Chiefs 2022

[pdub]

I mean, the best player in the NFL is hurt - an injury that typically takes weeks to heal.
That changes things.
And no, I’m not happy at all about that.

But you do you.

[Deleted User 863]

Smiled when I read what Daniel Uhlfelder wrote but have to be honest, the kid in the 32 jersey and the woman in the red jacket and hat make me lose SOME respect for the Chiefs fanbase. Yes, I realize two people don't make an entire fanbase.

You lost respect for Chiefs fans because not all are Dems?

Seems like an unhealthy obsession.

[RainbowsandUnicorns]

Smiled when I read what Daniel Uhlfelder wrote but have to be honest, the kid in the 32 jersey and the woman in the red jacket and hat make me lose SOME respect for the Chiefs fanbase. Yes, I realize two people don't make an entire fanbase.

You lost respect for Chiefs fans because not all are Dems?

Seems like an unhealthy obsession.

"Unhealthy obsession" is your wrongfully assuming something about me - and possibly other people.
I couldn't care less if those people and other Chiefs fans are Pubs or Dems. I do care that people support DeSantis.

[Deleted User 863]

I couldn't care less if those people and other Chiefs fans are Pubs or Dems. I do care that people support DeSantis.

[pdub]

Keys to this game seems simple. Defensive pressure on both sides.

Can the Chiefs get pressure on Burrows below average line? Chris Jones needs to have his best playoff game. I think I’ve heard he still doesn’t have a playoff sack. Burrows wideouts are so good that you can’t give him time to find the right guy - especially when we don’t have a corner who matches well with Chase.

Can the Chiefs protect a banged up Mahomes? The Bengals, knowing mobility might be compromised, may send more than they would have. If Mahomes can’t move out of the pocket then the pocket has to stay steady. This starts with a disappointing Orlando Brown Jr who hasn’t shown he can stop speed very well.

[NewtonHawk11]

Expect a lot of RPO for the Chiefs. With random deep passes to keep the defense honest.

[Deleted User 863]

The replay made me worry he fractured his leg. Not sure if lower leg or ankle is better at this point in the season.

[pdub]

It helps that we have moved out of an offense relying on deep shots in this case bc if Mahomes can’t move, we will need to get the ball out quickly.

Toney could see more targets.

[japhy]

This is the fifth AFC Championship game in a row for the Chiefs. I am going to soak that in this week. As a long suffering Chiefs fan of 50 years, when the playoffs came around I just knew that if someone was going to catch lightning in a bottle during the playoffs, they would not be in a Chiefs uni. Five straight years of making the final four. Once you get here anything can happen.

[NewtonHawk11]

Toney, Kelce and JuJu are going to be the primary targets with Pachecho and McKinnon getting a lot of runs as well.

The thing that helps the Chiefs is that they have all week to plan for a hobbled Mahomes. They know he won't be mobile, so they're going to focus on run plays that don't make him move a ton and the pass plays will be quick.

Burrow gets rid of the ball insanely fast, always has. Expect Mahomes to do the same this week.

[NewtonHawk11]

This is the fifth AFC Championship game in a row for the Chiefs. I am going to soak that in this week. As a long suffering Chiefs fan of 50 years, when the playoffs came around I just knew that if someone was going to catch lightning in a bottle during the playoffs, they would not be in a Chiefs uni. Five straight years of making the final four. Once you get here anything can happen.

It's the #ArrowheadInvitational

[pdub]

Since Mahomes has been the starting QB, the Chiefs have never missed an AFC title game.

[NewtonHawk11]

A HOME AFC title game as well.

[twocoach]

I hope KC is able to figure out the Bengals puzzle and make another Super Bowl. Cincy is firing on all cylinders right now so the Chiefs will definitely be taking them very seriously. Hopefully KC sticks with the run a little longer and gives Pacheco more than 12 carries. I think if they can get him 20 carries for 100+ yards that KC will win.

[Deleted User 863]

I am sort of shocked the bengals are 1.5pt underdogs.

[pdub]

Consensus is now -1.
Tough to favor them on the road against the AFC regular season champs but the Mahomes question mark kept me away from betting straight up with my troll of a cousin who is a Colts/Bills fan.

[pdub]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/story/ ... super-bowl

Mahomes was able to return to the game, which does seem to suggest that he'll be able to play next week, but the injury is likely to dampen Kansas City's chances of advancing to its third Super Bowl in five seasons.

He was not his normal self after the injury, even with a heavy tape job and whatever else the Chiefs did to address the issue at halftime. The same Mahomes who had been extending plays and scrambling in his inimitable way early in the game was static and mostly stayed in the pocket, moving only when absolutely necessary. He limped, sometimes badly, to hand the ball to his backs on stretch plays.

The offense also shifted. Mahomes, one of the league's most efficient scramblers, ran the ball just once over the remainder of the game, when he picked up 4 painful yards on third-and-1. The Chiefs abandoned play-action, running it on just 5.9% of their dropbacks after the first quarter with him in the lineup, the lowest rate for any Mahomes performance over the final three quarters of a game.

Instead, the Chiefs likely will need more out of the other receivers on their roster. A Chiefs team chastened by its failure against the Bengals might have made a conscious choice to add in bulk by swapping out Hill for myriad replacements in JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney, but none of those players has been consistently impactful this season. Those wideouts are going to need to win one-on-one, and Mahomes is going to need to find them for big plays.

If we assume Mahomes looks next week essentially like the player we saw in the second half Saturday, the Chiefs will have to adapt. They'll have a week to prepare, but they can't count on Kelce getting open for 14 catches again. Tre Flowers, Cincinnati's preferred defender against Kelce, missed the win over the Bills with a hamstring injury. Andy Reid's ability to game-plan is legendary, but the margin for error they normally enjoy with Mahomes just disappeared.

One way they adapted after Mahomes' injury was by running the ball, with Isiah Pacheco rushing 12 times for 95 yards. The performance wasn't quite as impressive as it might have seemed, however, as the Chiefs stayed ahead of schedule on only 36.7% of their attempts and generated a middling 1.3 expected points added (EPA) on rushes, their seventh-best performance of the season on the ground. The Chiefs were loath to run against light boxes during that second half in the AFC Championship Game a year ago, but they can't make that same mistake again in the rematch.

[NewtonHawk11]

Still laughing at this stat.

Mahomes with the 2nd best EPA from QBs, with one foot. EPA/play when healthy Mahomes is at .302. Mahomes in the 2nd half on Saturday, .28

For reference, Burrow at .173, Allen at .185, Hurts at .215.

Mahomes is a different animal.

[pdub]

Ju Ju Schuster needs to do something of worth this weekend as well.
The Chiefs are on the fence to resign him, i'm sure, as he hasn't been a game changing player on the field.

[NewtonHawk11]

1 year at just under $4M and has 900+ yards and missed a game and a half.

He's been just fine. He's not a game changing receiver. But he's a great safety net. And he did it for cheap for the Chiefs.