The Kansas City Chiefs have a perfect 4-0 record. But are they any good? |Kansas City Chiefs

oneCoaches in any sport will tell you that a win is a win: no matter how you get there, that’s a good thing. But how good are the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs feeling about their 4-0 start to the season after narrowly beating the Los Angeles Chargers 17-10 on Sunday?

Yes, the Chiefs are undefeated, but their +20 point differential shows how vulnerable they are, and if a few plays go differently in every game this season, they could easily be 1-3 or even worse. Oops. This Chiefs team looks like it did last season, when they had to hope that Patrick Mahomes got hot at the right time in an offense that was unbalanced with a mystery receiver.

In Kansas City’s first three wins, even future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce felt the pressure: He caught just eight passes on 13 targets for 69 yards and none. touchdown. A week before the game against the Chargers, head coach Andy Reid said he was using Kelce as a decoy to open up spots for other receivers, especially Lahi Rice. When Rice suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury early in the game, Kelce responded with seven catches on nine targets for 89 yards.

Even so, there is a dark underpinning to this. Initial reports indicate Rice could be out for the season with a torn ACL, which would be a further devastating blow to the Chiefs passing game.

There’s also the matter of Patrick Lavon Mahomes II.

Last season, Mahomes was the worst passer in the NFL. Although the Chiefs won their third Super Bowl in five seasons, Mahomes completed just 24 of 76 passes of 20+ air yards for 817 yards, which resulted in two touchdowns and six interceptions. Quarterbacks with a 49.1 player rating (the lowest rating in the league) who accounted for at least 50% of the team’s snaps). Entering Sunday, Reid and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy didn’t give Mahomes much of a chance to pass the ball deep this time around. Mahomes completed 4 of 7 deep passes for 171 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception, and a passer rating of 101.8. Increased efficiency is nice, but turning someone with Mahomes’ star-studded talents into a hand-off artist seems reductive at best.

Mahomes did hit rookie speed receiver Xavier Worthy for a 54-yard touchdown in the second quarter against the Chargers, but other than that, these explosive passes on Sunday were Show up less often.

Will the Chiefs be in a similar position to last season – when they had to rely on Steve Spagnuolo’s defense to make the playoffs – and Mahomes is dealing with uncertain receivers outside of Kielce? Legion? We’ll know more as the Chiefs enter a particularly tough stretch of their schedule: They face tough defenses in their next five games — New Orleans Saints , San Francisco 49ers , Tampa Bay Buccaneers , Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills. Las Vegas offers what may be the only “recovery” game, and you never know what kind of Raiders defense you’re going to get.

So yes, a win is a win. But to paraphrase George Orwell in Animal Farm, some victories are more equal than others.

Most valuable player of the week

Baker Mayfield, quarterback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Going into Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Vic Fangio’s Philadelphia Eagles defense played 88 percent of the snaps in coverage without a cornerback, by far the most in the league. highest ratio. Most of the NFL is returning to the old-fashioned media coverage of a previous era where cornerbacks were at receiver from the start of the receiving route because there were more pass rushes. When you don’t have time to disrupt the quarterback, you’re better off disrupting the receiver.

Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Cohen has certainly studied the Eagles’ tendency to play passive defense and likely thought Mayfield might excel against Philadelphia, and that’s exactly what happened. In the Buccaneers’ 33-16 win, Mayfield completed 30 of 47 passes for 347 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Mayfield also had a rushing touchdown in the game, and when he does take care of things as a passer, you can see how Tampa Bay’s passing game takes advantage of Philly’s preference for keeping their cornerbacks in contention. The play comes into play a few yards beyond the line.

Mayfield’s performance may have been a simple example of him taking advantage of an unprepared defense, but he has never played this well in his NFL career.

Video of the week

Speaking of the Eagles, they should have known they were in trouble before the game even started. The Buccaneers are known for firing a cannon during their pregame ritual at Raymond James Stadium, which literally spooked Philadelphia tight end Dallas Goedert.

Goedert did catch seven passes on eight targets for 62 yards in the game, but he probably would have done more if not for the trauma.

Statistics for the week

-7. That’s the number of yards Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix threw in the first half against the New York Jets at a rain-soaked MetLife Stadium. Amazingly, the Knicks finished with seven total points. Nick’s performance in the second half was not much better, completing 12 of 25 passes for 60 yards, a touchdown, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 67.9. Somehow, the Broncos defeated the Jets 10-9. Aaron Rodgers himself wasn’t great, in part because he was sacked five times by Denver’s aggressive, ultra-blitzing defense.

