August 11, 2026

Is the Chiefs Offense Back on Form?

36 min read
5 years ago 247 ProFootball
Is the Chiefs Offense Back on Form?


NFL Week 10 – Each Sunday, the FO staff sends around emails about the games that each of us are watching. We share information about the games that the rest of the group might not be watching, ask questions, and keep everyone else informed about which games they might want to tune into (if they can).

On Monday, we compile a digest of those emails and produce this feature. By its nature, it can be disjointed and dissimilar to the other articles on the site.

While these emails are generally written with Audibles in mind, they do not represent a standard review of all the games each week. That means we aren’t going to cover every game, or every important play. We watch the games that we, as fans, are interested in watching, so your favorite team’s game might not be covered to your fullest desires or even at all. (If you are a Seahawks or Patriots fan, you are probably in luck; if you are a Lions fan, not so much.) We have no intention of adding new authors solely to cover every game on a given Sunday, nor will we watch a different game from the ones that we’re personally interested in watching just to ensure that Audibles covers every game.

Cleveland Browns 7 at New England Patriots 45

Bryan Knowles: No running backs? Time to get creative. The Browns just ran a Wildcat play with two fullbacks—Johnny Stanton and Andy Janovich.

It didn’t work, but I’m here for the dual-fullback offense. Cleveland scored a couple of plays later on a normal formation, but that’s boring. Long live 1970s football!

7-0 Cleveland.

Aaron Schatz: D’Ernest Johnson killing the Patriots on the first drive. Big blocks by the newly paid Wyatt Teller. Devin McCourty drops an interception on third-and-goal from the 2 and the Browns make them pay by Mayfield connecting with Austin Hooper on a fourth-down go. 7-0 Browns.

Scott Spratt: Even with Kareem Hunt still on injured reserve and with Nick Chubb, Demetric Felton, and John Kelly on the COVID list, the Browns leaned on their running game and reached the red zone with ease on their opening drive. A lot of that comes from the No. 3 run-blocking line with 5.05 adjusted line yards. But Week 10 starter D’Ernest Johnson (2.87) has also joined his teammates Chubb (3.63) and Hunt (2.90) in the top four regular running backs in yards after contact per attempt this season. Maybe the line deserves some of that credit, too, but I think Johnson is a good player who is a bit stuck behind two stars at his position.

Scott Spratt: Hunter Henry just scored his sixth touchdown since Week 4, the most among tight ends. Meanwhile, his 3.3 expected touchdowns (OTDs) between Weeks 4 and 9 were second-most at his position. The Patriots are relying on him in the red zone such that his scoring streak could continue. And with Jonnu Smith out injured today, he may see even more opportunities to score.

Aaron Schatz: Patriots first drive clearly trying to take advantage of aggression from Cleveland pass rush. Draws, screens. Hunter Henry fade touchdown.

Patriots second drive didn’t need all that because a Kyle Dugger interception put them close to the goal line. One Stevenson run and they’re in. 14-7 Patriots.

Scott Spratt: The Browns maybe should have stuck to their running game! I’m not sure what Baker Mayfield saw on this outside throw. Safety Kyle Duggar made an easy interception and followed it with a decent return.

The next play, Rhamondre Stevenson ran in a touchdown to put the Patriots up 14-7.

Bryan Knowles: Since D’Ernest Johnson dominated so much of that early drive, the Browns have decided to live in shotgun, and I just don’t understand it. Mac Jones is dealing, the Patriots just had their first 99-yard drive in a decade, and the Browns are just standing there. They had 84 yards on that first drive, just 26 since as they’re beginning to get boat-raced.

Scott Spratt: Since his first interception, Baker Mayfield has thrown a separate ball right to J.C. Jackson that the corner couldn’t secure, Mac Jones has led an 11-play, 99-yard touchdown drive, and D’Ernest Johnson has fumbled and nearly turned the ball over deep in Browns territory. The Patriots are up 21-7 with just under four minutes left in the first half, and the game doesn’t feel that close.

Aaron Schatz: Patriots take a 31-7 lead and I’m pretty surprised. Patriots are dominating the Cleveland defensive front on straight-ahead runs and then getting huge chunks of yards on screens and reverses. Keep thinking, “oh, Myles Garrett beat Isaiah Wynn … but it’s a screen so never mind.” Browns offense going nowhere and I believe they are 0-for-third down so far. Even Johnson has been slowed down after that big first drive.

Bryan Knowles: This game is long since over, but I must report that Jakobi Meyers has finally, finally, found the end zone. It took a blowout of Brobdingnagian proportions, but Meyers, who was the all-time leader in receiving yards without a touchdown reception, has finally found paydirt.

Buffalo Bills 45 at New York Jets 17

Scott Spratt: Jets quarterback Mike White had 500 passing yards and four passing touchdowns in about five quarters as a starter before he hurt his hand last week. But he also did that work against the Bengals and Colts, ranked 18th and 26th in pass defense DVOA—both are dramatically better in run defense than pass defense. This week’s opponent is a different challenge. The Bills are No. 1 in pass defense DVOA, and they turned White over on this early interception.

That interception allowed the Bills to start their second drive in Jets territory. And Buffalo is poised to go up 14-0 still in the first quarter.

Scott Spratt: So much for the Mike White experience. He just threw his fourth interception today, and the Bills are taking the frustration of their Jaguars loss out on the Jets. It’s 38-3 through three quarters.

