We are back in the win column even with a slightly weakened offense which was short Kadarius Toney, Mecole Hardman, and Jerick McKinnon. Here are some of my takeaways from this week’s game.
- Using the run game is a must. Even though most of Isiah Pacheco’s carries started with passes he had a good night totaling 89 yards. This was enough to keep the Raiders on their toes and get (and more importantly KEEP) the passing game going. He also notched two touchdowns providing an impressive contribution on offense.
- Rashee Rice has real promise. Despite a missed catch and a drop, he tallied eight receptions and 107 yards for the game. Making him the leading receiver for the KC offense for the first time in his short career. FEED that kid!
- Any reports of Travis Kelce’s demise were greatly exaggerated. Yesterday Kelce was… well Kelce. He tallied six receptions for 91 yards leaving him just shy of the 100-yard mark. He looked like the pass-catching tight end we all know and all Chiefs fans love.
- The offense might just bet better with fewer targets to choose from. I wasn’t too concerned about Hardman being out. I’m not sure I would’ve been concerned about missing Toney or McKinnon either (they haven’t used McKinnon that much). I was a little worried about all three of them being out at once but if the Chiefs’ coaching staff takes notes that may have been a blessing in disguise. Even Skyy Moore looked a little brighter than he has most of the season. He was 3 of 3 for 34 yards and at least one of those catches was a key catch.
- Noah Gray Also has some key catches and wasn’t far behind Moore with 3 catches for 30 yards.
- The offense CAN function when they put their heads down and clean up the mistakes (which they didn’t completely do but it was a huge step in the right direction.
I’m trying not to read too much into this because it was only the Raiders. But also, it was the Raiders who usually bring us their best. We can only hope this is a sign of what we’ll see going forward.
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If the offense can continue to protect the ball and score points this team can go places with this defense. I’m not sold just yet, but I AM hopeful.
