NFL talking heads lay misplaced blame on Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive line in Week 14 loss to Houston Texans
The Kansas City Chiefs’ backup offensive linemen weren’t the problem in the Week 14 loss to the Houston Texans.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive line seems to be the scapegoat for the national media after the team’s 20-10 loss to the Houston Texans in Week 14.
A lot of Patrick Mahomes’ worst and most frustrating performances have come when the team has failed to protect him behind a patchwork offensive line. Naturally, with three starters ruled out of the game, the assumption is that the offensive line didn’t do a good enough job. That’s what seems to be taking root in the national media in the wake of Kansas City’s loss.
“The Chiefs are going to have to find a way to improve the offensive line, upgrade the offensive line,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on the Pat McAfee show.
“Let’s take last night’s game into consideration,” Stephen A. Smith said on First Take. “He finished with a 19.8 passer rating, which was the worst of Patrick Mahomes’ career. Okay, three interceptions, sacked twice. A couple of those interceptions weren’t his fault. When you look at the offensive line right now, the lack of protection. I mean, not only did you have three guys down, Josh Simmons, Trey Smith, and Jawaan Taylor, but this kid, (Wanya) Morris goes down and has to get carted off the field, and then you end up with a fifth-string tackle. So, look at what they’re dealing with right now. They’re decimated with the offensive line, and that’s a big-time problem. You fix that. Okay, you don’t have these problems. You don’t have most of these problems…”
Getting healthy on the offensive line is undoubtedly needed, but you can’t put the Week 14 loss solely on that problem. It’s diminishing the real issues that have taken root over a much longer period, and it’s not giving credit to an offensive line that was given no chance heading into the game and actually put up a fight.
The Chiefs’ offensive line was much less of a problem than it was expected to be in Week 14 vs. the Texans
Mahomes had an all-time bad performance in Week 14 vs. the Texans. He had a career-worst 42.4% completion percentage and a career-worst 19.8 passer rating at the end of the game. If you told most people ahead of the game that Mahomes was going to have a career-bad performance, they probably would’ve assumed it was because he was missing three starting offensive linemen against one of the NFL’s best pass-rushing duos. The reality is that they were a lot less of a problem than many expected. It didn’t doom them, as the team had multiple chances to take the lead or tie the game up in the fourth quarter.
The fifth-string offensive tackle, Esa Pole, was certainly not the problem. He allowed just three pressures on the night. There’s an argument to be made that he was the team’s best-performing offensive lineman outside of Creed Humphrey, especially when you consider the situation he was put in. Mike Caliendo, the backup right guard, allowed just two pressures on the night. Jaylon Moore was actually the player who truly had his hands full in Week 14, allowing eight pressures and requiring constant help on the right side.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Patrick Mahomes faced a 42.9% pressure rate on Sunday night. When forcing pressure, the Texans held Mahomes to just two completions on 12 attempts for 40 yards and an interception. He was also sacked twice.
If it’s not the offensive line, what is the problem for the Chiefs?
So, what happened on those other seven pressures for Mahomes? There were a few scrambles and throwaways, which are typically indicative of players not getting open. At times, Mahomes did a good job of stepping up in the pocket, buying time, and delivering the football. He made some mistakes and missed some open throws when he was sped up, but there were also several dropped passes in crucial situations.
There’s also a lot to be said about the play-calling and offensive scheme. At times in the game, they did a really good job of avoiding the Texans’ pass rush via design. They made deliberate decisions to move the pocket with bootlegs and more. At other times, the route combinations were stale and predictable, leaving no one open for Mahomes. The inconsistencies and disjointedness of the offense were just as much a problem as anything the offensive line did or didn’t do during the game. It’s also something that has been festering since 2023.
Are the offensive line injuries a problem, and would they be better if Simmons, Smith, and Taylor were healthy? Absolutely. This Week 14 loss was about far more than that, and the team’s singular focus cannot be on fixing, upgrading, and improving a position group that this team has already spent countless resources on. They’ve got much bigger fish to fry as they look themselves in the mirror and look to find some momentum in the final four-game stretch of the season.
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