Bryan Knowles: I may well have to do teams who have had two quarterbacks with four-intereption games for Loser League this week. I believe 2019 Pittsburgh (Mason Rudolph/Devlin Hodges) and 2012 Arizona (Ryan Lindley/John Skelton) are the only other teams this decade to pull that feat off.

Scott Spratt: Wow, and I thought I was doing good with Jared Goff throwing for just 40 passing yards.

Jacksonville Jaguars 17 at Indianapolis Colts 23

Bryan Knowles: If you thought the upset over the Bills would be the start of the Urban Meyer renaissance, well, uh, think again. The Colts have had the ball twice, and Jonathan Taylor is already up to 93 yards rushing as he’s just slicing through the Jacksonville defense. He just scored a touchdown where he was hit at about the 5 and just pushed the pile all the way into the end zone. The Jags appear not to have an answer for him yet.

The Colts have also blocked a punt for a touchdown, and the Jags have 3 offensive yards to this point. So, it’s a full three-phase effort for the Jaguars today. 17-0 Colts, late in the first quarter.

Aaron Schatz: Frank Reich falls into the “kick a field goal to go up six” trap on fourth-and-7.

Aaron Schatz: Dayo Odeyingbo sack of Trevor Lawrence and the Colts are saved from the “field goal to go up six” trap. And escape with a 23-17 win.

Dave Bernreuther: A last-ditch effort at midfield ends with a Lawrence fumble, so Reich is off the hook and the Colts escape with the win in a game I watched in its entirety without feeling compelled to comment even once.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19 at Washington Football Team 29

Scott Spratt: Tom Brady started this game 2-of-5 for 5 yards and two interceptions. Are we sure he still has it?

Bryan Knowles: And they’re reviewing another one which might be his third interception of the day after the ball bounced off of Chris Godwin’s foot!

The title of “MVP favorite” is a cursed monkey’s paw, isn’t it?

Scott Spratt: Oh no, Chase Young may have torn his ACL.

That takes the fun out of a possible Washington upset with the team up 16-3 over the Bucs near halftime.

Carl Yedor: The early slate has been pretty sleepy up until this point, though the most surprising result has to be this game. Some sloppiness in the first half from the Buccaneers allowed Washington to take a decent lead, but it appears that the sloppiness shifted at halftime over to Washington. Washington’s first drive of the second half resulted in a quick three-and-out because of a sack, and then they narrowly avoided disaster on their subsequent drive between a fumble that was overturned and a sack putting them down at their own 2-yard line. Tampa Bay has the ball in good field position here with a strong chance to tighten this game back up.

Bryan Knowles: Tampa Bay isn’t rolling over, naturally. The second half has been a field position battle, with Washington forced to punt from the shadow of their own goalposts. That sets up the Buccaneers inside Washington territory, and Brady goes 4-for-4—Godwin, Leonard Fournette, Godwin, Cameron Brate, touchdown, lead is cut to 16-13. Tampa Bay beginning to shake off the cobwebs; the Football Team really needs a long Football Drive of clock-killing Football Plays right about now.

Aaron Schatz: Tampa Bay defense cannot get off the field on third downs. Washington 7-for-13 so far. Just converted another one, then got DPI in the end zone on a pass 10 feet over the receiver’s head. And touchdown on the next play, Antonio Gibson. Offensive line pushed him in after he was initially stoned. 23-13 Washington.

Bryan Knowles: And put this one away. Washington just put together a 19-play, 80-yard, 10:19 drive to drain all but 30 seconds off the clock. They end it with a score to go up 29-19, and even Tom Brady’s not going to score twice in the time remaining. What a massive upset.

New Orleans Saints 21 at Tennessee Titans 23

Bryan Knowles: The last game of the early window to get into the end zone is, of course, the one I had on my main screen. Naturally.

The first four drives of this one combined for a total of 33 yards and featured the Saints punting twice from Titans territory. This is aggravating, but at least you can see what Sean Payton is thinking—his offense, missing Alvin Kamara today, is no great shakes, but Tennessee? Tennessee has been stuck in neutral. On Twitter today, there’s a debate as to whether Ryan Tannehill is in the worst offensive situation among remaining contending teams, with a shoddy offensive line and only A.J. Brown, who has dropped multiple passes today, as a playmaking threat. Some of that talk was quieted when Marcus Johnson had a 50-yard catch-and-run, but that was the extent of what the Titans could do on that drive before they settled for a field goal. Take out that one play, and the Titans are averaging 2.3 yards per play, which is somewhat less than ideal.

Not that the Saints have been much better—Trevor Siemian has been accurate, but mostly dinking and dunking. He did finally open one up to Deonte Harris to get the Saints deep into Titans territory, and a pass a few plays later to Tre’Quan Smith got New Orleans into the end zone. Missed extra point means it’s 6-3 early in the second.

Scott Spratt: I never would have thought it at the time, but was the Julio Jones trade a bit of a disaster for the Titans, Bryan? He landed back on injured reserve this weekend after just 21 catches for his new team this season. And the Titans still have to send a second-round draft pick in 2022 and a fourth-round pick in 2023 to the Falcons for him.

Bryan Knowles: Even at the time, there was a sense of “this is a very good pickup … if Julio can stay healthy.” It’s just that “if” has become a flashing, blinking neon sign. I don’t fault the Titans for taking the swing, but yeah, it appears they have missed and punched themselves in their own face.

