The 2021 Kansas City Chiefs season:

Record: 12-5 (2-1 in Playoffs)

Division: AFC West, 1st Place

Final Result: Lost in the AFC Championship to the Cincinnati Bengals

Head Coach: Andy Reid (Record as Chiefs HC: 103-42 Reg. Season, 9-7 in playoffs)

General Manager: Brett Veach, 2022 will be his 6th season as GM and 10th overall with the team

2021 Season statistics

Stat	Value	Rank
Total DVOA		7th
Offensive DVOA		3rd
Defensive DVOA		24th
Total Offense	6746 yds	3rd
Passing Offense	4791 yds	4th
Rushing Offense	1955	16th
Points Scored	28.2/game	4th
Total Defense	6272 yds	27th
Passing Defense	4273	27th
Rushing Defense	1999	21st
Points allowed	21.4/game	8th
Takeaways	29	5th
Turnovers	25	24th
Schedule strength	(Per DVOA)	6th

Expectations going into the 2021 season:

The Chiefs were left short of repeating their 2019-2020 Super Bowl campaign in 2020-2021 with an embarrassing Super Bowl loss to the Buccaneers. The team and fanbase alike came into the 2021 offseason with a sour taste in their mouths and with glaring issues that needed to be fixed. It was the first time under Patrick Mahomes that the Chiefs failed to score a touchdown and lose by double digits. The Front office quickly put the 2020 season in the rearview mirror and got to work.

The O-Line Overhaul

The biggest issue in need of fixing from the previous season was the offensive line. Plagued by injuries all season, it was clear that the team needed fresh blood at the position. The offseason was spent making moves through every available channel for offensive lineman from trades, free agents, and the draft. Brett Veach and the FO showed that they were willing to pay any price to protect their 500 million-dollar QB. Eric Fisher, the teams #1 overall draft pick in 2013 was released. As was stand out RT Mitchell Schwartz, although it seems this was only to allow him freedom to rehab his back and decide if he wants to return to the NFL but so far he has yet to sign with a team and seems to be content in the retired life. It was a complete changing of the guard for the O-line (pardon the pun) as the 5 starters to enter the season were completely new to the team (if you count Lucas Niang who was drafted in 2020 but opted out for COVID).

In order of signing date, here is how the O-line overhaul shook out:

Player	Acquired Via	Noted
Lucas Niang, RT	2020 Draft, covid opt-out	"Redshirt" Rookie
Joe Thuney, G	Free Agency (prev w/ NE)	Signed a 5yr/$80MM contract
Orland Brown, LT	Trade with BAL	Chiefs sent 2021 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th for Brown, a 2022 2nd, & 2022 6th
Creed Humphrey, C	Draft	63rd overall, out of Oklahoma
Trey Smith, G	Draft	226th overall, out of Tennessee

2021 draft

By the time the draft rolled around, the Chiefs had already been busy making moves, which gave more freedom of choice on what picks to make and where. Brett Veach now spearheading his 5th draft as GM would yet again be without a 1st Round pick after sending it in the trade to acquire Orlando Brown from Baltimore. This would make it 3 out of his 5 drafts that the Veach led Chiefs were without their first rounder. In total, the Chiefs had 6 picks in the 2021 draft:

Nick Bolton, LB -- 2nd Rd (58), Missouri
Creed Humphrey, C -- 2nd Rd (63), Oklahoma
Josh Kaindoh, DE -- 4th Rd (144), Florida State
Noah Gray, TE -- 5th Rd (162), Duke
Cornell Powell, WR -- 5th Rd (181), Clemson
Trey Smith, G -- 6th Rd (226), Tennessee

Rookie Rundown:

A quick recap of how the rookie class fared in their inaugural season. At seasons start, 3 of the 6 draft picks made by the Chiefs were named starters and proved themselves to be integral pieces of the team.

Nick Bolton, LB – Missouri

Graded by many draft analysts as first round talent, Bolton lacked size and speed for any team to bite on regardless of his SEC resume and in game instincts. He ultimately fell late into the 2nd round where the Chiefs used their first of two 2nd round picks to select the in-state linebacker. Naturally a MIKE LB, Bolton played on the outside and inside throughout the year and as the season progressed, so did his play. He finished the year leading the Chiefs in total tackles with 112 and was voted by the organization as the team’s Rookie of the Year. The Chief’s confidence in both him and our other young LB, Willie Gay, was evident this offseason when they cut Anthony Hitchens. Essentially giving the keys of the defense to Bolton as the next MIKE of the future.

