The Kansas City Chiefs lost because they did what so often happens. They came out firing early and built a lead and then sat on it with a conservative offense in the second half. This happened last week against the Raiders. They got up 21-13 and then sat on it. The difference is that the Chiefs made a stop on the Raiders final drive and they didn’t get that stop on the Titans final drive.
The players realize when they get conservative in the second half.
Travis Kelce on why #Chiefs O fell flat after the 1st quarter, "Other than play-calling, I couldn't tell you. Felt like we got conservative"
— Mike Welch (@RealMikeWelch) December 18, 2016
(Kelce’s full quote here ... “I’m not blaming it on playcalling.”)
There were some good theories in this FanPost for why the Chiefs get so conservative in the second half after building a lead. Whatever it is, it finally caught up to them this week. There’s a way to be conservative without getting the ball to your best players ...
Alex Smith targeted Travis Kelce & Tyreek Hill 3 times in entire second half.
— Matt Conner (@MattConnerAP) December 18, 2016
End result: 1 single catch for 9 yards#Chiefs
...And there’s a way to be conservative while still feeding your stars. You can’t have a half where Kelce and Tyreek are targeted just three times. Jeremy Maclin had his first good game since he came back but that’s still no way to explain Tyreek having one touch (for 68 yards!) in the game.
Most of you who have been watching the Chiefs long enough saw this second half coming. We’ve seen it before.