Scott Spratt: Maybe I’m the dumb one then because I didn’t have those same concerns at the time of the trade. Jones missed half of the 2020 season, but before that, he played 15 or more games the previous six seasons and famously fell just 6 yards short of 1,400 yards in six straight seasons. The man is 32 years old, not 35 like DeSean Jackson is going to be in a couple of weeks. I really hope Jones can get back to where he was.

Scott Spratt: Oof, the Saints just picked off Ryan Tannehill in the end zone to appear to keep the score tied at 6-6 in the final two minutes of the first half. But Kaden Elliss got flagged for roughing the passer for touching the back of Tannehill’s helmet on what otherwise was a textbook quarterback hit.

Bryan Knowles: The entire red zone sequence was … something else. In order:

  • the roughing the passer penalty to bail out Tannehill’s ugly INT.
  • A run that went out of bounds, stopping the clock.
  • A bad false start, wiping out a touchdown catch.
  • Tannehill forced to scramble up the middle, which at least forces New Orleans to burn their final timeout.
  • Pass interference in the end zone, giving the Titans first-and-goal on the 1.

From there, the Titans finally punch it in to get to 13-6. But they took less than 30 seconds off the clock on six plays, with the Saints having just one timeout throughout the sequence. This was not pretty football.

Bryan Knowles: The Saints were scheduled to get the ball to start the second half, but Deonte Harris fumbled the kickoff and the Titans instead open inside the red zone. Teams really gotta stop running the ball out of the end zone; take the touchback and get started with your regular offense. The Titans don’t exactly move the ball efficiently (burn the sideways screen on first-and-inches on the goal line, please), but Tannehill finds MyCole Pruitt for a score to stretch the lead to 20-6. With the way the two offenses are playing to this point, the Saints might well need to score this drive, or a 14-point lead will be too much for them to overcome.

Tom Gower: Titans up 13-6 at the half. Coming in, I thought this might be more of a defensive battle between two offenses that may struggle to put together consistent drives. Both teams got their first score largely off one big play, and the difference in the game at 6-3 (Saints missed their extra point) was that New Orleans executed in the red zone and their highly ranked red zone defense (second in touchdown rate) won against Tennessee’s highly-ranked red zone offense (ninth in touchdown rate). But Tennessee got another field goal with a couple plays, and without a third-down conversion, but with the Saints lining up with 12 when the Titans lined up to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Saints 30. And that last drive before the second half … Gene Steratore came on and said Jerome Boger’s behind the play, he doesn’t have a good angle, it’s a tough call for him to get right. And I see that. It looked worse than it was. But it wasn’t roughing the passer. And with the DPI (which was legit in my opinion), the Titans were able to convert that into the lead.

The Saints offense has been kind of funny. They made it into the Titans half of the field on four of their five drives, but have a hard time executing and avoiding mistakes enough to put a drive together. Trevor Siemian is working at what I think of as rookie/backup processing speed. The Titans had four sacks in the first half, and a better quarterback may not take any of them. That was most evident on the final drive of the first half, when they had first-and-10 at the Tennessee 35 with a minute left and Siemian took a sack late in the down after scrambling outside the pocket rather than throwing the ball in the direction of his tight end 5 yards away. The Saints ended up with a quasi-Hail Mary situation at the Tennessee 47 with three seconds left after that, getting nothing out of a drive that started promisingly after the Titans took the lead.

And New Orleans fumbled the second-half kickoff, when Tennessee was then able to convert into a 20-6 lead. The feel of this game has changed a lot from the Saints’ would-be interception coming out of the two-minute warning.

Scott Spratt: Left tackle Taylor Lewan took a knee to his leg or arm on a play and had to come off the field. On the next play, his backup Kendall Lamm basically got thrown into Ryan Tannehill to create a sack. You don’t want to be down any starters against this Saints defensive front.

Bryan Knowles: That Tannehill sack forces a punt and allows the Saints to have the first extended drive for either team here in the second half. The big play? Trevor Siemian finding Taysom Hill for a 15-yard gain to take things across midfield. Melvin Ingram, who has become the Saints’ all-time leading rusher today, punches the ball in, and the Saints cut the lead to … 20-12, because Brian Johnson has missed yet another kick today.

Bryan Knowles: With 5:30 left in the game, trailing by 11 points, with the ball inside the 1-yard line, Sean Payton … kicks a field goal. I’m sorry, what? I guess it technically makes things a one-score game, but I mean, oof.

Bryan Knowles: The Titans can’t drain the last 5:30 off the clock—in fact, they only burn about two minutes off of it before being forced to punt back to the Saints. The Saints benefit from a “playing defense” unnecessary roughness call, but Trevor Siemian carves up the Titans’ pass defense, hitting Marquez Callaway for a touchdown on third-and-13 to bring things within two. That means the Saints have to go for the two-point conversion…

… and they false start. So they still have to go for the two-point conversion…

… and it’s no good! Saints are still down two as the goal-line field goal comes back to haunt the Saints. 1:16 left, so the Saints have to go onside kick here.

Tom Gower: So, what to say about the second half of that game, or at least the final 27 minutes after the Titans took that 20-6 lead? For one, it was like the offense shifted into Jaguars game mode, trying to see out the game by running because the Saints offense didn’t look good. That lasted a couple of three-and-outs and a New Orleans touchdown before they got their second chunk play of the game, a good screen to D’Onta Foreman to make it 23-12 after the Saints missed their second extra point. But the first touchdown drive was a lot more of Trevor Siemian playing in rhythm, and after a three-and-out he continued with that. Nothing too impressive, but this was much more the kind of backup performance a good offensive mind can win with. But then Payton had that field goal down 11, and I expected the game to come down to a failed Saints two-point conversion, and so it did.