Creed Humphrey, C – Oklahoma

5 picks after Bolton, the Chiefs nailed their next pick selecting Creed Humphrey out of Oklahoma. Playing almost exclusively at the Center position in college, Humphrey has the size and ability to play anywhere in the interior. Luckily though, Center is right where KC wanted him. Interior O-line picks are never the sexy or flashy picks the headlines want, but it was exactly the pick this team needed. With the revamped O-line in its infant stages, Creed entered camp with the starter job locked in and he never let it go. By the time the season came to an end, Humphrey was rated by PFF as the NFL’s top graded Center and even garnered 2 votes for the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

Joshua Kaindoh, DE – Florida State

Not a lot of analysis can be made for the Edge rusher from FSU. He showed enough in camp to be given snaps early in the season as a rotational DE but unfortunately not much more can be said as he was injured in Week 4 and placed on the IR for the remainder of the season. His 6’7” frame and physical prowess should help him work towards a stronger sophomore campaign at a position Kansas City needs depth and consistency from.

Noah Gray, TE – Duke

Drafted to be a depth piece as the team still does have a TE by the name of Travis Kelce on the roster, Noah Gray was still able to amass some buzz from camp for his route running and catching. Nonetheless, he began the season at the bottom of the depth chart and only moved up the chain due to the unfortunate injury to Jody Fortson. Gray proved his worth, especially in his blocking roles where he received an 82.2 pass block rating from PFF which was the 4th highest of TEs (min of 100 snaps). He should be able to build on his progress next year where he will have the opportunity to compete for the 2nd TE spot behind Kelce.

Cornell Powell, WR – Clemson

Cornell did not make it to the 53-man roster for the 2021 season. He was part of the final cuts in training camp and was signed to the practice squad where he remained the rest of the year. He signed a reserve/future contract with the team this past February and will fight for a spot on the depth chart at a position that most see as needing to improve depth upon.

Trey Smith, G – Tennessee

Smith’s draft profile had him much higher than where he was ultimately drafted at in the back end of the 6th round. Partly due to medical issues regarding blood clots in his lungs that had caused him to miss time in college. Smith was not slotted immediately into a starting role like his draft-mate Humphrey was. It was only due to an injury to newly signed Kyle Long that moved Smith up to man the trenches. What he did once put in that position, however, was make every team that passed on him for 6 rounds regret their decisions. Smith excelled throughout the season, especially in Run blocking where PFF graded him with a 78.2 which is good enough for 10th in the NFL among Guards. Overall Smith was ranked by PFF as 16th best among Guards and is already being touted as one of the steals of the draft.

2021 Contract’s and Free Agency

In terms of contract extensions, 2021 didn’t have near the excitement of 2020 where 3 bonafide stars all received extensions in Mahomes, Kelce, and Chris Jones. In fact there were only two; RB Darrel Williams (1yr/1.63MM) and Long Snapper James Winchester (2yr/undisclosed $$) Yawn.

Notable additions and re-signings for the 2021 season:

