It might feel weird to focus on the positive after a loss, but to be honest, we're not taking the Kansas City Chiefs' inability to defeat the Buffalo Bills in Week 11 all that hard. After all, our favorite is still in first place in the conference by themselves and they hold a significant lead in their own division in the AFC West. Plus reinforcements are on the way.
It's also getting close to Thanksgiving here in mid-November, so instead of focusing on the bad (the pass rush, the turnovers, tackles getting penalized, missed tackles on defense), we decided to look at some positive takeaways from a loss that would normally have us frustrated.
Such is life when you know the regular season doesn't matter all that much. it also helps to be 9-1 after 10 games. But if you're smarting for one reason or another after Sunday's 30-21 loss at Buffalo, we've got a handful of silver linings to make you feel better about things.
The emergence of Xavier Worthy
it was clear from the first several scripted plays for the Chiefs offense that shifting Xavier Worthy into ao mainstream offensive weapon was a signficant subplot for Week 11. The good news is that Worthy proved he was ready for a heightened level of responsibility within the first 15 minutes of the game.
Worthy was featured from the first play of the game and came away from the first quarter with 58 total yards and a quick touchdown early in the second quarter—surprising everyone with just how effective he could be in a number of ways. There were still some errors, of course, including the failure to get both feet in on an easy 40-yard catch downfield in the first half, but that's to be expected.
It was about this time last year that Rashee Rice began to truly emerge in the wide receiver room for the Chiefs to become their dominant weapon down the stretch. Worthy was going to need just as long, even as a first-round pick, but today's showing was particularly hopeful. Nothing is linear, so the hiccups will remain, but Worthy has taken a true step forward. That's a major development for this offense.
The toughness of Kareem Hunt
With Kareem Hunt preparing for the return of Isiah Pacheco next week, which means sharing the lead back role for the first time since returning to Kansas City, Kareem Hunt made sure to take advantage of his last week as the primary ball carrier with another tough day on the ground.
Hunt finished Week 11 with 14 carries for 60 yards and he kept the chains moving throughout the afternoon—despite the fact that the Chiefs seemed to forget about the run at times when giving up short drives. The totals aren't eye-popping but it's the steady matriculation down the field that makes Hunt so effective with gains that are always positive.
The sum total of his efforts so far has given him 509 rushing yards on the season in just 6 starts for the Chiefs. In case you're wondering, it's the most rushing yards in a season for Hunt since 2020, and in such a short span, it goes to show just how much the team has leaned on him this year.
The reliability of Noah Gray
Noah Gray is destined to stay in the shadows until one of two things happens: 1.) Either Travis Kelce retires or, 2.) Gray finds his way onto another team. Gray seems okay with his general anonymity for now, however, and the Chiefs appreciate everything he brings to the game even if most fans can't or won't see it.
The Chiefs proved their love for Gray by offering him an unexpected three-year contract extension earlier this year worth up to $18 million. The deal is a brilliant maneuver to keep as much continuity at the position for the long-term, but that's for another day. The truth is that Gray has solid value in the short-term as well as one of the offense's most reliable pass catchers.
Is Noah Gray dropping a pass even a mathematical possibility?
— Adam Best (@Arrowhead_Adam) November 17, 2024
On Sunday against the Bills, Gray not only caught a short pass from Mahomes in the second quarter for his first touchdown of the season, but he came down with another quick hitter in the back of the end zone in the second half for his first two-TD game of his career.
In total, he finished the day with 4 catches for 23 yards and 2 scores. It's a shame Mahomes overthrew him to start the contest because his stats should have been a bit better. While he averages only 25 yards or so per game, the truth is that Gray is a trusted target for Mahomes on a team that's lacked such outlets over the last couple of years.
The boost of Matt Araiza
For all of the offseason additions brought in by Brett Veach for the Chiefs last spring, the signing of punter Matt Araiza to replace Tommy Townsend has been an under-the-radar masterstroke that not only extended the excellent play expected from punter but even found a way to elevate it by taking such a chance.
Remember, rape allegations against Araiza (later proven to be false) kept NFL teams from touching him (likely for PR purposes) for more than a year. That's despite being a former sixth-round pick of the Bills in 2022 and having earned the nickname "Punt God" at San Diego State.
In a game with numerous lead changes, the big, booming leg of Araiza was a vital chess piece that affected field position dramatically. With 4 punts that averaged 193 total yards (48.3 yards apiece), Araiza showed his old team what he could have provided for them and gave the Chiefs a bonus on special teams play.
The presence of Chris Jones
This one is going to draw some questionable looks and those are going to come from the members of Chiefs Kingdom who live by the boxscore and want to see stats, stats, stats.
If you watched the Chiefs' defense closely on Sunday, you would have seen another strong workmanlike effort from Jones in the heart of the defensive front doing his best to still apply consistent pressure on the Bills' pocket (or closing up running lanes) despite being double-teamed at a league high rate of approximately 75 percent of the time.
The Chiefs have pass rushing problems, but none of those are on Jones. In fact, it'd be scary to think what they would even have up front if not for Jones's presence. If only someone from the lot of Joshua Uche, Mike Danna, George Karlaftis, or Felix Anudike-Uzomah could clean up as Jones commands so much attention, Spags wouldn't have to send so many extra men on blitzes.