Takeaways from this game? I mentioned Siemian playing much better the second half, more the way he needed to. Taysom Hill was not as much of a feature in the game as I expected; he wasn’t even in in all the goal-to-go plays where you might expect him. The Saints moved the ball, but they really had to manufacture offense. No Terron Armstead hurt, but they didn’t have that consistent of a run game, and there’s nobody like Michael Thomas to soak up targets and make plays anyway.

The Titans offense really struggled. They couldn’t run the ball with any consistency, couldn’t salt the game away in the two-minute drill. Their two touchdown drives (a) started in the red zone and (b) required a fourth-down conversion and a bad roughing the passer to negate an interception. They couldn’t convert third downs to stay on the field, hitting another of my recurring points. And you’d hope a really elite defense, like they had played the last couple weeks, wouldn’t give up what the Saints did today. But New Orleans probably had a good plan for pass defense, Siemian wasn’t sacked in the second half, and they found some success going after one of Tennessee’s weaker coverage players in Chris Jackson (who, to his credit, played very well last week). But the Titans still got a win, and all wins, even the not-so-great ones, count the same in the standings.

Atlanta Falcons 3 at Dallas Cowboys 43

Bryan Knowles: What does the chart say about going for two when up 31 points? And does that qualify for taunting under the new NFL rules?

(Dallas has a 36-3 lead late in the second quarter after a blocked punt. The Falcons playing much more like the 31st team in DVOA rather than the seventh seed in the NFC.)

Scott Spratt: I was typing up a 28-3 Falcons joke, but the Cowboys scored again before I could even finish. That’s tough. It’s 36-3 Cowboys at the half.

Bryan Knowles: Alright, do the Cowboys have a particular grudge against the Falcons? While I think we’re all in favor of teams going for it on fourth-and-short inside the 5-yard line, maybe not so much with your starting quarterback running a boot when you’re sitting on a 33-point lead. Dan Quinn revenge game?

Detroit Lions 16 at Pittsburgh Steelers 16 (OT)

Scott Spratt: Dan Campbell took over the offensive play calling for the Lions today and has called 21 run plays against eight pass plays. That seems on brand and has the Lions up 16-0 over the Steelers early in the third quarter.

Bryan Knowles: The Detroit Lions have a lead, I repeat, the Detroit Lions have a lead.

With Ben Roethlisberger out with COVID, the Steelers offense hasn’t done much—they had an early touchdown drive aided by the best play in football (the underthrown DPI) and another penalty-aided drive which ended with a 20-yard field goal (boo!), but they have mostly done bupkis outside of that. The Lions, after taking the first quarter off, have begun to climb back. Kalif Raymond set up their first touchdown on a long punt return, they managed a 20-yard field goal on the last play of the half (boo, but less so), and then it’s Godwin Igwebuike slashing through the middle of the Pittsburgh defense to give Detroit the lead. Who? Igwebuike was a safety who had converted to running back in preseason. Maybe he has found his true calling!

Extra point was missed, so it’s just 16-10, Lions. But that’s something!

Scott Spratt: The Steelers offense hasn’t done much? Can I interest you in a 26-yard Mason Rudolph scramble, Bryan? I’m outraged no one clipped it on Twitter. Ben Roethlisberger hasn’t had a carry that big since 2010.

Bryan Knowles: I find that no, a 26-yard Mason Rudolph scramble does not interest me, surprisingly enough! But it’s certainly true he has flashed some wheels—an 11-yard scramble just following that one as Rudolph gets the Steelers inside the 5!

… and then he throws three straight incomplete passes, bouncing and overthrowing and tipped. Just ugly, ugly stuff. So we have yet another sub-25-yard field goal (boo!) and the Lions still have the lead.

Scott Spratt: Lions punter Jack Fox drew a running into the kicker penalty on what seems to have been a stellar acting job. Those 5 yards put the team in a fourth-and-inches on their own 34-yard line. And Dan Campbell went for it and converted it with a fullback carry. Campbell is such a fun coach. I hope he can get his squad its first win today. It’s 16-16 halfway through the fourth quarter.

Aaron Schatz: Lions’ backup kicker just honked a 48-yard would-be game-winner in the rain.

Dave Bernreuther: I’m sure I was as excited as everyone else when this one ended up in overtime, where the quality of play has remained exceptional in these elements. Not going to lie, though: I find it endlessly amusing that even with the benefit of an extra period, Jared Goff might not top 100 passing yards. (Crap, they’re getting the ball back; I probably jinxed it.)

Ryan Santoso, the Lions kicker, is giving me serious 1980s Sean Landeta vibes with that moustache and the number 5. A single-bar facemask would really complete the look.

A tie would be fitting, but I’m with others here in rooting for Dan Campbell to get one. I make fun of him a lot but I love his aggression and man have they been unlucky.

Scott Spratt: Substituting for an injured Austin Seibert, kicker Ryan Santoso missed an extra-point attempt that could have won the Lions this game in regulation. And now in overtime on a kick that would give the team its first win…

Not even close. I know it’s raining, but you’re breaking Dan Campbell’s spirit, guys.

Bryan Knowles: Seven possessions in overtime. Punt, fumble, missed field goal, punt, punt, fumble, out of time.

Dan Campbell ain’t going 0-17! Pop the cork, 2017 Browns.

Scott Spratt: I think it’s worth calling out that the Lions forced a Pat Freiermuth fumble when he was a yard away from getting out of bounds and giving Chris Boswell a real shot at a game-winning field goal at the end of overtime. Great effort, Lions!

