Chiefs EoS 2021-2

 

Oh, woe is me!

Can we say enough about how the Chiefs blew it? No. The Super Bowl trip was booked and paid for and then in a half of unprecedented sorrow and error it all went up in smoke.

Wisdom says that the offence suddenly collapsed and lost the game.

Not so. I remind all that it’s defence that wins games, and if anyone had cared to look at the signs an average at best defence have been there for some time.

To recap, at half-time the Chiefs led 21 to 3. And, they completely screwed up the last possession in an uncharacteristically poor way. Andy Reid has to accept responsibility for that. The defence simply could not protect an 18 point lead. End of story.

Just a week ago we were marvelling at the 13 seconds of magic that did for the Bills. We came to believe that Mahomes' magic could overcome all and everything.

As fans, we have gotten used to Mahomes and the offence bailing us out when the defence really isn’t that good. Chris Jones had no sacks and Melvin Ingram one. Joe Burrow was occasionally under some pressure, but they could not complete the job. The other men on the line contributed very little.

Bottom line: the defence lost the game.

Where do we go from here?

Last season it was the O-line that led to the embarrassment against the Bucs, so now we flip to the defence. Is this unusual? No. There are 32 teams trying to win the Super Bowl each season, and 31 of them are going to be disappointed at the end. Each team will identify things they need to improve on for the next season and plan accordingly. 31 of them will not win the Super Bowl the next season. So, putting it into perspective, the Chiefs have been in the AFC Championship game four years in a row and won two of them and s Super Bowl. By most objective standards this looks like success.

For the Chief’s fans this just looks like normality. We have been spoiled.

The initial reaction from Veach was we need to address the defence - particularly the D-line. And, he’s probably correct. Nadi and the crew on the inside did very little against the Bengals. Melvin Ingram is a stop-gap and although he did quite well is ready to move on. The bit-part back-up’s like Dana did a bit but not much. Are there players on the roster who could step up? Maybe. More likely it’s time to use some draft picks and free agency to revamp the squad. What about Spags? Jury is out. Andy Reid must be very disappointed that they could not protect a good lead in the most important game of the season. Maybe it’s time to move on?

One of the thing is certain, we'll be rooting for the Rams at the weekend.. Not in a surly fashion, but simply to embarrass the Chiefs defence. I expect they are feeling down in the mouth, as well they should.

Like most fans we wish both teams well and hope for a good game. There's always next year for the rest of us, but chiefs fans know that this is a real opportunity missed. Chiefs v Rams is a Chiefs win, almost every time.

News has it that there again is no coaching job for Eric Bieniemy. This is sad, but may work to the Chief’s advantage. I’ve often wondered if he is Andy Reid’s replacement, or at least pencilled in for that one. There is no doubt that he is a top offensive co-ordinator.

In other news, Mahomes seems to be taking all the blame for the loss to the Bengals. I repeat, it’s the coaches and the defence who should be in the firing line.