Joe Thuney, G – 5yr/$80MM contract. By far the biggest splash of the Chief’s FA class. Spent his first 5 seasons with the Patriots before joining KC. A Second team All-Pro in 2019, Thuney has yet to miss a game in his first 6 seasons in the NFL.
Jarran Reed, DT – 1yr/$5.5MM. Brought into booster the D-line that has struggled to get consistent production from anyone not named Chris Jones. Reed spent his previous 5 seasons in Seattle and was a teammate of Frank Clark’s. The Chiefs were hoping that his presence on the line would help replicate the last season Clark and Reed spent together in SEA in 2018 where they combined for 23.5 sacks and 91 tackles. This also was a move that helped prompt Chris Jones to move to the outside (I will touch on this more below).
Kyle Long, G – 1yr/$1.5MM. Kyle joined the team after deciding to come out of his 1-year retirement. At the time of his signing, he was seen as the front runner for a starting Guard role opposite Thuney. Unfortunately for Long, the injury bug that seemed to follow his career also came out of retirement and he was placed on the PUP and eventually the IR before the season ever began. He did not end up playing a snap for KC.
Demarcus Robinson, WR – Re-signed to a 1yr/$1.1MM deal. For the second consecutive season, the Chiefs brought back DRob on a 1-year deal. Demarcus was brought back to the team as the #3/#4 WR. He struggled during the season, getting ranked by PFF as the 114th worst WR of the year out of 115 qualified players.
Ben Niemann, LB – Re-signed to a 1yr/$1.5MM. A Chief since 2018 when he joined as an UDFA, Niemann has struggled to win the praises of the fanbase as he is seen as a below average LB who sees the field more often than he probably should.
Dan Sorensen, S – Re-signed to a 1yr/$2.5MM deal. You could almost just Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V the blurb on Niemann. Sorensen is often ridiculed by the fanbase and sports writers as having too much playing time with poor results. A few special post-season plays can hopefully leave Chief’s fans with some nice memories.
Jerick McKinnon, RB – 1yr/$1MM. A career that has been de-railed by unlucky injuries. McKinnon was brought in as a 3rd/4th RB option. When given the opportunity he showed flashes in the season, most notably in the playoffs where he recorded 142 scrimmage yards and 1TD in the wild card round.
Alex Okafor, DE – Re-signed to a 1yr/$1MM deal. Brought back after spending the last two years with the team. He provides depth to a position that was a question mark coming into the season.

Notable losses for the 2021 season:

Eric Fisher, LT – Released. The first overall pick in 2013, he was also the first draft pick under the Andy Reid regime. A 2 time pro-bowler, Fisher played well from the blind side his entire career in KC. His last play in a Chiefs uniform was tearing his Achilles in the AFC championship game. He was a casualty of the offseason plan to tear down and rebuild the O-line from the ground up.
Mitchell Schwartz, RT – Released. The same story for Schwartz as it was for Fisher. Injuries finally got the best of him during the 2020 campaign where he missed a start for the first time in his career, followed by 9 more. Unable to return from the back injury he was ultimately released and remains in pseudo retirement. When healthy Schwartz was one of the best RT in the game and replacing him would be near impossible for the 2021 season.
Kelechi Osemele, G – Free Agency. Brought in to be a starting guard for the 2020 season, Osemele tore tendons in both of his knees in week 5 and that was it for his Kansas City career.
Austin Reiter, C – Free Agency. Continuing the trend of the O-lineman exodus. Reiter was the starting Center for the Chiefs in both 2019 and 2020.
Bashaud Breeland, CB – Free Agency. Serviceable in his 2 years with KC, but very replaceable as well.
Sammy Watkins, WR – Free Agency. The Chief’s #2 wideout for three years. Watkins could show flashes of brilliant play in between disappearing acts and injuries. Regardless, he is a good WR when healthy and his loss created an even thinner WR room in KC.
Damien Williams, RB – Released. Damien did not play in 2020 due to COVID and family matters. When on the field for the Chiefs he provided very good play and was rewarded a Super bowl ring for his efforts in 2019.

All 22 – The 22 starters going into the 2021 season.

Along with the list I have added their final PFF grade for the year. Since our defense rarely plays in the base 4-3 I listed our Nickel lineup as the starting lineup.

Name	Pos	2021 PFF Grade	Notes
Orlando Brown Jr	LT	75.3	23rd ranked T
Joe Thuney	LG	81.2	8th ranked G
Creed Humphrey (R)	C	91.8	Top graded center in NFL
Trey Smith (R)	RG	72.8	16th ranked G
Lucas Niang	RT	64.6	Injuries caused him to only play in 9 games
Travis Kelce	TE	85.0
Patrick Mahomes	QB	80.4	11th ranked QB
Clyde Edwards-Helaire	RB	65.6	Did not finish as team’s leading rusher (Darrel Williams)
Tyreek Hill	WR	86.0
Mecole Hardman	WR	70.2
Demarcus Robinson	WR	51.9
Chris Jones	DE	83.4	Started the season as DE before moving back to the interior
Jarran Reed	DT	54.5
Derrick Nnadi	DT	51.3
Frank Clark	DE	54.5
Anthony Hitchens	LB	52.2
Nick Bolton	LB	72.5	Technically Niemann was listed as the starter but Bolton played more snaps even in Week 1
Charvarius Ward	CB	71.2
L'Jarius Sneed	CB	63.6
Mike Hughes	CB	72.9
Tyrann Mathieu	S	67.4
Daniel Sorensen	S	47.7	Gradually lost playing time to Thornhill

One big change other than the O-line going into the season was the move to put All-Pro DT Chris Jones at defensive end. The move came after rumors had been circulated over the past couple of off seasons about his desire to move to the edge. The coaching staff was hoping this would create more balance on the D-line as Frank Clark had struggled to create a consistent pass rush since coming to the team and the other edge spot had a big question mark coming into the year.

