Either the Chiefs offense is back or the Bears are just that bad.
Okay, it could be both.
But for a week it doesn’t really matter. The Chiefs needed to string together some offensive successes, and well, they got more than a few.
They scored the first 41 points of the game in a 41-10 win Sunday against visiting Chicago to improve to 2-1.
The Chiefs ran the ball well. You threw it successfully. Hey, they even switched to short-haul routes.
All in all, the result was consistent with what we expected against the Bears, who would perhaps secure the No. 1 seed for the second year in a row.
Here are five observations immediately after the game:
1. Travis Kelce’s World
Travis Kelce had a pretty good day.
Ahem, on the field.
Kelce played in Jacksonville a week ago, but upon review it became clear that he was still dealing with the lingering effects of the hyperextended knee injury he suffered days before the season.
The Chiefs made it a point to include him from the jump against Chicago. He had five catches for 61 yards in the first half as the Chiefs built a 31-point lead.
The touchdown came after halftime, a pass that you or I could have caught, but it caused quite a reaction in his suite. The most famous person in the building wasn’t one of the players on the field, but rather pop star Taylor Swift as Kelce’s guest, who seemed to be enjoying the afternoon.
Anyway, and I can’t stress this word enough, the Chiefs’ offense tends to look a little different when the guy is doing well, right?
2. The defense. Again.
It might be a compliment to call the Bears’ offense one-dimensional.
However, the Chiefs defense has dominated a game for three weeks in a row now. 86 seconds into the fourth quarter, the Bears might have broken the shutout with a chip-shot field goal that was greeted with boos, but that came after a turnover and after the Chiefs removed several of their starters, including Chris Jones.
The secondary shut down the back end for three weeks. Bears quarterback Justin Field finished 11 of 22 for 99 yards, a touchdown and an interception. And believe it or not, these statistics were inflated by a garbage drive. Things looked worse for most of the day.
The Bears are terrible, but the Lions and Jaguars offenses are not, and the Chiefs had good days against all of them.
In the Patrick Mahomes era, we never really thought about what this operation would look like if the defense was good enough to carry the load — because they never gave us a reason to think about it.
That could change.
3. Patrick Mahomes
Oh yeah, the second most famous guy in the building on Sunday.
That last line says a lot — 24 of 33 for 272 yards and three touchdowns in three quarters of work — but I’ll highlight one play because it’s the best we’ve seen from Mahomes this season.
After dropping back into the pocket, Mahomes lunged forward to find an opening and fired a 37-yard completion to Justin Watson, who appeared to abandon his intended route before making a catch over the other shoulder caught up.
That’s the type of connection that has eluded the Chiefs. It could be a good sign.
4. This course 2022? Still productive
Last year’s rookie class received a lot of attention due to their immediate performance.
They’ve been moved out of the spotlight, but the production remains. And even more.
George Karlaftis has taken a noticeable step forward as a pass rusher. He had two sacks in the last two weeks. But one of his better plays on Sunday actually set up a sack for a teammate. As Fields tried to escape the pocket, he rolled outside to force Fields back in, allowing Chris Jones to catch him for a sack.
Karlaftis is one.
Trent McDuffie is another.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that McDuffie has what it takes to be a Pro Bowl cornerback. One thing was missing from his game last season: forcing turnovers. As a rookie, he was only involved in one turnover. In just three weeks he has already played two roles this year.
Sophomore running back Isiah Pacheco also scored a touchdown.
I’ve said it before, but the Chiefs will have a hard time matching the value of the 2022 class.
5. The self-inflicted stuff
The Chiefs’ offense had been the problem rather than the solution through the first two weeks, but there was one element that made the result look even worse than the process.
Punish.
And even with 31 points in the first half, as you can imagine, they still did their part. Any guesses about the culprit?
Right tackle Jawaan Taylor was whistled twice for lining up too far behind the line of scrimmage, and one of them swiped a 50-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling off the board.
And then the Chiefs took Taylor off the field – for the second straight time. Prince Tega Wanogho played right tackle on the first drive of the second half, which ended with a Kelce touchdown. Taylor stood idly on the sideline.
Former Chiefs tackle Mitchell Schwartz believes Taylor is in the referee’s sights. He would know these logistics better than I do.
But I will say this: This is something the Chiefs have stressed since training camp, which only adds to the concern that the problem still exists today.
This story was originally published on September 24, 2023 at 6:25 p.m.
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Sam McDowell is a sports columnist for The Kansas City Star and has covered the Chiefs, Royals, Sporting KC, KU and MU for more than a decade. He has won national awards for columns, features and corporate work from APSE and other organizations.