Carolina Panthers 34 at Arizona Cardinals 10

Scott Spratt: The battle of Colt McCoy and P.J. Walker started about how you’d expect: with a strip-sack. Haason Reddick just recorded his 9.5th sack of the season (revenge game!), and the Panthers take over in the red zone less than two minutes into the game.

Bryan Knowles: Cam Newton is not starting; he hasn’t had time to absorb the entire playbook. But he has had time to learn the goal-line package. He comes in for P.J. Walker at the goal line and rushes in for a score. Just like old times in Carolina!

Scott Spratt: The Cardinals were able to bring Christian McCaffrey down just short of the goal line on first-down catch-and-run. And the Panthers just brought Cam Newton in on a goal-line package.

Newton is noticeably bigger than linebacker Isaiah Simmons. It’s 7-0 Panthers. I’m so happy.

Vince Verhei: I was flying this morning. Got home right before the 4 p.m. games to find the house had no power. Fortunately it came on right away, but it appears that Cam Newton has scored for Carolina, which means my power must have been out for … what, three years?

Scott Spratt: The Cardinals just went for a fourth-and-1 from their 42-yard line, and I’m pretty sure Colt McCoy lost yards on a quarterback sneak. I have never seen that before! It’s Panthers football in Cardinals territory with Carolina already up 7-0 in the first quarter.

Bryan Knowles: So far, Cam Newton has touched the ball twice, and the Panthers have scored two touchdowns. Pretty good efficiency, there.

Scott Spratt: Cam Newton just threw a laser touchdown to Robby Anderson. This is so amazing. He’s not even starting!

Carl Yedor: Another quick touchdown off a short field involving Cam Newton. Newton scoring frequently against a strong Cardinals team? Have we been transported to the 2015 NFC Championship Game?

Scott Spratt: Per the broadcast, the Panthers had scored just one touchdown in their last 35 possessions before scoring touchdowns on their first two possessions with Cam Newton today.

Vince Verhei: It’s 23-0 at halftime and this one looks over. As great as the story of Superman Returns has been, the real hero for Carolina has been Christian McCaffrey. He’s up to 90 yards on only 10 carries with a long of 15—I count six gains of 10 yards or more on a quick scan through the play-by-play. He also leads the team with seven catches, albeit for only 39 yards.

James Conner, meanwhile, has two carries for 3 yards. Did he get hurt and I missed it?

Scott Spratt: Conner isn’t hurt, Vince. The Cardinals have just landed in second downs of the following yardages to go: 9, 6, 11, 9, 4, 10, 20, and 10 yards. You can’t run when you’re constantly behind the sticks.

Vince Verhei: You are allowed to run on first downs too, Scott. Trust me, I’m a Seahawks fan, I know this.

Scott Spratt: Carolina banned first-down runs when they fired John Fox. Or maybe that was a fever dream?

Scott Spratt: Maybe Conner isn’t running a lot because the Panthers are living in the Cardinals backfield. I’m not sure if this was supposed to be a handoff or play-action pass, but Shaq Thompson blew it up either way and got a sack.

Colt McCoy also suffered an injury on that play, and so Chris Streveler is in at quarterback. But this game is already decided at 31-3 late in the third quarter.

Minnesota Vikings 27 at Los Angeles Chargers 20

Dave Bernreuther: My girlfriend, who is almost never off on Sundays, is home watching with me today, and contributed this insight when I switched over to the start of this one: “this game reminds me of an Easter basket.”

She’s not wrong.

Scott Spratt: The Vikings got to a second-and-goal from the 1-yard line midway through the second quarter. And so with Dalvin Cook playing, you’d figure they could just ram it in against the league’s 32nd -anked run defense. Nope! Kirk Cousins threw a fade over Justin Jefferson’s head and out of bounds, and then the Vikings held on another pass that at least did become a touchdown before the penalty wiped it away. It’s like offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak wants Mike Zimmer to yell at him. Or maybe he realizes something that I didn’t until just now: the Vikings rank sixth in passing offense DVOA and 29th in rushing offense.

Bryan Knowles: But the Vikings’ failure in the red zone is quickly forgotten. Justin Herbert throws an interception to Eric Kendricks on the Chargers’ first play after the ensuing kickoff, and a pass to Justin Jefferson, dragging Chargers with him, gets into the red zone. From there, the Vikings do finally give Dalvin Cook a few touches, but it’s a Cousins-to-Tyler Conklin pass that gives the Vikings the touchdown and the 13-3 lead late in the second quarter.

Bryan Knowles: Throughout the first, oh, quarter-and-a-half, the Chargers’ offense had done nothing. The interception was one thing, but they hadn’t converted a third down yet, and were in long enough down-and-distances that they couldn’t even realistically attempt a fourth down. But finally Los Angeles has entered the game, sparked by Justin Herbert scrambling for 17 yards just before the two-minute warning … and a massive pass interference call to put the Chargers into the red zone. Larry Rountree ends up plunging the ball into the end zone, and the Vikings lead has been cut to 13-10. Is there a team that feels less comfortable with a double-digit lead than the Minnesota Vikings?

Scott Spratt: I nominate the Falcons, Bryan, but it’s close.

