Chiefs Week Two: Five Takeaways From The TNF Victory
It was a gritty win for the Chiefs on Thursday Night against the Chargers in a great atmosphere at Arrowhead Stadium. There are five main takeaways from this Week Two game.
The Chiefs’ latest game against the Los Angeles Chargers was the type of game that wasn’t pretty. There were mistakes for both teams throughout the game. This was a game about who wanted it more, and ultimately the Chiefs prevailed and walked away with another division win. I’ll now discuss five takeaways from the game.
Five Takeaways From The Chiefs Week Two Victory Over L.A
Watson and Watson
It isn’t very rare to have two men on the same team with the same last name. I haven’t looked up anything yet but I’m sure it’s pretty rare to have two men with the same last name to score a touchdown on opposite sides of the ball in the same game for the same team. Wide Receiver Justin Watson made a huge catch for a touchdown to close the gap within three points (after the PAT) midway through the third quarter.
J. WATSIX !!! 📺: #LACvsKC on @NFLonPrime pic.twitter.com/Xhr1p9ul8A — Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) September 16, 2022
Cornerback Jaylen Watson didn’t want Justin to be the sole Watson with a touchdown. He made a great play in the RedZone to pick off Quarterback Justin Herbert. What is even more incredible is he ran it back 99 yards for a pick-six. What I think is even more incredible is that Jaylen is a seventh-round draft pick, a rookie with the team.
It completely changed the momentum of the game as the Chargers looked as if they were going to score. The winning probability before the play had the Chargers at a 66.4% chance of winning. After the interception, it had the Chiefs at an 85.7% chance of winning. Watson and Watson accounted for 12 of the Chiefs’ 27 points.
Special Teams
The second takeaway is the Special Teams. I’m not sure how much pressure Kicker Matt Ammendola felt but I’m sure it was a lot. He was just signed this week after Kicker Harrison Butker was a no-go with a foot injury suffered in Week One Game against the Arizona Cardinals. He did nothing but impress me, making two field goals and three extra points. Sure, the longest field goal was 31 yards but even then they aren’t easy to make.
Punter Tommy Townsend had a big day punting the ball. He had six punts that averaged 55.5. He had three punts inside the 20-yard line, including one 74-yard punt that finished as the fourth longest punt in franchise history. I have to give a shoutout to Tight End Noah Gray for having the awareness to track and fall on the onside kick at the end of the game. If he hadn’t recovered it then who knows what could have happened.
Play Calling
Another takeaway is the awful play calling on both sides of the ball. I want to start off by saying I agree with Chiefs Edge Managing Editor Preston Farr that the playing calling was…Odd. I don’t see how anyone thought the handoff to Wide Receiver Mecole Hardman on third down was a good call. The Chiefs were wanting to pick up the first down and ended up losing four yards as the Chargers looked fully prepared.
A 3rd & 2 handoff to receiver Mecole Hardman is blown up in the backfield. #Chiefs punting. #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/rkqCxRnaz8 — Devon Clements (@DevclemNFL) September 16, 2022
The shovel pass in the RedZone to pick up a yard was also very strange. I know it has worked many times in the past but the Chargers are very familiar with that play. They even saw a similar one last week on film against the Cardinals. The Chiefs called the game like they were scared for most of the game. The defensive adjustments weren’t being made either during the first half of the game.
Offense
That is a good segue into this topic: The Offense didn’t look good as it did against the Arizona Cardinals in Week One. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes had a decent day stats-wise with 235 yards and two touchdown passes. If you were watching the game though you know he seemed to be struggling along with the entire offense to get sustained drives going.
There were multiple dropped interceptions. The pass catchers looked confused on multiple routes. It was one of those rare games that the defense stepped up and should get most of the praise.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire
He continues to get a lot of hate from the Chiefs fanbase. I think if they use him correctly that he can shine. As stated above the play calling was just horrible for most of the game. CEH really did shine with some key plays. He ended the game with eight rushes for 74 yards and four receptions for 44 yards including a big play where he ran over Chargers Safety Derwin James. That is two weeks in a row where I’ve been very impressed with CEH.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire just TRUCKED Derwin James 😳😳pic.twitter.com/SS81VcXfka — Brian Y (@byysports) September 16, 2022
The Chiefs won the game with the Chargers being the better team for most of it, in the type of game the Chiefs have experienced quite a bit over the last several years. That’s the difference between a good team and a great team. When your back is against the wall you come out swinging and get those wins in close games.
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