2021 Season Review

Instead of doing the standard game by game recap of the season I decided to do it a little differently by dividing the entire season into “4 Quarters” and reviewing how that 4-game stretch while still giving brief synopsis of each game. Since we added a 17th game this year I guess we can consider that OT.

First Quarter: 2-2 Record

Browns (W 33-29), Ravens (L 35-36), Chargers (L 24-30), Eagles (W 42-30)

Week 1 (Browns) Kicking off the season was a home match with the Cleveland Browns, a rematch of last season’s Divisional game. It was a standard double digit come back for Mahomes and company as they fell behind 22-10 at half. Big plays by the Chiefs offense like a 75 yard TD bomb to Hill and costly turnovers by the Browns allowed the Chiefs to start their season off with a home victory.

Week 2 (Ravens) was not as sweet and turned out to be a microcosm for the team’s Up-and-down season as KC jumped out to an early lead thanks to a couple of Lamar Jackson INTs only to be met by miscues of their own. Starting with a costly INT by Mahomes late in the 3rd quarter as the team was marching along to hopefully put the game out of reach, the offense seemed to lose its steam after that as they wouldn’t score again the rest of the game. There was one final chance for the Chiefs to go down and score as they found themselves with the ball down 36-35 with about 2 minutes to go. The team seemed to be moving down the field with ease only to yet again meet the cruel mistress of turnovers as Clyde Edwards-Helaire fumbled away any chance at victory as the team was nearing the redzone.

Week 3 (Chargers) was the first divisional matchup of the 2021 season as the Chiefs hosted the LA Chargers. “Turnovers! Getchya Turnovers here!” The first half of this game was about as bad as you could script it. The first fours drives for KC went INT-Fumble-Fumble-Punt, not exactly anyone’s keys to success. This game was the first to feature the Chief’s new play design of balls hitting the Wideouts hands only to be tipped into the arms of a defender. KC tried to turn the tide in the 3rd quarter with 3 consecutive TD drives to take the lead but ultimately came up short as the Chargers were able to move the ball well against a porous Chief’s defense for much of the game. The game was tied at 24 by late in the 4Q, Mahomes and company had a chance to drive down for the win and for the second consecutive week were met by an ill-timed turnover, this time a poor throw and interception by #15. Justin Herbert made them pay dearly for this as he turned that INT into his 4th TD pass of the game and ultimately the game winner.

Week 4 (Eagles) showed what kind of offensive juggernaut this team can be. Not counting the final kneel down drive, the Chiefs scored a Touchdown on every drive they had the ball except the first drive of the second half which ended in an interception. It was the Patrick and Tyreek show as Mahomes finished with 278 and 5td and Hill with 186 and 3Tds. The offense was able to mask the bad defensive outing for KC that gave up 461 yards to Jalen Hurts and the Eagles.

1Q Review: The first quarter of the season ended with mixed results. Being 2-2 was not in the desired results with as high expectations as the Chiefs had coming into the year. The Chargers and Ravens losses both felt like very winnable games that slipped through the teams grasp by bad turnovers at even worse times. And not that anyone was expecting an All-World defense but thus far it has looked absolutely putrid, giving up 30 or more points in 3 of the 4 games and 29 points in the other to go along with an average of 438 yards per game. It was already obvious that Spagnuolo and the defense needed a shake up.

