This was one of the stranger halves of football for the Kansas City Chiefs this season. Execution on offense has been fine for the most part, but some significant penalties have caused them to falter on several possessions. The defensive side of the ball has no solutions for a running game fueled by Derrick Henry and Malik Willis. The Tennessee Titans lead by five points after two-quarters of play and they’re getting the ball to start the second half of the game.
Here are a few quick takeaways from the first half of play:
Linebackers should sellout to stop Derrick Henry despite Malik Willis' rushing ability
There has been some hesitancy on the part of the Chiefs’ linebacking group with Malik Willis using his legs in the ground game. They’re not crashing down and getting to their blocks or the running back because they’re worried that Willis is going to pull the ball and run.
The linebackers need to crash down and sell out to stop Henry, while the secondary needs to do the same with Willis. That little bit of hesitation has the defense playing on their heels and has led to multiple explosive plays. The secondary is good enough tackling and playing contain to handle Willis in the open field if he gets the ball.
Offense needs to execute better and avoid penalties
Penalties have held the Chiefs to a field goal and killed another promising drive for Kansas City in the first half. We can argue whether the calls made were good or bad until we’re blue in the face, but the bottom line is that they were called and they had a tangible impact on drives. The Chiefs’ offense needs to be as flawless as humanly possible to avoid these calls, especially in the trenches.
We knew coming into this game that flags were going to be an issue as Clete Blakeman’s crew led the NFL in penalties called per game. Right now, it’s just a matter of limiting the damage and executing a bit better coming out of the locker room.
The Chiefs need to use the hurry-up offense more often in non-hurry-up situations
It feels like whenever the Chiefs need to use the hurry-up offense, the offensive execution and effectiveness are kicked up a notch. Defense’s get on their heels a bit and don’t know what’s coming. The problem is, Kansas City only seems to use that type of pacing in hurry-up situations. From my vantage point, it seems like using the hurry-up offense in other situations could prove very fruitful for Kansas City.
