Hello, my name is Dan Gartland. I still can’t believe Sergiño Dest’s crisis last night. That’s not what you want to see from a U.S. men’s national team that was already dealing with all sorts of drama.
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Mahomes’ receivers are letting him down
For years, the Chiefs have been synonymous with high-flying offense. But not anymore.
Kansas City’s offense fell flat for the third straight game last night, getting shut out in the second half as the Eagles came from behind to win on the road, 21-17.
Since 2017 (the year before Patrick Mahomes took over as starting quarterback), the Chiefs have ranked in the top six in the league in points and yards. Twice (in ’18 and ’22), they led the league in both categories. But they have sputtered this year, ranking eighth in yards per game and 14th in scoring. It’s not great, but it’s not what we’re used to seeing from Mahomes & Co.
What was terrible, however, was the Chiefs’ offense in the second half. As Matt Verderame points out, Kansas City entered last night’s game averaging a league-worst 5.9 points in the second half of games.. After being shut out in the last two quarters by Philadelphia, that number is now 5.3. KC has scored five second-half touchdowns this season, the same number as the Jets.
Last night was the third straight game where the Chiefs were shut out in the second half, and they are now 1–2 on that stretch. They still hold a two-game lead in the division over the Broncos, but they’re part of a four-team deadlock in the AFC at 7-3 and could easily end up with the No. 4 seed.
So what went wrong for the Chiefs this year? Exactly what we expected before the season started. Mahomes doesn’t have the same quality of receivers, and that hurts the team. Kansas City receivers have dropped 25 passes this season, second only to the Browns (26). And no drop was bigger than Márquez Valdes-Scantling’s last night. With less than two minutes to play, Valdes-Scantling was open with nothing but green grass between him and the end zone. Mahomes threw a pass that hit his hands, and he dropped a go-ahead touchdown. (View the piece here.) Mahomes graciously took the blame for not throwing a better pass, but the play was really Valdes-Scantling’s fault.
Tight end Travis Kelce is having a great season and the Chiefs have run the ball well (racking up 121 rushing yards in the first half last night against a stout Eagles defense that hadn’t allowed that many rushing yards in a match). this season), but wide receivers are the obvious weak spot. They tried to fix the problem by reacquiring Mecole Hardman in a trade with the Jets after he left as a free agent in the offseason, but it’s clearly not a problem that can be fixed at once. stolen.
Improving the receiving corps will surely be the focus of Kansas City’s offseason, but the question now is how the Chiefs will improve the offense this season with the current players. The good news: They have an elite defense that is the best they’ve had in years, but it will be difficult to make a sixth consecutive appearance in the AFC Championship Game with this offense.
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The first five…
…things I saw last night:
SIQ
I’m already looking forward to Saturday’s Ohio State-Michigan game, which will be the third straight edition of the annual rivalry in which both teams are ranked in the top five. Which school has had the advantage in the previous 13 top-five meetings?
Yesterday’s SIQ: On November 20, 2012, Jack Taylor set a new NCAA basketball record by scoring 138 points in a single game. Which small Division III school in Iowa did Taylor play for?
- Grinnel
- Coe
- Wartburg
- Luther
Answer: Grinnel. Taylor, a 5’10” guard from Wisconsin, shot 52 of 108 (27 of 71 from the three-point line) in a 179-104 victory over Faith Baptist Bible College, a National Christian College school Athletic Association which had lost its first 10 matches of this season.
High scoring outbursts were not unusual for Grinnell players under coach David Arsenault’s fast-paced offense. Taylor is one of four players in D-III history with at least three 50-point games in his career. The other three it all worked for Grinnell.
After Taylor scored 58 points in the first half, Arsenault realized the sophomore had a chance to make history.
“Maybe I’m superficial. Maybe I’m crazy,” Arsenault said Sports Illustrated at the time, “but I believe that we must offer children sporting moments where they can feel good about themselves. Playing our best players at a higher level, which will make us better. And the best way to do that is to let them go for records. We understand there’s some nonsense going on here, but seriously, what we want is just a competitive team. And to do that takes good athletes and fan support, and some sort of fancy game like this every once in a while gives us a real boost. It’s also about reward. We were just trying to get Jack out of his funk and give him a moment.