Second Quarter: 2-2 Record

Bills (L 20-38), Washington (W 31-13), Titans (L 3-27), Giants (W 20-17)

Week 5 (Bills) The week 5 blowout to the Bills was not a fun way to spend a Sunday night if you were a Chiefs fan. This game was really what kicked off the headlines about the Chief’s offensive troubles and the “2 high safety” kryptonite. 4 Turnovers by the Chiefs (3 by Mahomes) and a defense that allowed 436 yards is a recipe for disaster. This game featured another “KC special” INT when Hill bobbled a ball that hit him right in the numbers which in turn was nabbed up by a defender who was able to run it back for a Pick 6. An embarrassing loss on the national stage, the Chiefs now had a 2-3 record to start their 2021 campaign.

Week 6 (WFT) This is a great example of a game that you can’t tell how it went just by looking at the box score. The Chiefs won handily 31-13 but it certainly didn’t feel like a palate cleanser post Bills bully session. During the Chiefs second drive of the game they had yet another Tyreek Hill bobble turned INT, this time after a long drive had gotten them to within the 10 yard line of Washington. The team was beginning to feel cursed. To make matters worse, to close out the half Mahomes fumbled the snap and even though recovered the ball he threw what could better be described as a shot put than a football pass for his 2nd INT of the game. Both INTs came on drives that combined for 143 yards. The second half went a little more smoothly as KC outscored WFT 21-0.

Week 7 (Titans) You win some, you lose some. Or in the Chiefs case; You win 1, you lose 1. There isn’t much to write about from a Chief fan’s perspective pertaining to this spank fest. This was the lowest scoring game since Mahomes had taken over as QB. It was over at halftime as the teams headed to the locker room with the score 27-0. Mahomes was responsible for another INT and Fumble. But it wouldn’t be a 2021 Chiefs game without someone turning over the ball within the opponents 10, as Mecole Hardman did after an 18 play 86 yard drive. Although to be fair this game was already over by that point. Much reflecting was had in the City of Fountains.

Week 8 (Giants) Staying with the pattern, the Chiefs answered a blowout with an unconvincing victory. Stop me if you’ve heard this before; “The Chiefs are marching down the field and knocking on the endzones door inside the 10 yard line, Mahomes goes to pass… TIPPED, INTERCEPTED”. Oh yeah it happened again and on the first drive of the game, you could do nothing but laugh at that point. The Chiefs lucked out as the very next play from scrimmage Daniel Jones gave it back by way of INT on their own 13 yard line which KC were able to take in for a score. Both teams looked flat and uninspired as they traded punts, and turnovers, and punts, and turnovers until the game just sort of ended.

2Q Review: This 2-2 felt a lot worse than the first quarter of the season. The Chiefs were sitting at 4-4 and the team seemed lost and confused by what had transpired through the first half of the season. By this time the critics were out in full force that Andy Reid and the Chiefs offense had been figured out and their short time at the top had come to an end. As I had mentioned during the Bills game segment, the infamous 2-high safety problem was being printed everywhere. Pundits were saying that the Chiefs are a 1 dimensional offense (that dimension being the coolest one though) and are unable to “take what the defense gives them”. And while Kansas City was facing more 2-high looks than any other team, the notion that it was causing the Chief’s troubles was overblown in my opinion. The team was still at times moving the ball well and were taking the underneath almost exclusively all season. Every successful drive seemed to be 12 plays 80 yards or 15 plays 75 yards with lots of dinking and dunking, all season long. The first half woes didn’t have 1 type of coverage to blame them on (Cover-2 isn’t some new scheme folks!). Instead it was a culmination of a number of things including extremely bad luck on turnovers in the redzone, a piss poor defense playing historically bad that couldn’t get consistent pressure on the opposing QB, and even some Mahomes “luck” regression. Patrick Mahomes plays loose and fast and for the last few years it has been commented by fans and writers alike that he has gotten “lucky” with some of his gunslinger mentalities and turnover worthy plays. I think the first half of this season saw some of those plays go the other way as it happens with all risk taking QBs, and those were to be expected especially after 3 seasons of it really not happening all that often. It just so happened that this “balance” was being restored at the same time all the other issues were occurring. Regardless of my theories, on paper this team looked like it was without an identity and Mahomes was becoming turnover prone. After 8 weeks he was averaging 296 yards/game with 19TDs and 10 Ints, along with 2 fumbles lost. Respectful enough but seeing as his highest season total previously was 12 INTs, there was certainly some justification for concern. The next month of football seemed to be make or break for the Chief’s 2021 season.