Bryan Knowles: And, indeed, the double-digit Vikings lead is a thing of the past. Los Angeles takes the second-half kickoff and just launches down the field, with big passes to Keenan Allen and Donald Parham busting the Vikings’ defense wide open. And finally, the Chargers succeed on some third-down conversions, including Herbert threading it into Austin Ekeler between two defenders at the goal line for the go-ahead touchdown. Turns out, when the Chargers can keep the ball in their hands, they can make things happen. It’s 17-13 Chargers early in the third.

Bryan Knowles: The most competitive game of the afternoon keeps going back and forth, with big catches by Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen helping drive the Vikings to a go-ahead touchdown. It amuses me that the Vikings handed the ball to Dalvin Cook three times inside the 6 for no result—Cook’s agent has been yelling on Twitter about how the Vikings need just feed Cook the rock near the goal line, and well, no. Instead, it’s Conklin who catches a floater from Cousins on fourth-and-1 to give the Vikings the 20-17 lead.

Bryan Knowles: Well, take back a little what I said about Cook as the third time’s a charm—the third time the Vikings have a goal-to-go drive, they hand it to Cook, and this time he does break the plane. It’s a 27-17 lead with 9:30 left. That’s enough time for the Chargers, but they need to get going now.

Bryan Knowles: To put a capper on this one. Down two scores, Brandon Staley pulled a Sean Payton and kicked a short field goal to make things a one-score game. I give him a little more slack than Payton as they were on the 6, not the 1, and the field goal made it a seven-point game, not an eight-point game, but still, an uncharacteristically timid move from an aggressive coach. It does not matter, however, as the Chargers simply never got the ball back. The Vikings went for it on fourth-and-2 and Cook’s second effort was enough to pick up the first down at the two-minute warning. With no timeouts left for Los Angeles, the Vikings are going to just kneel this one out. Huge win for Minnesota.

Philadelphia Eagles 30 at Denver Broncos 13

Bryan Knowles: DeVonta Smith just absolutely Mossed Patrick Surtain, clambering all over him for a touchdown. This Jalen Hurts-to-Smith connection is a start, something the Eagles might well be able to build around.

10-0 Eagles late in the first.

Aaron Schatz: Vic Fangio has been more aggressive this year and he just went for fourth-and-1 on the Philly 23. I think Melvin Gordon had it and I was ready to cheer another successful fourth-down go but then Gordon had it stripped. Darius Slay picked it up and ran it all the way back for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 27-13 lead.

Seattle Seahawks 0 at Green Bay Packers 17

Vince Verhei: Seahawks-Packers games have a history of weirdness—the Fail Mary and the 2014 NFC Championship Game come to mind. This one looks no different. First drive, Russell Wilson scrambles away from a sack and gains a first down on third-and-6. The ball is spotted, and the chains are moved. But there’s an injury timeout for a Green Bay defender, and during that pause, the ball is re-spotted, the chains are moved BACK, it’s fourth-and-1, and of course Pete Carroll punts. If the play was challenged and/or reviewed, none of that was explained to the viewers at home. That’s one of three punts in the first quarter for Seattle, another of which—speaking of weirdness—came after a flea-flicker tight end screen lost 6 yards.

Fortunately for the Seahawks the score is still zero-zero. The Packers have also punted twice, and also missed a field goal after Rasheem Green got a sack on a three-man rush. Wilson and Aaron Rodgers are both playing today, but neither has done much in the first 15 minutes.

Vince Verhei: Packers lead 3-0 at halftime as Seattle’s defense has done all sorts of bending but very little breaking. Green Bay’s last two drives gained a total of 131 yards but only three points as the first ended in a 27-yard field goal and the second on a Rodgers incompletion on fourth-and-2 from the Seattle 34.

Seattle’s offense has been much worse. Their first five drives all ended in punts, including one drive that started at their own 49. On the last drive of the half, it looked like they would get to try a 50-some-yard field goal for the tie, but a holding penalty moved them out of field goal range, and a Hail Mary try fell incomplete.

Seahawks definitely lucky to be down by just a field goal, but both secondaries are playing very well. The Packers are just smothering DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, who have a combined total of two catches for 8 yards. Packers receivers have better numbers—Davante Adams especially, with five catches for 66 yards—but the Seahawks are forcing a lot of negative-ALEX throws and making their tackles.

Bryan Knowles: One of our talking points on the podcast this week was whether Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers would look like themselves after their layoffs. So far, not so much—but Wilson, if anything, looks worse. He just threw an ugly interception in the end zone in a game where the Seahawks are down just three points. Reports were that he was rehabbing 19 hours a day. That would mean, mathematically, that he was sleeping for just five, so might I suggest he get some sleep before next week.

Vince Verhei: Here’s video of that interception. It was certainly a terrible throw, but I ask you to watch it closely, with the sound up, and draw your own conclusions.

Bryan Knowles: And, not to be outdone, Rodgers’ protection breaks down on the other end of the field, and he blindly fires one right to Jamal Adams in the end zone. This game has been … well, something else.

Vince Verhei: Just to point out how unlikely that play was, that’s Adams’ first interception with the Seahawks, and just the third of his career. Packers continue to move the ball—mostly with running back screens on that drive—without getting points.

Scott Spratt: Who throws a shoe? Honestly?

On a more sober note, Aaron Jones suffered a knee injury, and early indications are it could be bad. But the Packers persisted on what became a 10-play touchdown drive, the only one of those this game. It’s 10-0 Packers early in the fourth quarter.

Vince Verhei: More Seahawks-Packers weirdness: Seahawks make a run stop to bring up third-and-short, but Carlos Dunlap gets a 15-yard foul for chucking a Green Bay player’s shoe downfield.

