What do we say, Chiefs Kingdom? This one hurts. Okay, they ALL broke, but THIS one we had won… for a few brief seconds.
During this exciting but brutal game, I saw some things that were encouraging and some that were not so encouraging. Let’s begin with the not-so, shall we? That way, we can end on a high note.
The drops, missed catches, turnovers, and penalties still haunt this team. In this game, the penalties haunt them most.
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room now. An incredible play by Kelce to Toney resulted in a potentially game-winning touchdown called back by a silly offsides penalty called on Kadarius Toney.
Was the penalty legit? Yes
Should Toney have lined up correctly? Yes
Should the officials have called it? Yes… However, Toney had lined up that way four times before that and, according to the Chiefs, had not even received a warning.
They ignored it four times and then called it on perhaps the most crucial play of the game. This was not a good look for the NFL OR the Chiefs.
Mahomes was losing his cool worst, even being rude to Allen before leaving the field. He apologized later, though, so we can give him some grace, but that entire situation was frustrating, and I place a bit of blame on all involved except the Bills.
With the bad stuff out of the way, some good things happened.
- The team fought for a win, perhaps more complicated than they have had in most weeks since the Dolphins game.
- Clyde Edwards–Helaire moved the ball starting for Isaiah Pacheco. Some speculate he wasn’t 100% yet before this week. We may never know, but he looked good last night.
- Wanya Morris is off to a good start. Did anyone miss Donavan Smith last night? I didn’t.
- Trent McDuffie was… Trant McDuffie. He is on his way to being one of the better corners in the league.
- L’Jarius Sneed did not allow a touchdown…again.
- Rashee Rice passed Tyreek Hill for the 4th most yards by a rookie in franchise history.
What does all this mean? The season isn’t over, and while it’s a sliver of a chance, there’s still a chance the Chiefs could lock in the one seed and win a playoff game or two IF they clean it up just a little more.
That’s a big if, though, and there’s also a chance if they don’t, the Denver Broncos “could” pass them and win the division for the 1st time since Mahomes became the starter.
This is where we are, Chiefs Kingdom, on the edge of our seats, fearing the worst and hoping for the best because we’re ride-or-die fans.
