Through roughly the first half of the NFL season, everyone's been waiting for the Chiefs to turn it on. And while it's true that this is a core that probably doesn't have a whole lot to prove in the regular season, Kansas City's slow start has officially crossed over from 'slow start' to 'full-on panic.' Is it already too late for a second-half run? Are the Chiefs even close to thinking about that? Here's what the internet thinks.
ESPN: #14
The Chiefs have just eight sacks, and their two highly paid rushers, Chris Jones and Frank Clark, have combined for only two. Entering Sunday's game against the Titans, the Chiefs were 28th in ESPN's pass rush win rate, getting pressure within 2.5 seconds on just 34% of the snaps. Jones, who is playing more snaps this season from an edge-rushing position, appeared poised to challenge his career-best single-season sack mark (15.5), but that's not going to happen
NFL.com: #14
This was a Sunday of red flags ... and not the kind team personnel race across the field after touchdowns at Arrowhead. The Chiefs were down 24-0 before a pass rusher sniffed Ryan Tannehill. The Patrick Mahomes-led offense didn't convert its first third down until 12:46 remained in the game. And then there was the most somber of all scenes for Chiefs fans: Down 27-3, late in the third quarter and facing fourth-and-forever, Andy Reid sent out Harrison Butker to attempt a 57-yard field goal.
The Ringer: #13
It wasn’t shocking that the Titans’ offense gave the sievelike Chiefs defense trouble, but I’m not sure anyone could have predicted that Tennessee’s defense would limit the Patrick Mahomes–led offense to just three points. The Titans kept with an emerging strategy that teams have employed against Mahomes this season and blitzed the Kansas City signal-caller just one time on his 39 dropbacks, preferring instead to drop seven—and sometimes even eight—defenders into coverage.
Bleacher Report: #14
OK, it's time to seriously start worrying about the Kansas City Chiefs. Until Sunday's blowout loss at Tennessee, the team had never failed to score a touchdown with Patrick Mahomes as its starting quarterback. The 2021 Chiefs are abjectly awful defensively. They can't cover opposing receivers (26th in passing defense) and are tied for last in the NFL in sacks (eight). But the offense's struggles are really bizarre. After three more turnovers Sunday, the Chiefs lead the league in giveaways.
Yahoo! Sports: #13
The Chiefs aren't the worst team in football or anything, but it's clear this is a flawed team in a few ways, some of which are unexpected. You can't rule out the Chiefs figuring it out and getting hot, but it's time to wonder if this is just an average team.
Sports Illustrated: #10
The Chiefs are struggling; they need to get healthy, they need to diversify their target share, they need to run the ball and they need some kind of defensive revival meeting. They are a long way from the bye, which means they’ll have to figure all this out on the fly.
USA Today: #13
Going back to Super Bowl 55, they've been torched for 29.3 points per game while averaging 24.6 and are -12 in turnover differential during that eight-game stretch. Time to get back to fundamentals, fellas.
CBS Sports: #17
It's amazing they are down this low. The defense is awful, but the offense isn't doing anything either. They have a must-win game this week against the Giants. Can Patrick Mahomes get it going?