Within the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs’ 26-25 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon, the group misplaced one other of its offensive talent gamers. So this week, let’s take into account how simply Kansas Metropolis can stand up to accidents on this unit.
Can the Chiefs overcome offensive accidents?
One of many largest challenges in remaining a constant Tremendous Bowl contender is maintaining a group wholesome. As uncomfortable as it’s to debate, it’s a major consider such a violent sport. In some years, a group can stay comparatively injury-free. However in different years, they are often an essential issue.
For many of this explicit period of Chiefs soccer, the group has had good luck with accidents. Outdoors the top of the 2020 season — when the group’s offensive line was stuffed with reserves — accidents haven’t been an enormous drawback. Whereas particular person gamers have been harm, most of Kansas Metropolis’s greatest gamers have remained wholesome — and there was sufficient depth for the Chiefs to get previous different accidents.
However to this point, 2024 has been an outlier. The Chiefs have misplaced two key offensive contributors to damage. Large receiver Hollywood Brown harm his shoulder within the preseason. After setbacks in his restoration, he’s anticipated to overlook the common season. Then late in Sunday’s sport, operating again Isiah Pacheco fractured his fibula. He’s now anticipated to overlook at the least 6-8 weeks.
The veteran free agent Brown (and first-round draft decide Xavier Worthy) have been the group’s most important offseason acquisitions. Brown was anticipated to play an enormous function as a conventional large receiver, profitable over the intermediate and vertical components of the sector. As a rookie, Worthy was anticipated to be extra of an auxiliary offensive piece, profitable horizontally and with designed touches. Collectively, they have been thought of an enormous improve to a large receiver group that wanted assist. Now, nonetheless, Worthy should carry that load alone.
On Sunday, we noticed a few of his rookie limitations. There’s little question with the ball in his palms, he’s explosive — however he struggles towards press protection. At simply 165 kilos, coping with the NFL’s greater, extra bodily cornerbacks is an issue.
On the unimaginable interception made by the Bengals’ Cam Taylor-Britt, Worthy wasn’t in a position to get a step on the cornerback; he was simply squeezed to the sideline.
This isn’t an indictment of Worthy — and even the group’s choice to draft him. However at his measurement, there are all the time going to be limitations to his skillset — and taking part in as an outdoor large receiver in all probability isn’t his greatest utilization. The Chiefs will discover methods to get Worthy in higher spots — when you’ve got his pace, creating these seems is less complicated — however with out Brown on the sector, that will probably be more durable.
So how can the group modify? Can Worthy be a dependable possibility each week, or does he have too many limitations? Can Rashee Rice deal with extra of the offense — notably on the sideline and downfield? Can the Chiefs get groups out of man protection and Cowl 1, or have they got so few weapons that defenses will stay comfy in these coverages?
Nonetheless, Pacheco’s damage is the one which considerations me probably the most. The Chiefs merely didn’t have a contingency plan for this case. Going into the season, considered one of my largest questions was operating again depth. Clyde Edwards-Helaire was the one different again on the roster with even a single NFL carry — and proper now, he’s additionally unavailable.
Undrafted rookie again Carson Steele did make the roster — and apart from his fumble on Sunday, has typically regarded spectacular; he’s massive and runs tremendous laborious. Whereas I don’t assume he has loads of imaginative and prescient, he might nonetheless spark Kansas Metropolis’s short-yardage sport. The Chiefs additionally signed veteran Samaje Perine after the Denver Broncos launched him. Whereas he’s restricted as a operating again, he will help the group out of the backfield (and in move safety) on third down.
Right here’s the issue: whereas these gamers have been tremendous behind Pacheco, neither must be a group’s beginning operating again; they only aren’t scalable to 15-20 carries per sport. Pacheco is an excellent beginning operating again. The Chiefs don’t have the depth to switch him.
So what can the Chiefs do? Is there an outdoor free agent who will help? Signing Kareem Hunt is a step in that course — however since he’s been signed to the apply squad, it seems the group believes he’s at the least a few weeks away from taking part in. By then, Edwards-Helaire could possibly be out there. Or are they comfy with Steele and Perine? If that’s the case, what number of carries are they earmarking for every participant? Or are they going to rely extra closely on the passing sport? What’s going to that imply if groups return into deeper coverages and depart gentle containers? Can Kansas Metropolis’s floor sport be environment friendly sufficient to drive defenses to respect it?
The hope, in fact, is that each Brown and Pacheco will probably be again earlier than the playoffs. In the end, that’s all that issues to the Chiefs — and if each are again and wholesome by the postseason, I’m not overly involved, both.
Nonetheless, it’s a protracted common season — and these guys have been purported to be massive components of this offense. With out them, it is going to be as much as quarterback Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid to determine it out. Whereas I belief them to seek out the correct options, it actually sucks that we’re not going to see this roster come collectively like we anticipated.
Get nicely quickly, Hollywood and Isiah.