That’s a fresh set of downs for Green Bay at the Seattle 27. It takes Green Bay seven plays to cover the rest of the field, but on third-and-goal AJ Dillon moves the pile across the goal line and we have a touchdown. A 10-point lead with more than 10 minutes to go may not sound insurmountable, but given the performance of Seattle’s offense today it may as well be 100-0.

I feel like adding that many of Green Bay’s incompletions have been drops—Rodgers has played better than his final numbers will indicate. Wilson’s worst incompletions have been terrible overthrows. He’s playing, but it’s hard to believe he’s at 100%.

Carl Yedor: As I recall, Wilson did the no-sleep thing when he was rehabbing his knee and ankle injuries in 2016, and it took a while for him to get back to something resembling full strength that year (I would guess somewhere around November-ish after sustaining the ankle injury in Week 1). It wouldn’t surprise me if Wilson plays better with more time post-injury in better weather than Seattle is facing today, but the problem is that Seattle has a very thin margin for error given the hole they find themselves in. They may be able to make the playoffs at 9-8 depending on what happens with the rest of the teams they are competing with for the final seed in the NFC, but that will be a real challenge considering that they still have two games against Arizona and one against the Rams on the schedule. This one isn’t officially over yet, but with how the offense has been playing, things are pretty grim.

Bryan Knowles: And to possibly put a capper on this one, Wilson bombs a shot to the end zone which is only slightly overthrown, but that’s enough for the Packers to pick him off in the end zone a second time.

Carl Yedor: And as I send that, Wilson throws his second interception of the day on a deep ball intended for Tyler Lockett. Seattle needs a stop ASAP or this one is just over.

Aaron Schatz: Every time I see this game, Green Bay has all of Seattle’s receivers covered. Wilson doesn’t have a lot of places to go with the ball. Just launched it deep to Tyler Lockett but there were two defenders right with him and one came down with the pick. Still 10-0 Packers.

Scott Spratt: The Packers had improved from the sixth-worst defensive DVOA in Weeks 1 to 6 to the seventh-best defensive DVOA in Weeks 7 to 9. And I think that latter split is going to improve some more after this performance.

Tom Gower: Wilson hasn’t been impressive. It seems like he has been reluctant to take deep shots, and hasn’t been accurate on shorter throws. And with how much time the Seahawks have spent in shotgun, it seems like his finger’s not up to that either. He’s not Carson Wentz on two sprained ankles against the Titans earlier this season, but it doesn’t seem like he has added much to the offense even before you account for poor decisions like the end zone interception.

Simplifying the Packers offense to the productivity of the non-Adams receivers feels a bit too simple. But the Packers offense has struggled this game and the non-Adams receivers have done little since One of Marques Valdes-Scantling’s Four Good Plays a Month helped produce the first field goal attempt (no good). As noted earlier, it was the run game and screens rather than receivers that were the primary drivers of the first (and through 58 minutes, only) touchdown of the game.

And coming out of the two-minute warning, AJ Dillon powers it through to really finish this game. With Aaron Jones out with a knee injury, reportedly a sprain MCL that will likely cost him a couple weeks, it’s useful to have a competent backup to your lead runner.

Vince Verhei: My wife just asked what’s wrong with Seattle’s offense and I just said “everything.” When you get shut out, it’s on everyone—quarterback, receivers, linemen, running backs, tight ends, coaches. I have said before the Seahawks without Wilson are not a good team. Now it feels like, if anything, I was overrating them.

Green Bay’s defense put Seattle in the coffin, but AJ Dillon nailed the lid shut. His second rushing touchdown makes it 17-0, and he moved the chains repeatedly with a bunch of short, effective runs. Also broke free for a big 50-yard catch-and-run. That’s 123 receiving yards for Jones and Dillon as Seattle remains unable to cover running backs.

Scott Spratt: With Aaron Rodgers’ getting COVID and Aaron Jones injuring his knee the last two weeks, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst could come at all the critics like myself for disparaging his 2020 draft strategy. Or he could if Jordan Love hadn’t played so poorly last week.

Vince Verhei: There was a fight late and a bunch of penalties as the Seahawks lost all their composure, risking injury and suspension in a pointless brawl, and the Football Gods took pity on me and knocked out my power again. I hope you all enjoyed the Pete Carroll era, because I’m really starting to believe it’s on its last legs.

Carl Yedor: It definitely feels like things have run their course in Seattle for Carroll, Vince. Wilson seems likely to want out again based on what happened last winter, and Carroll’s decision-making likely isn’t going to improve any time soon. Seattle’s missing its first-round pick, but on the bright side this quarterback class doesn’t seem to be shaping up to be anything special, making that lack of a pick seemingly less costly. Regardless, I don’t think Carroll should be involved in making the decision on the next quarterback anyway. Rip the Band-Aid off.

Scott Spratt: Pete Carroll finished over .500 every year between 2012 and 2020 and won at least 10 games each of those years except 2017. What have you done for me lately, Pete?

Kansas City Chiefs 41 at Las Vegas Raiders 14

Aaron Schatz: It’s early but the Raiders do not seem to be playing that two-high coverage that everyone is using to stop Patrick Mahomes. They have had a single high safety on most plays except for the third-and-10 on the first drive.

Scott Spratt: The Chiefs got off to a great start to this game extending a drive 11 plays to score a touchdown on their second possession and holding the Raiders to just one new first down on their first two drives. But after the second Raiders punt, it looked like Chiefs returner Mike Hughes lost a fumble. The Chiefs’ year from hell continues.