3rd Quarter, Halftime adjustments: 4-0 Record

Packers (W 13-7), Raiders (W 41-14), Cowboys (W 19-9), *Bye week Broncos (W 22-9)*

** TRADE! ** A day after the Giants game, the Chiefs knowing their Defense needed help on the line acquired Melvin Ingram from the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 2022 6th round pick. This move would allow Chris Jones to move back to his natural interior role after the failed experiment of having him on the edge the first half of the season.

Week 9 (GB) A week after the uninspiring win against the Giants, the Chiefs faced off against an Aaron Rodgers-less Packers. In what has become a reoccurring nightmare for State Farm, Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes have yet to play in a game at the same time. Even though this was the first time in the season the Chief’s had strung together two wins in a row, the game did little to instill confidence in the team’s offense only scoring 1 touchdown and 13 total points. The defense looked improved but at the same time playing against an unproven Jordan Love. Only recorded 1 sack, but their 28 pressures was the second most of the season thus far.

Week 10 (Raiders) The Chiefs headed to Las Vegas and had what felt like the turning point of the season. The offense looked in sync, receivers were finding the holes and the play calling seemed to hit its stride. The defense looked invigorated with the Melvin Ingram addition, getting good pressure on Derek Carr for most of the game. It didn’t change the unit into the 85 Bears but compared to what we had seen prior it was a breath of fresh air. In total the Defense allowed less than 300 yards of offense and 14 points to a very good Raiders squad on their home turf. Mahomes went for 406 through the air with 5 TDs and the dynamic duo of Hill and Kelce combined for 15rec 202yds and 2TDs. The Chiefs would look to build off this momentum.

Week 11 (Cowboys) Add another W to streak as the Chiefs handled the Cowboys. This game was the Chris Jones show as he tallied 3.5 sacks and 8 total pressures. Dak Prescott and the Boys couldn’t get much going as they failed to get in the endzone and scored just 9 points. It was the second week in a row that the Chiefs D was able to put up a good showing against a respectful offense.

Week 13 (Broncos) Andy Reid and getting Dubs after a bye, name a better duo. The Chiefs held the lead from start to finish but the Broncos solid defense gave them fits for most of the game. Denver had a strong run game all last year and that showed in Week 13 going for 154 yards on the ground. For the second consecutive week the Chiefs kept their opponent to below 10 points.

3Q Review: It’s crazy what a 5 game winning streak can do for a team and fanbase as both felt like they could breathe again with an 8-4 record. The team over the last 4 weeks was becoming to play with more confidence than we had seen in the previous half. The Melvin Ingram trade made an immediate impact on the defensive line, not just by his solid play but also allowing Chris Jones to move back inside and be the disruptive freak that he is. But that wasn’t the only reason for the Defense going from historically bad to at least much more competent as there was several adjustments made that seemed to improve the unit. LB Willie Gay, who was on the IR the first four weeks started to get his feet under him which allowed less playing time for Ben Niemann. The same goes for Safety Juan Thornhill beginning to see his snap counts increase after he was seeing much less playing time to start the year behind Dan Sorenson which left many like myself befuddled. The offense did what it needed to do for the most part. The dumb mistakes that had cursed the team for the better part of the first 8 weeks had seemed to settle down as they played much more in tune with one another.

4Q and OT: 4-1 Record

Raiders (W 48-9), Chargers (W 34-28), Steelers (W 36-10), Bengals (L 31-34), Broncos (W 28-24)

Week 14 (Raiders) This game did not get off to a very good start for the Raiders as they fumbled the opening kickoff and the Chiefs recovered it for a TD. It didn’t get much better for them either as the Raiders had 5 turnovers (4 of which were fumbles) that resulted in 28 points by KC on the ensuing drives. After the Chief’s initial 3 and out to start the game, they went on to score on their final 7 drives not counting the kneel downs to run out the clock. Las Vegas did not enjoy the Chief’s company this year as they ended their final meet being outscored 89-23.

Week 15 (Chargers) The winning streak increased to 7 as the Chiefs and Chargers battled it out in a TNF OT thriller. The teams traded blows back in forth which culminated in the 4th quarter when 29 points were scored between the two teams tying them up at 28-28. The Chiefs suspect run defense was completely exposed allowing 192 yards on the ground as both teams put on an offensive showing. Heading into OT it seemed whoever won the coin toss would win the game and that’s exactly what happened as Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs charged down the field in just 75 seconds to score the walk off touchdown on a 34 yard catch and run by Travis Kelce. Travis had his best night of the year putting up 10/191/2.

