{"id":18487,"date":"2024-12-16T20:47:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T20:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=18487"},"modified":"2024-12-16T20:47:02","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T20:47:02","slug":"5-things-we-learned-as-the-chiefs-beat-the-browns-in-week-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=18487","title":{"rendered":"5 things we learned as the Chiefs beat the Browns in Week 15"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Sunday afternoon, the <\/em>Kansas City Chiefs registered <\/em>a solid 21-7 road victory over the <\/em>Cleveland Browns. Here is some of what we learned in the victory.<\/em><\/p>\n

1. The Chiefs can win by more than one score<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"5 <\/picture> <\/span> Photo by Nick Cammett\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figure>\n

Now that Kansas City has won a game by more than a single score for only the third time this season, it might be time to share some facts about one-score games. Without a one-score win as the backdrop, you might be in the right mood to hear them.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true: since last New Year\u2019s Eve, the Chiefs have had 15 one-score games. That\u2019s more than any other team. But Kansas City has played more games than any other, too. 75% of these 20 matchups have been decided by one score. That\u2019s also a higher percentage<\/em> than any other team. But 74% of the Los Angeles Rams\u2019 games have also been single-score results. In fact, six other teams have percentages of at least 65%.<\/p>\n

In the last 10 seasons, 53% of the league\u2019s games have been decided by one score. So yes… Kansas City has recently had more one-score games than other teams \u2014 and more than normal. But let\u2019s stop acting like the 2024 Chiefs are some big, ridiculous, once-in-a-lifetime outlier \u2014 because they\u2019re not.<\/p>\n

Besides… nobody should be embarrassed by one-score victories. In any group of one-score wins, luck will be a factor. But in the last 10 seasons, only one team \u2014 the Pittsburgh Steelers \u2014 has won more of their one-score games than Kansas City. Over 10 seasons, luck can only be a part of the cause for this success.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the fact to remember: the Chiefs win a lot of single-score games because they\u2019ve proved they\u2019re good at it \u2014 not <\/em>just because they\u2019re lucky. And that\u2019s excellent news \u2014 because more of them are coming.<\/p>\n

2. The Chiefs can get turnovers<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"5 <\/picture> <\/span> Photo by Scott Winters\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/cite><\/figure>\n

My wife, Terri, believes in speaking things into existence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to win the lottery,\u201d she\u2019ll say. \u201cI\u2019m claiming it now.\u201d Or if I say I think I\u2019m getting sick, she\u2019ll say, \u201cDon\u2019t claim it!\u201d<\/p>\n

It looks like Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo also believes in it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s a forced fumble, a sack-fumble [or] an interception, we all know the difference [turnovers] make in a win or loss,\u201d he noted on Thursday. \u201cWe haven\u2019t had as many as we would like. And what I\u2019m hoping is that we\u2019re saving them all up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right on cue, the Chiefs collected four interceptions and a pair of recovered fumbles on Sunday. Some of that was Cleveland quarterback Jameis Winston simply being himself: a chef who tends to mix too many interceptions into his big-play souffle.<\/p>\n

But the Browns backup quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw one, too \u2014 and I also saw Kansas City defenders doing their part to make them happen.<\/p>\n

I doubt Spagnuolo really believes in speaking things into existence, but he does believe in coaching<\/em> them into existence. On Sunday, he proved he could do this.<\/p>\n

3. The Chiefs must do better at play-calling<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"5 <\/picture> <\/span> Photo by Nick Cammett\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figure>\n

During the 30 years I have covered this team, every single one<\/em> of its head coaches has been accused of being a poor play-caller. So, I have learned that while \u201cstale\u201d or \u201cpredictable\u201d play-calling is often blamed for offensive shortcomings, it\u2019s usually something else that\u2019s gone wrong.<\/p>\n

I am always reluctant to criticize an NFL team\u2019s play-calling. But after these last two games, I\u2019m making an exception.<\/p>\n

In these matchups, the Chiefs\u2019 best offensive drives have been when they used short passes and the running game to move the ball. When they have done so, the offense has looked unstoppable. But when Kansas City abandons this approach \u2014 when they pass on every down or go deep when underneath routes are open \u2014 the offense cannot stay on the field.<\/p>\n

Making the offense stay on the field is exactly<\/em> how Kansas City can consistently win its games \u2014 even (or perhaps especially) in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Still, the Chiefs will sometimes have to air it out; otherwise, dinking and dunking won\u2019t work. But most of the time, the balance has been wrong. Whether that\u2019s because of the play-calling or quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ freelancing deep throws \u2014 which he freely admits he does too often \u2014 it must be fixed.<\/p>\n

4. The Chiefs need a better tackle answer than Joe Thuney<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"5 <\/picture> <\/span> Photo by Jason Miller\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figure>\n

I am happy to join the chorus praising the left guard\u2019s effort on Sunday. It\u2019s not easy to spend your whole career doing one job and then be asked to do a different job \u2014 especially at a critical moment in the worst possible circumstances. Thuney deserves praise for what he did.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not the right answer. Much of the team\u2019s success this season has come from its ability to run the ball effectively. Thuney, center Creed Humphrey and right guard Trey Smith are at the heart of that rushing attack. When Thuney is on the outside looking after Mahomes\u2019 blindside, the rushing attack suffers. (This may even have played a role in the Chiefs backing off from the running game in the second half).<\/p>\n

Yes… at their present stages of development, Wanya Morris and Kingsley Suamataia are not ready to do the job by themselves. So help<\/em> them! If that means running backs and tight ends are chipping in \u2014 or the team depends more on running the ball and passing underneath (see point 3) \u2014 then that\u2019s what must be done.<\/p>\n

5. The Chiefs have the NFL\u2019s best record<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"5 <\/picture> <\/span> Photo by Nick Cammett\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figure>\n

After the Buffalo Bills\u2019 defeat of the Detroit Lions on Sunday, the Chiefs have the league\u2019s best record. Even with the many problems the team still needs to solve, that\u2019s a big deal.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth remembering that the last time a team tried for a Super Bowl three-peat \u2014 almost two decades ago \u2014 it was 8-5 with three games left. Even though two postseason bye weeks were available, its 10-6 record forced it to play in the Wild Card round. But the 2005 New England Patriots went home after losing the Divisional game to the Denver Broncos \u2014 who themselves didn\u2019t make it through the AFC Championship.<\/p>\n

Perhaps that is also the fate that awaits the Chiefs. But if it happens, it won\u2019t<\/em> be because they were lucky in one-score games or were helped by officials. As the Patriots demonstrated just two seasons later, even going undefeated in the regular season (and defeating opponents by an average of nearly 20 points) doesn\u2019t necessarily lead to a Lombardi trophy. Champions are made by what happens in the postseason.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s worry about that when it comes. In the meantime, let\u2019s note that the Chiefs are now the league\u2019s best team. As Andy Reid might say, we\u2019ll see where it goes.<\/p>\n

\n

Our Rocky Maga\u00f1a has been on vacation during the last two games. He will return to this space in Week 16. It has been my pleasure to fill in for him.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs finally collected another multi-score win. 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