The Kansas City Chiefs squared off with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Arrowhead Stadium Sunday afternoon. The game ended up a 19-17 loss that snapped the Chiefs ten-game home winning streak. With this loss, the Chiefs will fall to second place in the division if the Oakland Raiders beat the Houston Texans on Monday. The Chiefs now hold a record of 7-3, tied with the Denver Broncos.
Kansas City Chiefs Week 11 Takeaways
The Front Seven Continues its Dominance
The front seven for the Chiefs looks good. Really good. This week they continued a physical, dominant style of play and kept Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston uncomfortable throughout the game. They were swatting passes, sacking Winston, and threw in a forced fumble in as well. They were strong in the run game, holding Doug Martin to just 63 yards on 24 carries. Star linebacker Justin Houston played considerable snaps in his season debut. He finished the game with a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit. Fellow pass rusher and league leader in sacks Dee Ford left the game early with a hamstring injury, which could be bad for the Chiefs pass rush if it causes him to miss time. The defensive line looked like a brick wall, holding solid against the run and not making many mistakes. This was a strong performance all around for the defensive front seven.
Red Zone Defense a Strength, Third Down Not So Much
The Chiefs prove strong in the red zone game after game. Their ability to lock down during clutch moments is flat out impressive. This tough red zone defense was the only reason this game was even close. They held the Buccaneers to one for five in the red zone.
One particularly impressive play was when the 5’11” Steven Nelson knocked the ball out of 6’5″ Mike Evans‘ hands in the end zone. Despite the huge size disadvantage, the determined defensive back still found a way to step up and make the play. The Chiefs also forced a red zone fumble for their seventh red zone take away on the season. They lead the league in red zone takeaways, which is a significant part of their defensive success.
Third down defense is what killed the Chiefs. They let the opposing offense go 11 of 16 in converting those, a rate of 69 percent. Because of the defensive slip-ups in this situation the defense couldn’t seem to get off the field. Buccaneers drives just continued to extend as they picked up new sets of downs. One factor in this may be missing cornerback Marcus Peters, a vital piece of this defense. The young star corner leads the league in interceptions and is known for knack in making big plays in clutch situations and the lack of his presence on the field was definitely felt.
Offensive Woes Hold Chiefs Back
For the most part, the offense just didn’t get it done. It looked rather lackluster. The game started with a very nice, long drive down to Tampa Bay’s red zone and the offense could not capitalize on the success. Spencer Ware ran for only 69 yards against the Buccaneers 25th ranked run defense. On paper, this should’ve been a big game for Ware, but even he wasn’t immune to the struggles of this offense. Tight end Travis Kelce turned in a nice game, going for a 108 yards. He was about the only player to consistently impress on this offense this week. Quarterback Alex Smith ran for a score and threw for another, but he also threw what was possibly a fatal red zone interception.
