Chiefs receivers struggled with more than drops in Week 1
Wide receiver drops have been one of the main talking points following the Kansas City Chiefs' disappointing Week 1 loss to the Detroit Lions. It wasn't the only problem for the Chiefs' receiving corps on Thursday night, and it might not even turn out to be the biggest one. There's pretty high game-to-game variance when it […]
Wide receiver drops have been one of the main talking points following the Kansas City Chiefs' disappointing Week 1 loss to the Detroit Lions. It wasn't the only problem for the Chiefs' receiving corps on Thursday night, and it might not even turn out to be the biggest one.
There's pretty high game-to-game variance when it comes to drops in the NFL. Sometimes, it's just not your day. That was certainly the case, with outlets crediting receivers with anywhere from three to six dropped passes.
One of the biggest issues for Chiefs receivers on Thursday was their ability to stay assignment-sound on any given playcall.
Why was the offense so out of sync?
Kansas City typically boasts a disciplined approach, but they were extremely sloppy against the Lions. There were multiple occasions where players went to block the same player, ran into each other while running routes, or ended up in the same zones. It all made things more difficult for Patrick Mahomes' ability to execute in the passing game, especially in the second half.
The Athletic's Nate Tice pointed out a few examples from the All-22 footage on the app formerly known as Twitter. The first example had Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney going after the same block. The second had Rashee Rice and Blake Bell mistiming their releases and running into each other.
Our friend Dan Harms at RGR Football pointed out an instance of this on third down with Kadarius Toney and Richie James.
These aren't the only examples of lapses either. You can find them littered throughout the game.
Even on scramble drills, like the fourth-and-25 play at the end of the game, the Chiefs had two receivers in the same area. Justin Watson crossed in front of Skyy Moore and distracted him just enough to throw off the timing of his attempt at catching the ball.
The drops could correct themselves as early as next week, but the stuff truly causing the offense to get so out-of-sync is steeped in coaching. This doesn't look like a unit that was prepared to play its best football.
Some of that is due to Travis Kelce's absence and Kadarius Toney missing all of training camp and the preseason. The players who did play have to shoulder some blame for their ability to get ready. However, it also falls to the coaching staff.
The Chiefs have a returning offensive coordinator in Matt Nagy and a first-time wide receivers coach in Connor Embree. They've both got plenty of work to do in order to get this unit prepared to go on the road and face the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2.
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Featured image via Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
