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Three Takeaways From Chiefs-Buccaneers Week 4

Chris Mitchell

The Kansas City Chiefs are 3-1 after beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 41-31 on Sunday Night Football. Here’s three takeaways from that ballgame:

 

1. We Were Gifted with a Maximum Patrick Mahomes Performance

Throughout this early season, Pat Mahomes has been making it more than clear that he’s still a top three quarterback in the NFL. With the thin list of highlights over week 2 and 3, hindsight shows that this unit is still a work in progress. Waiting for them to find their groove without cheat code speed takes a bit of patience. Our collective reward for patience with the Chiefs offense as they find their way without Tyreek Hill happened last night. Mahomes went even further and proved he is QB1 with a bullet by dropping 41 on the domes of a defensive unit that gave him all kinds of hell in Super Bowl 55.

Look no further than this goal line passing touchdown to Clyde Edwards-Helaire.. The athleticism to escape pressure to keep the play alive, the improvisation in that 360 degree spin move to shed a tackle from NFC Defensive Player of the Month Devin White closing in on him like heat-seeking missile, the spatial awareness to toss the ball just behind the line of scrimmage, and the control to give it just enough air and just the right touch for Clyde to come down with it and make it six. Everything about this play encapsulates how dangerous Mahomes is as a playmaker, and the fact that he did it on the road against a top defensive unit in the NFL makes it all the more impressive. The only part of the Patrick Mahomes Experience you didn’t get in that one play was the patented deep ball fired out of an arm cannon for a completion, but you did get that with Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a later play.

Mahomes followed up a pair of slower Week 2 and Week 3 games by dominating one of the best defenses in the country. He’s in the business of casting away any and all doubts of what he can accomplish without his historically explosive WR1.

 

2. The Offensive Line Won the Fight in the Trenches

The Chiefs offensive line came into this game looking for some redemption after last week’s performance against the Colts, where the run game was near non-existent and the Colts defensive line was getting about as much pressure as it wanted in that final stretch of the game. On top of that, this is a unit that was wounded and lacking coming into Super Bowl 55, requiring Mahomes to run for his life on what felt like almost every dropback in that ballgame. Bucs defensive lineman Shaq Barrett was well aware of this in the week leading up to Sunday night, mentioning how unimpressed he was with the Chiefs o-line during a mid-week presser. The Chiefs o-line apparently took that personally, and made their presence known on Sunday night.

The Chiefs offensive line dragged the Buccaneers opponents up and down the field like they owed them money. It was a coming out party for the greatly anticipated and missed run game. The running backs averaged 5.5 yards per carry and the o-line recorded a run block win rate of 83.3%, the second best in week four, according to ESPN stats. They were getting all the necessary push they needed when it mattered most, as you can observe on this CEH touchdown right here:

An almost 71% third down conversion rate and one single punt the whole night makes for an offense that was in control all night, and you can’t get that without controlling the trenches. They put the Chiefs offense in the driver’s seat throughout the game, and kinda makes me wish that other opposing defensive linemen talk cash money trash in midweek pressers for the rest of the season.

 

3. The Chiefs Defense Survived a Resurging Buccaneers Passing Attack

The Bucs set the tone for this ballgame before the opening kick, activating speedy pass catching threat Chris Godwin on the same day Mike Evans was reinstated off his one game suspension. Any offense piloted by Tom Brady is gonna give you a headache, but when he’s piloting an offense that’s about as close to full power as you can get, it puts extra onus on the defense to get themselves ready for it and give the Chiefs offense the windows they needed to get the win. Once the Chiefs got out to an early 7-0, it became almost a requirement for the Bucs to pass on almost every single God given down of football. The Bucs got their miles in, scoring more points than they did in any other game this season, but the Chiefs defense bowed up when they needed to the most, forcing the Bucs to trade touchdowns for field goals and keeping them at arm’s length from the Chiefs. If the Chiefs offense turned the ball over on downs, the Chiefs defense got ‘em the ball right back.

It’s the kind of complementary football you like to see from a defense missing key players in CB Trent McDuffie, DE Mike Danna, and LB Willie Gay. It sets some high expectations if/when the Chiefs get all their key defensive starters back and healthy at the same time. That right there is gonna be the x-factor that really makes the Chiefs a threat for a deep playoff run come wintertime.

 

Up next, the Chiefs get back into AFC West play with a Monday Night Football throwdown with the Las Vegas Raiders. It’s Raiders Hate Week, everybody.

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