The Kansas City Chiefs got off to a rocky start for the 2023 season as they fell to the Detroit Lions 21-20 on Banner Night and started off the year 0-1. It was a rather pathetic performance, particularly from the offense, as they only scored 20 while the defense held Detroit to just 14 points. Typically, you should be winning a game in which you hold the opposing team's offense to such a low total.
Unfortunately, the poor outing from the Chiefs offense also resulted in a defensive touchdown for the Lions, which spelled trouble for Kansas City on opening night. The biggest culprit for the offensive letdown on Thursday night was the wide receiver corps.
The Chiefs leading receiver from Thursday's loss was Marquez Valdes-Scantling who recorded 2 catches for 48 yards. Then came Justin Watson with two catches for 45 yards. The team's third-leading receiver was running back Isiah Pacheco.
To be blunt: the Chiefs wide receivers did not provide enough to make up for the loss of Travis Kelce. There was a lot of hype and optimism surrounding all of the youth and potential for Kansas City heading into this season, but they were nothing more than a letdown in the team's first game.
Should we be concerned about Skyy Moore for KC Chiefs?
One of the bigger disappointments of the Chiefs wide receiver group, however, was second-year receiver Skyy Moore, who a lot of people were expecting to take a big step this season.
For much of this offseason, Andy Reid, Brett Veach, and the Chiefs organization have touted Skyy Moore as a player they expect to play a much bigger role in 2023. When you look up and down the Chiefs wide receiver depth chart, Moore is a guy who is one of the more experienced receivers in this offense. There shouldn't be anything else holding Moore back from making an impact.
Yet, in week one versus the Detroit Lions Moore had zero catches for zero yards. a complete non-factor. He was targeted several times throughout the night and struggled to corral the ball. This is a receiving corps that is begging for someone to step up and the organization is propping up Moore to be a big contributor.
In a game where pretty much every other receiver was bad, Moore couldn't even stand out in a positive way or separate himself from anyone else. What's especially concerning is that this was the type of game that was served up on a platter for Moore to make an impact. No Travis Kelce, an inexperienced wide receiver room, and a massive opportunity to earn targets. Nothing. Absolutely nothing from the second-year receiver.
Moore's supposed strengths are his ability to get open and his strong hands. All of the receivers struggled to get open so that should've presented an advantageous situation for Moore to produce in this matchup. If it didn't happen this game, when can we reasonably expect it to happen?
One of the biggest reasons for concern with Moore was how he had a relatively quiet rookie season and struggled to earn snaps over the guys ahead of him. He had less than 300 yards receiving as a rookie and didn't have many big games, but we were told to wait and that his time would come even though rookie receiver Rashee Rice seems to be higher in the pecking order already than Moore based on what we saw against Detroit.
Is it a Week 1 overreaction to say that he is a bust? Probably, but the alarm bells are officially ringing for Moore. Eventually, you have to show something and give fans a reason to be optimistic that you'll be a good receiver and a fit for this team. We just haven't seen that from him to this point and Thursday night wasn't an encouraging sign.