Week 16 (Steelers) Not much of thriller here as the Chiefs handled the Steelers the entire game. KC shut out Pittsburgh until late into the 3rd quarter. It was already clear by this time in the season that Ben Rothlisberger was just a shell of his former self as the Chiefs showed they were the better team and coasted to their 8th straight victory.

Week 17 (Bengals) The streak would halt at 8 as Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase gave their best playoff audition. The Chiefs offense was buzzing in the first half jumping out to a 28-17 lead after the first 30 minutes. In what would become some heartbreaking foreshadowing the Bengals came out in the second half with great defensive adjustments as Andy Reid’s offense was only able to put up 3 more points. While on the other side Burrow had the bright idea of just lobbing it up to Ja’Marr Chase as often as he could to see if the Chiefs could stop it (Spoiler: they couldn’t). Chase would end the game with his best statistical game of the year putting up a remarkable 11/266/3.

Week 18 (Broncos) Divisional games to end the season are rarely easy. I think this game showed just why exactly the Broncos went out and grabbed Russell Wilson as they have enough talent on the team to compete even with Drew Lock at QB going 12/24 for 162. The Broncos strong run game showed up yet again, this time going for 192 yards. It wasn’t enough however as the teams fought back and forth all game until fortune favored the Chiefs as Melvin Gordon was stripped of the ball by the other Melvin [Ingram] which was recovered by the rookie standout LB Nick Bolton who took it 86 yards to the house to give the Chiefs the lead midway through the 4th quarter. They would retain the lead and the victory and finish the season on a 9-1 run and secure the AFC’s #2 seed for the playoffs.

4Q Review: In terms of results, the second half of the season was just 1 game short of perfect. The defense was playing more similarly to the past couple of seasons where while it shouldn’t be relied upon you can at least expect some good plays throughout a game. Consistent pressure on the QB was still a major issue and the run D was the second worst in the league allowing 4.8 YPC. The offense was at times susceptible to stalling out but its swagger was back to the point where you had belief that they could break open a big play at any time. One thing I didn’t even bring up during this entire season review was the run game, and that’s because it was never a major factor in any of KCs games. Statistically we were 16th in the league with 1,955 yards on the ground, almost 400 of those yards coming from Mahomes and his ability to escape the pocket and scramble down field. Part of that reason just comes down to Andy Reid’s offensive philosophy which has historically been one of the pass heaviest in the league. The team was set for the playoffs with at least 2 guaranteed home games and were scheduled to meet the Steelers in a regular season rematch in the Wild Card round.

Playoffs

Wild Card (Steelers, W 42-21) The first quarter of the wild card game was an absolute shitfest. 7(!) total punts between the two teams, the only drive not ending in a punt was a tipped pass by the Steelers D-line that resulted in an INT (Not again!!). The 2nd quarter was more of the same and Chief’s fans (Me) began to have flashbacks to the 2017 divisional round where the Steelers came into Arrowhead and beat the Chiefs 18-16 by only kicking field goals. After Pittsburgh punted to make it an even 8 for the game the Chiefs responded on the following drive with a Mecole Hardman fumble which was recovered by TJ Watt for a TD. It was beginning to feel like that early season curse was coming back for seconds. In what is now classic Chief’s fashion, they decided to go into hyper drive and took total control of the rest of the 1st half by scoring 3 touchdowns in the final 10 minutes of the 2nd quarter and headed into the locker room with a 21-7 lead. The Steelers punted some more. The game got out of hand by the 3rd quarter as the Chiefs took a demanding lead. On the other side it was a limp to the finish line for Ben Rothlisberger’s career as he hung them up for the final time in what was a great career.

Divisional Round (Bills, W 42-36) I honestly don’t feel like I can do this game justice with my shitty little write ups. If you are even reading this far into my review you undoubtedly watched the game or heard about it’s chaotic and crazy finish. I’ve really enjoyed the quasi-rivalry that the Chiefs and the Bills have built up the last few years with Allen and Mahomes taking their franchises to the next level and this game only solidified it. Neither team deserved to lose and put up a helluva fight. Those final two minutes were like two world class heavy weights bloodied and bruised going into the 12th round of the match and just wailing on each other until one of them drops. I tip my cap to the Bills and their fans and hope they don’t take it out on us too hard the next time we face off.

