Everything has come up Kansas City Chiefs in the first half of this game. They’ve notched a pair of turnovers and turnover on downs on the defensive side of the ball. Jerick McKinnon, Ronald Jones and Kadarius Toney have each scored touchdowns and they lead 24-3 at the half.
Here are a few quick takeaways from the first half of play:
Willie Gay needs to be on the field in base looks
The Chiefs have been keeping Darius Harris and Leo Chenal on the field for their base defensive looks and the Raiders are taking advantage. Harris and Chenal aren’t exactly the best players in coverage, but Gay is one of their most athletic linebackers. As a result, Las Vegas has been working to isolate linebackers in coverage to create mismatches.
Darius Harris vs. Darren Waller #MightBeAMismatch
— Charles Goldman (@goldmctNFL) January 7, 2023
One way to thwart the Raiders from taking advantage here would be to keep Gay Jr. on the field in these packages.
Refs aren't calling offensive of defensive pass interference
A takeaway for both teams — play aggressively in the secondary because this officiating crew is not calling defensive or offensive pass interference penalties. Scott Novak’s crew is very much letting the receivers and cornerbacks play in this game. They’ve had multiple opportunities to throw the flag on both the Raiders and Chiefs, but they only first called pass interference in the final 30 seconds of the first half.
They haven't called pass interference all day and then they call THAT!?
— Charles Goldman (@goldmctNFL) January 7, 2023
The penalty was on L’Jarius Sneed and it felt like the officials were reminding the teams that they could call pass interference and simply haven’t been.
Chiefs tight ends getting involved in passing game
With just five receivers active in Week 18, the Chiefs are getting their tight ends more involved in the passing game. Each of Travis Kelce, Blake Bell and Noah Gray has caught a pass in this game. They’re using a lot of 12-personnel looks, which they’ve been really successful with so far this season.
When you’re short players at the receiver position, this seems like the logical way to compensate if you’re Kansas City. It’s also going to help oil the wheels for the postseason, when they might need use the tight end position more frequently to exploit mismatches.