The Knicks have made some interesting history. According to Pro Football Reference, no NFL quarterback since 1950 has thrown for 60 yards or less on 25 or more carries in a game victory.

Elsewhere in the league

– The 1992 San Diego Chargers are the only NFL team to start the season with an 0-4 record and still make the playoffs. Bobby Ross’ team, then the only hope for head coach Doug Pederson’s Jacksonville Jaguars, suffered the same after a heartbreaking 24-20 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday. shame.

The Jaguars’ debacle last season led them to spend decisively in free agency and decided to give so-called franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence a five-year, $275 million contract extension. “There’s no question: This is the best team the Jacksonville Jaguars have ever put together,” Jaguars owner Shad Khan said before the season started. “Best player. Best coach. But most importantly, let’s prove it now by winning. No wins so far. Pederson may have to emulate Rose’s incredible comeback to get through this There was chaos.

— A week after destroying the Dallas Cowboys’ run defense, the Baltimore Ravens performed well again on Sunday night against the Buffalo Bills. In the first half alone, Baltimore ran the ball 14 times for 146 yards, including Derrick Henry’s 87-yard touchdown early in the first quarter.

Henry is 30 years old and has 2,251 career snaps in this game, so all of the age and workload caveats impacted his value this past offseason. He ended up signing a two-year, $16 million contract with Baltimore, with only $9 million guaranteed, but he was as quick as ever. According to Next Gen Stats, Henry’s top speed on the touchdown run was 21.29 mph. Since 2018, Henry has reached or exceeded 20 mph as a ball carrier 27 times, second only to Tyreek Hill, who has 73 such performances.

Henry rushed for 199 yards on 24 carries, helping the Ravens tie their record at 2-2 and beat the previously undefeated Bills 35-10. Henry, Lamar Jackson as an extreme threat against the run, and Baltimore’s smaller backs like Justise Hill and Keaton Mitchell (who quickly returned from injury to perform well in 2023) The combination of that — not to mention a stellar offensive line — makes Baltimore’s running game a tough one to handle.

— Through the first three games of the season, Brian Flores’ Minnesota Vikings defense has allowed just 30 points combined, the most against an NFL defense since 1998 lowest score. But Flores has proven he has a great defensive mind. Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love had a nightmare in the first half, thanks in part to Flores’ scheme, completing just 12 of 24 passes for 118 yards and 1 A touchdown, 2 interceptions, and a passer rating of 43.4. The Vikings led 28-0 at halftime. Then, in the second half, Packers head coach and offensive ball-handler Matt LaFleur (also one of the best in the business) fired Flores with a ton of no-ball plays, which Forcing Minnesota to play more base defense with fewer wrinkles.

Flores didn’t stick to one thing at the expense of anything else. Flores prefers zone coverage over man, but is particularly crafty in how he gets coverage. It was a rare play where Flores’ cornerbacks and safeties didn’t start in one position in a pre-snap formation and then dart to a completely different position after the ball was snapped. Like defensive coaches at any level of football, Flores has embraced the NFL’s new preference for pre-snap action and difficult receiver assignments and thrown those ideas right back in front of these offenses.

Is Flores the best defensive coordinator in the NFL? Now, you’d be hard-pressed to put anyone above him. Considering the fallout from his lawsuit with the NFL and his fraught relationship with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa while coaching Miami, it’s unclear whether this will get him another head coaching job. To be discussed.

— Anthony Richardson was ruled out for the remainder of the Colts’ game against the Steelers after taking two hard hits in the first quarter. Richardson is a transcendent talent who, at this point in his career, veers sharply between the spectacular and the ridiculous. One thing he needs to address is his tendency to get straight into intense contact. Most mobile quarterbacks have learned when to slide and how to avoid hits; Richardson doesn’t seem to have gotten the memo yet.

Richardson missed all but four games of his rookie season in 2023 due to injury, and unless something changes, it’s likely to be a similar story this time around.

The Colts hired veteran backup Joe Flacco, who will celebrate his 40th birthday in January. In a 27-24 win over Pittsburgh, Flacco completed 16 of 26 passes for 168 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 105.9. Back in 2023, Flacco served as Deshaun Watson’s injury backup with the Cleveland Browns and holds the NFL record for the longest streak of two or more touchdown passes. You could have won a lot of bets with this trick. Additionally, according to Baltimore Ravens PR, Flacco helped his team win games against a team that lost to Baltimore (Browns), as well as a team that left Baltimore (Colts). If you play in the NFL long enough, time is indeed a flat circle.