Aaron Schatz:

Punters can cause fumbles too!

Aaron Schatz: Fumble leads to a Raiders touchdown after a long catch by Bryan Edwards and a long and very valid DPI flag drawn by Edwards. Then Hunter Renfrow slipped on his route while cutting, recovered, and caught a touchdown past Charvarius Ward anyway. 7-7.

Scott Spratt: Wow, even when the Chiefs block a punt it goes 42 yards.

Aaron Schatz: Chiefs offense looks good so far. In the battle between “reversion to long-term trends” and “our third-string right tackle is going to be killed by Maxx Crosby,” the reversion is winning. Mahomes has tossed a couple of long bombs but the Chiefs are mostly taking runs and stuff underneath. Travis Kelce looks like himself again. Screens are doing a good job of neutralizing the Raiders pass rush. Chiefs just converted on fourth-and-1 from the 3, then the Raiders forgot to cover Tyreek Hill on the goal line when they all went for the play-action fake and Mahomes just lofted it over the defense and right into Hill’s hands. 17-7 Chiefs.

Scott Spratt: Patrick Mahomes has overthrown a couple of open receivers in the end zone tonight or the Chiefs would be winning by more than their current 17-7 margin in the waning seconds of the first half.

Tom Gower: Chiefs up 17-7 at the half, but this is the best, most fluid the Chiefs offense has looked probably this season. Knowing the offensive matchup, Kansas City has made a lot of use of the screen game. Mahomes also hasn’t been big-play hunting like he has gotten in trouble with this year. Before the final two minutes of the first half, he only had three passes listed as “deep” in the play-by-play: one vertical route to Tyreek Hill in man (good coverage on the play by Brandon Facyson) and a couple of end zone shots, one at the end of a play where the primary was covered from the Raiders 21.

But with that reversion to past seasons has been Derek Carr’s reversion to past seasons. He completed his first nine passes, but those netted just 62 yards. Outside of a 27-yard gain to Bryan Edwards on their touchdown drive, it has all been short, short, and shorter. What’s made Carr so much better this season has been his willingness to attack downfield rather than do a Teddy Bridgewater-plus impression, and that has been absent tonight. Maybe it’s just the loss of Henry Ruggs, maybe the Chiefs are really taking that away (stranger things have happened), I can’t tell. But I’d expect the Raiders, who are getting the ball to start the second half, to have a deep shot called to DeSean Jackson on their opening series.

Aaron Schatz: Chiefs had kept Raiders to 3.7 yards per play in the first half and the question was whether the Raiders offense really worked without Ruggs. No more. Raiders easily chop through the Chiefs on their first drive of the second half. Zay Jones for 22 yards, then Bryan Edwards open over the middle, Tyrann Matthieu didn’t get over far enough to stop him deep, and Edwards goes 37 yards for the score. 17-14 Chiefs.

Aaron Schatz: Oooh, the Chiefs had Anthony Hitchens running with Edwards on that play. That’s not a good look. Beat him easily, and Matthieu as the deep help didn’t get over enough.

Scott Spratt: When I saw this play in real time, I thought DeSean Jackson just threw the ball straight at Tyrann Mathieu like the Waterboy did to the opponent that insulted his mother.

It turns out Rashad Fenton punched the ball out. Not quite as funny, but that was still a crazy play. And one that finally broke right for the Chiefs, who erased a likely scoring drive and now have the ball up 24-14 late in the third quarter.

Aaron Schatz: There are so many Chiefs fans here at Allegiant Stadium that a huge cheer went up after the Darrel Williams deep touchdown. I couldn’t tell if it was a touchdown or an interception, because I can’t tell which group of fans is cheering.

Rivers McCown: If I were the Raiders I would have simply considered catching the interceptable balls the other Chiefs opponents did.

Scott Spratt: OK, I clearly can’t make any more jokes about bad Chiefs luck after that last sequence.

  • On a third-and-7, Mahomes threw 40 yards down the field but over the head of an open Tyreek Hill and out of bounds.
  • Punter Tommy Townsend faked a punt and threw a completion for a new first down to Marcus Kemp.
  • Mahomes threw a pass up for grabs in the end zone that Raiders safety Trevon Moehrig just dropped.
  • Mahomes stepped up in the pocket to avoid pressure and threw another jump ball. This time, Darrel Williams secured the catch for a 38-yard touchdown.

The Chiefs are up 34-14 now and this one is pretty much over early in the fourth quarter.

Aaron Schatz: Raiders punted on fourth-and-5 from their own 37 down 20 with 11:57 left, so yeah, that’s probably ballgame.

Tom Gower: I don’t know what stood out more to me about this game: the Kansas City defense playing well (or at least well enough against the Raiders offense to shut them out in the second half, with the caveats) or Gus Bradley’s apparent absolute refusal to change from his Cover-3 base to adopt a two-high coverage scheme like everybody else has played against Kansas City this year in helping limit them. This looked like a vintage Chiefs offensive performance at least in part because it was a vintage—i.e. not adapted—defensive performance by the Raiders. Disappointing from a game competitiveness watchability perspective, but it was kind of fun to see Kansas City look like fun Kansas City again. Now Bradley’s old boss Dan Quinn next week, I don’t think he’ll be quite so insistent on playing the way he used to play, because he has shown this year he’ll play the way that makes sense for his team. I’m already looking forward to that matchup.

compiled by Andrew Potter


https://www.footballoutsiders.com/audibles/2021/chiefs-offense-back-form

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