A few players stood out among the rest
Quentin Morris @quentincmorris Chiefs Focus @Chiefsfocus
With the final score of 14 to 24, the Kansas City Chiefs defended the home turf for the first time this season.
There are a few players that had a stand out game. For example, Jody Fortson had a great game. Fortson caught two touchdowns. The first touchdown occurred in the first quarter. Patrick Mahomes threw a touch pass to the corner of the endzone. Fortson went up and snagged it out of the air and got both feet down along the sideline for a great catch.
The second touchdown was scored during the next drive when he boxed out the receiver in the front corner of the endzone. With a twist of his body and a small hop Fortson was able to catch the ball and cradle it in his belly. The Chiefs would see significant benefit to adding more players with this skill set to the roster. While they have other tall receivers none of them have shown the same ability to win the 50/50 ball.
George Karlaftis got another sack. On that play he started off getting double teamed by the tackle and guard. Despite that he did not give up on the play. When Washington Commanders quarterback Carson Wentz slid up in the pocket Karlaftis was able to move off his blockers and get the sack.
Other notable notes. Shane Buechele was put out with the second string offense. Buechele scrambled a lot during the game. Some of them felt like he could have stepped up in the pocket to make a throw. When he does run, Buechele needs to slide earlier. He put himself in some bad situations that can lead to injuries. There was a time in the game when he slid late and a player popped him in the head and neck area. While the Chiefs got an extra 15 yards out of it, due to an unnecessary roughness penalty. That is a bad habit a young quarterback can’t rely on.
The Chiefs mixed up the running back room. Clyde Edwards-Helaire followed by Isiah Pache. Jerick McKinnon was put in as the third down back. He showed off his ability in the pass game when he caught a ball while running a flat route. Ronald Jones did not see the field until the third quarter. Derrick Gore saw the field before him. Jones did get significant snaps in the third quarter. Taylon Fleet-Davis scored the final touchdown of the day with a goalline rushing touchdown.
The Chiefs defense played at a high level. They did not allow a first down until the backups came into the game right before the two minute warning. Karlaftis as mentioned above had a good game. L’Jarius Sneed had a great pass break up in the first quarter. Khalene Saunders redeemed himself of an earlier roughing the passer call by getting a sack late in the third quarter that helped lead to a punt. The only turnover of the game was an interception by defensive back Chris Lammons. The ball was air mailed and he was in the right place at the right time.
The Chiefs will face the Green Bay Packers this coming thursday.
