The Kansas City Chiefs need to answer some questions, against the Cardinals, in week one.
(The Chiefs need to make sure that they do not look past this opponent.)
Quentin Morris @quentincmorris
(image Curtesy of Lineups.com)
While the Cardinals are a team weakened by injuries and suspensions, they still play a big offense due to the speed at quarterback and wide receiver.
The Chiefs’ defense will still be challenged by the Cardinals’ offense. Last year the Chiefs struggled against rushing quarterbacks. This week they will face Kyler Murray, a quarterback who is also deadly with his legs.
When the Chiefs were challenged last year against rushing quarterbacks they struggled. In the week three loss to the Baltimore Ravens Lamer Jackson had 16 carries for 107 yards and reached the end zone twice. In week five against the Philadelphia Eagles Jalen Hurts had eight carriers for 47 yards averaging 5.9 yards per attempt.
A similar problem is created with the addition of Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. He was acquired in a trade with the Ravens during the offseason. He is a burner on the field and demands respect from the defense.
During the offseason the Chiefs have done work that, in theory, should help combat opponents’ speed Letting Anthony Hitchens, Tyrann Mathieu, and Daniel Sorensen walk this offseason gave the Chiefs the opportunity to change the guard on the defensive and replacing them with guys that have more sideline-to-sideline speed.
They also added depth at the defensive line. Being able to rotate quality pieces during the game keeps players fresh. This allows players to go full speed after a quick and nimble quarterback like Murray.
Despite having a good preseason showing the Chiefs offense still has some offensive questions to answer coming into this game. With the loss of Tyreek Hill this offseason questions have swirled about how the offense will generate its production. With Mahomes getting the entire four quarters to play some of those questions may be answered.
The ball will be spread out. During the preseason all of the drives Mahomes was in the backfield they scored touchdowns. The drives were all double-digit plays that had a variety of passes. This is the kind of offense that is expected to take the field this season.
The numbers are in the Chiefs’ favor, to win the game. Mahomes has had a stellar career in the month of Sept. he has played in 13 games, has a 68.2% completion rate, 4,244 passing yards, and a 41 touchdown to 3 interception ratio. All of this culminated in a winning record for Head Coach Andy Reid. On opening day games under Reid the Chiefs are 9-1. Reid is consistently called a mastermind at creating offensive plays. With extra time to develop new plays.
There is also a storyline coming out of Arizona and that is Kliff Kingsbury is Mahomes’ old college coach. They both know each other and they definitely will be playing for some bragging rights.
Darrel Williams went to Arizona during free agency. Bringing his knowledge of the Chiefs to the table definitely brings some benefit to the Cardinals.
