Arrowheadlines: The Chiefs need to help Patrick Mahomes

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Opinion: Chiefs can’t keep asking Patrick Mahomes to cover for their fatal flaws | USA Today

In their current state, the Chiefs do not look like a squad poised to challenge New England for AFC supremacy.

So, what changed?

The magic of Mahomes.

Badly hobbled by an ankle injury against the Colts, Mahomes lacked his usual elusiveness, which in turn paves the way for his dizzying play-making ability. He still wasn’t at 100% against the Texans, who like Indianapolis boast a formidable defensive front, and once again, lacked the same kind of special that his team and fans have come to know.

The Chiefs D Can’t Get Patrick Mahomes the Ball—and He Can’t Do Much When He Has It | The Ringer

Nine months later, the Kansas City defense still can’t get off the field. The Chiefs fell to the Houston Texans 31-24 on Sunday in large part because they could not stop the run. Houston ran the ball for 192 yards on 41 carries (4.7 yards per carry) and 12 first downs. Texans running back Carlos Hyde had 26 carries for 116 yards, his most prolific game since he was on the 49ers (three teams ago) in Week 2 of 2017. Without stopping the run, the Chiefs could not stop the clock. Houston had the ball for nearly 40 minutes, including more time in the second half (24:06) than the Chiefs had it in the entire game (20:12). Kansas City had three second-half drives, and in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs had the ball for just 78 seconds. It was the worst time-of-possession disparity at home in franchise history.

What we learned from Sunday’s Week 6 NFL games | NFL.com

Active for the first time since the opening week, Tyreek Hill wasted no time and made an emphatic return. Taking to the air on a third-and-21 offering from Patrick Mahomes that looked to be headed for an interception, Hill pulled away possession and then muscled through a pair of defenders at the goal line for a 46-yard score. The controversial wideout is a gamebreaker and it took him only six plays to remind everyone. He finished the game with team-highs of five catches, 10 targets, 80 yards and two touchdowns. Mahomes (19-of-35 for 273 yards and three TDs) had his first pick after 292 attempts without one and had a fumble. But Hill’s return -- with fellow receiver Sammy Watkins and two starting offensive linemen out -- was a step forward for the offense, even if the team took a step back with its second consecutive loss.

Texans overcome countless mistakes, earn huge win over Chiefs | NFL.com

The end result of that strategy is the Texans and Chiefs are both 4-2 but facing different challenges. The Chiefs have to play at Denver on Thursday night before running into a gauntlet of games against several difficult opponents -- Green Bay, Minnesota, Tennessee and the Los Angeles Chargers are on their schedule before their bye week. Houston simply wants to keep building on what it accomplished in Kansas City. Its next test will be a road trip to AFC South-rival Indianapolis in Week 7.

The Texans realize they have plenty to clean up before that meeting. As O’Brien said, “This is a really good win and we had a good win last week, but 4-2 gets you nowhere.” The point the head coach was making is that this is just the beginning for this version of the Houston Texans. If they keep battling as they did against the Chiefs, there will be more rewarding endings to come in the very near future.

Texans Carlos Hyde Finds Extra Motivation in Win Over the Kansas City Chiefs | State of the Texans

It was the Hyde revenge game as he put together a solid outing, rushing 26 times for 116 yards and one touchdown.

”I definitely had a little extra chip on my shoulder,” Hyde said of taking the field against the Chiefs. “How things turned out here, it gave me extra motivation. I’m thankful for where I’m at and how things are going.

Week 6 NFL takeaways: Are the Chiefs, Browns and Cowboys in trouble? | ESPN

The Chiefs will continue to struggle until they improve on defense. They had their lowest time of possession (20:12) ever for a home game on Sunday and ran 47 plays compared to 83 for the Texans. That’s putting too much pressure on quarterback Patrick Mahomes and an offense that is having problems of its own. The Chiefs have needed to be perfect of late on offense, and they haven’t been close. -- Adam Teicher

The Winners and Losers of NFL Week 6 | The Ringer

Loser: Week 5 Fantasy Hero Will Fuller

Last week, I wrote about the complete randomness of fantasy football, a randomness perhaps best summarized by Will Fuller. The Texans receiver entered last week with 14 receptions for 183 yards and no touchdowns, and then had 14 catches for 217 yards and three touchdowns against the Falcons. (The Falcons defense tends to cure all ills.)

The good news is Fuller’s ability to get open was not a fluke. Deshaun Watson got the ball into Fuller’s hands eight times on Sunday. Unfortunately, he ended up with just five catches, including three dropped touchdowns

Around the league

The 49ers are the new bullies in the NFC West | SB Nation

McVay had no answers for the 49ers’ pass rush

Dig a little deeper, and there are even uglier stats. The Rams had just 10 first downs all game, and only one of them came via a passing play — a 12-yard gain on their final possession. Los Angeles went 0-for-9 on third down and 0-for-4 on fourth down. San Francisco wasn’t giving up an inch in coverage and the pass rush was all over Goff on every play.

The 49ers allowed just 157 total yards, the fewest for the Rams in the McVay era. The same applies for their net 50 passing yards, their 10 first downs, and their zero third-down conversions — all the lowest in a game since McVay took over. The Rams are now on a three-game losing skid (the first under McVay) after being the favorite in the division throughout the offseason.

Pick ‘em: Baker Mayfield with 11 INTs in six games | ESPN

Since returning to the NFL two decades ago, the Cleveland Browns have infamously started 30 different quarterbacks.

Through the first six games to start a season, Baker Mayfield has thrown the most interceptions of any of them.

Carolina Panthers 37-26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: London debut win for Panthers | Sky Sports

Buccaneers kicker Matt Gay bent one in between the posts, a la David Beckham, to finally get Tampa Bay up and running in the second half, but it looked like game over when Samuel opened the fourth quarter with a terrific 13-yard touchdown reception for Carolina.

Philip Rivers hobbles off field | Bolt from the Blue

On the first drive of the night for the Chargers, Philip Rivers fired a pass to his left out to Travis Benjamin who bobbled it incomplete. Afterwards, Rivers was visibly shaken after taking an apparent helmet to his rib cage.

In case you missed it at Arrowhead Pride

Seven winners and five losers from the Chiefs’ 31-24 loss to the Texans

Losers

Andy Reid’s play calls started out smart; the screen plays scripted early in the game were not only effective, but also an intelligent way to utilize Mahomes when his mobility is limited — not to mention a good way to use the offensive line when it is having difficulty protecting him. But the Chiefs couldn’t seem to find a way to get the offense in rhythm when Mahomes’ ability was (once again) more limited. Reid deserves his reputation for finding ways to get success for his players through the scheme. But so far, the problems created by Mahomes’ nagging ankle injury has proved to be a cipher Reid has been unable to crack.

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