs have to figure out who they can count on and how each wideout should be used to maximize their abilities.
The Chiefs have a lot of reasons to be excited going forward after the first two weeks of the season. Their star quarterback is not only back from a major injury, but he looks like his old self. Kenneth Walker is on pace to have an All-Pro-caliber season at running back. Travis Kelce looks like they served water from the Fountain of Youth at his wedding so far this season.
Now they get to face a struggling Miami Dolphins team next week with a great chance to start 3-0. The Chiefs should be happy. The fans should be happy. That having been said, this team still has things to figure out if they want to get all the way back to competing for titles like they did for 7 straight seasons before last year. Here's to hoping they both enjoy this win and start planning how to clean up what almost cost them this game.
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