The Chiefs walked away from Denver with a loss that never should have gotten away, and the bigger issue now is whether they’ve got a closing problem on their hands.
Kansas City had a two-score cushion against the Broncos last Sunday and still couldn’t finish the job. Tight end Travis Kelce was visibly bothered after the game, and according to a report from Jesse Newell of The Athletic, he didn’t sugarcoat what went wrong.
Kelce said the Chiefs have to “fix a lot,” as he pointed to the penalties that hit Kansas City hard in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs were flagged 11 times for 105 yards in the 28-24 loss, and Kelce was part of the problem himself.
He was called for a false start, his third in three weeks, and said he’s one of the players who “sets the tone” for the rest of the team, both on the field and in the locker room.
That penalty helped derail the touchdown drive that could have ended the game. And the frustrating part for Kansas City is that this hasn’t been an isolated mess. The same kind of sloppiness showed up against the Miami Dolphins and Los Angeles Chargers, which makes Sunday’s matchup with the New York Jets at Arrowhead feel a lot more dangerous than it should.
Good teams can get away with “playing with their food” for a while. The Chiefs have done that before, letting Miami and the Chargers hang around too long. If they keep leaving the door open, it could catch up with them again against the Jets.
The problems in Denver weren’t limited to one side of the ball, either. Newell reported breakdowns across all three phases. Kicker Harrison Butler missed a 54-yard field goal, and he’ll be under the microscope again if the Chiefs need another long attempt to put points on the board.
On defense, Chris Jones pointed to the missed tackles, especially the 51-yard catch-and-run by Denver running back Jonah Coleman late in the game that set up what became the winning touchdown.
The Jets, though, aren’t showing up as a harmless opponent. Geno Smith carved up the Las Vegas Raiders last Sunday, throwing for 290 yards and two touchdowns. Braelon Edwards added 147 rushing yards, and Adonai Mitchell finished with seven catches for 142 yards and a touchdown.
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