AFC Championship (Bengals, L 27-24) See week 17.

The 2022 Offseason outlook:

After a season of ups and downs culminating in a heartbreaking loss and choke job the Bengals it was obvious there was going to be some changes for this up coming season. It in a way mirrors the 2021 offseason which had its final game show serious flaws which prompted a busy offseason of trades and signings.

Let’s first look at the notable losses via Free Agency thus far:

Charvarius Ward, CB - Singed with the 49ers 3yr/40.5MM
Tyrann Mathieu, S - Unsigned
Jarran Reed, DT - Singed with GB 1yr/3.2MM
Mike Hughes, CB - Signed with DET 1yr/2.2MM
Demarcus Robinson, WR - Signed with OAK 1yr/1.2MM
Bryon Pringle, WR - Signed with CHI 1yr/4.1MM
Melvin Ingram, EDGE - Unsigned
Darrel Williams, RB - Unsigned
Daniel Sorenson, S - Signed with NO 1yr/1.2MM
Ben Niemann, LB - Unsigned

The biggest losses here are Charvarius Ward and Tyrann Mathieu. Mathieu has been the heart of our defense the last three years and regardless of how the team played they would’ve been far worse without him during his stay here. He’s getting a bit older but his leadership and knowledge will be hard to replace. Ward has been a great CB for us as well and rose from being traded to us as a depth CB during his rookie UDFA summer to being our #1 CB the last three seasons.

Cap Casualty:

Anthony Hitchens, the Chiefs MLB for the last 4 seasons was the first move KC made this offseason. Predicted as cap casualty Hitchens came to KC on a 5/45MM contract in 2018 and depending who you ask he has played at an average to below average level. The move created about $9MM in cap space that the team desperately needed.

Familiar Faces: Players re-signed, restructured, or franchised-

Orlando Brown, LT - Franchise Tagged (worth $16.6MM): The teams starting LT whom they traded a pretty penny for in the 2021 offseason. They seem to be working on a long term contract but it is unclear if that will get done before next season.
Frank Clark, DE – Restructured contract (2 yr $29MM): Predicted to be a cap casualty along with Hitchens, Clark and KC were able to come to a restructure for the next two years, the restructure lessens his cap hit to $13MM this year and gives the team a potential out next season. Clark has been an underwhelming signing for the Chiefs after the Chiefs traded a 1st and 2nd pick for him in 2019 and a shiny new 5yr/$104MM contract.
Derrick Nnadi, DT – Re-signed (1yr 2.75MM): Nnadi is fine as an IDL depth piece, and D-line is in need of just about everything right now.

The Big Shock: Tyreek Hill traded!

After two offseasons of trying to work on a long-term contract extension, Tryeek Hill and the Chiefs front office apparently hit a roadblock after the WR market exploded this offseason. On the morning of March 23rd that roadblock turned into a dead end and the team allowed Tyreek to seek a trade. Within hours the Dolphins had a deal in place and the Cheetah was heading south.

The Chiefs received:
2022 1st (30 Ovr)

2022 2nd (50)

2022 4th (121)

2023 4th

2023 6th

The Dolphins Received:

Tyreek Hill, immediately signed 4yr/$120MM contract

The news came as a shock to most around the NFL. Tyreek Hill has been the cornerstone of the fast paced, high scoring offense of KC for 6 years. His combination of speed, route running, instincts, and chemistry with Mahomes will be impossible to replace. The move gives the Chiefs an additional $21MM in cap space this year along with the added draft capital.

Notable Offseason additions thus far (Noting team they were with last season):

Justin Reid S, Texans 3yr $31.5MM
Juju Smith-Schuster WR, Steelers 1yr $3.25MM
Marques Valdes-Scantling WR, Packers 3yr $30MM
Ronald Jones RB, Bucs 1yr $1.5MM
Deon Bush S, Bears 1yr $1.2MM
Taylor Stallworth DT, Colts Contract not yet disclosed

The draft portion and conclusion of this post will follow in the comments.

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Biyernes, Abril 8, 2022

2022 32 Teams/32 Days: Kansas City Chiefs