The Chiefs head into their bye sitting atop the AFC, and for the next couple of weeks that part is not going to change. They are the conference’s last unbeaten team, and they’re also the only AFC team that had a Week 5 bye. That early break is never ideal over a full NFL season, since it leaves a long run of games on the back end, but Kansas City probably won’t mind the extra time for Rashee Rice’s hamstring to keep healing.
The bigger issue is what comes next. The Chiefs have already worked through the seventh-easiest schedule in the league, according to FTN Fantasy’s DVOA metrics, but the road ahead is rougher - the ninth-hardest slate the rest of the way. If Kansas City is going to keep rolling, there are three places where the roster can tighten up.
The first is the pass rush.
That’s the obvious one, and for good reason: the Chiefs have only three sacks, which leaves them ahead of just one team in the league. That’s not enough for a defense that has frequently played with a lead and should have had chances to pin its ears back.
There were signs of life last week, even if the sack column stayed empty against Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins. Kansas City produced 18 pressures, and George Karlaftis was responsible for 11 of them, per PFF tracking. That tied the single-game high for any player this season.
Still, one hot game from Karlaftis isn’t enough. Chris Jones, at 32, has opened the year slowly with 11 pressures in four games.
R Mason Thomas, a second-round pick, has flashed on the edge, while first-rounder Peter Woods has taken longer to find his footing. Both are only a month into their pro careers, so some growth is expected.
The Chiefs need it to show up soon.
That’s where the bye can help in another area: getting the rookies on offense moving faster.
Kansas City has been more cautious there than on defense. Fifth-round receiver Cyrus Allen had a strong first half of training camp, but the Chiefs are clearly waiting for him to process the offense more quickly before giving him a bigger role. He hasn’t caught a pass yet and has played just 10 offensive snaps.
The timing matters. Tyquan Thornton may be out for the rest of the season after ankle surgery, and while Allen wouldn’t replace Thornton’s downfield skill set one-for-one, more snaps for Allen would give the Chiefs flexibility with the rest of the offense. The best way to speed up that process is simple: get him on the field.
The same goes for the other fifth-round pick, running back Emmett Johnson. The idea isn’t to push Kenneth Walker out of the lineup.
It’s to make sure Kansas City can rest him more comfortably, especially with January and February in mind. Walker was a playoff force for Seattle a year ago, rushing for 313 yards and four touchdowns, but he carried the ball only 212 times in the regular season.
This year, he already ranks second in the NFL with 87 rushing attempts and is on pace for 370.
Then there’s the protection issue, which is a little more nuanced than the overall pressure numbers suggest.
Patrick Mahomes has not actually been under duress as often as it might seem. By PFF’s count, 22 quarterbacks have faced pressure more frequently, and Next Gen Stats has the Chiefs as the third-least pressured team in the league. But the trouble is showing up on the edges.
Right tackle Jaylon Moore has allowed nine quick pressures, the most in the NFL, along with 13 total. No other player has given up more than seven quick pressures. Left tackle Khalil Benson isn’t far behind with six.
So the question turns to Josh Simmons, who has been out since training camp with what Andy Reid recently described as a bulging disc in his back. Kansas City never put him on injured reserve, a clear sign the team expected - or at least hoped - he could be part of the lineup by now.
Even without him, the Chiefs’ offense ranks third in the NFL in yards per game. But Simmons still matters because he plays a spot where Kansas City can use help. And with the schedule about to get much tougher, that could become a bigger issue in a hurry.
In Other News...
Chiefs Still Have A Left Tackle Problem They Cant Define
Josh Simmons entered the Chiefs plans with plenty of intrigue after a torn patellar tendon two years ago altered his draft path, and his recovery has been watched closely ever since. He did enough in rehab to win the starting job for the first five games of the 2025 season, which at least suggested Kansas City might have found some stability at left tackle after a long search for it.
Instead, the position remains unsettled because Simmons has barely been on the field since arriving in Kansas City. He has played in only eight of the teams 21 games since being drafted, and the club still does not have a clear timetable for when he might be back, leaving the Chiefs to keep sorting out the blind-side spot without a defined answer. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Got The Bye Week Break They Needed Before A Tricky Stretch
The bye week gave Kansas City a chance to sit back, rest up and watch the AFC West landscape shift around it while the Chiefs stayed undefeated at 4-0. Their lead in the division held firm as the Las Vegas Raiders fell to the New England Patriots, even as the Denver Broncos managed to win despite some offensive trouble, a reminder that the standings can look steadier than the football underneath them.
Now the attention turns to the bigger race, where the Chiefs are tracking the Jacksonville Jaguars and Baltimore Ravens as some of the most relevant challengers, with Buffalo still set to take the field on Monday night. The next test on the schedule is a tricky one against the Los Angeles Chargers, and after a week off, Kansas City enters it with a little more clarity on the road ahead and a lot less margin for error. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Unbeaten Start Is Rewriting What Fans Thought About This Roster
The early weeks of the season have given Kansas City a very different kind of storyline than many around the league expected. A perfect 4-0 start has pushed the Chiefs into a place where the usual questions about aging stars and depth pieces have, at least for now, been replaced by evidence that this roster is producing in all the right places. Kenneth Walker III has been one of the biggest drivers of that surge, Travis Kelce has been dependable again, and rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane has already looked like he belongs after going sixth overall.
What makes the opening month especially interesting is how much of this success has come from players who were not penciled in as the main attraction when the season began. Kahlil Benson, in particular, has carved out an unexpected role up front, giving the Chiefs stability at a spot that often decides how far a team can go. The bigger question now is whether this fast start reflects a real reworking of what the roster can be, or just the kind of early-season momentum that still needs to survive the grind ahead. [Read more 🡒]