Three Lessons the Chiefs Must Learn from Loss to Bills

The Chiefs lost their first game in nearly a year on Sunday, and the defeat highlighted three weak spots that Kansas City will have to improve on to complete their three-peat.

Nov 17, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy (1) signals a first down against the Buffalo Bills during the first half at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

On Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, the Kansas City Chiefs lost a football game for the first time since last year's Christmas Day debacle. Some of the weak spots of Kansas City's 9-0 start were even more apparent during Sunday's loss. The Chiefs will need to learn some vital lessons and work on three areas of improvement throughout the rest of the season to complete the NFL's first three-peat.

Keep Xavier Worthy involved, even if it comes with growing pains

Against Buffalo, Xavier Worthy caught four passes for 61 receiving yards and a touchdown. All of those catches came on one drive. Worthy didn't get any targets in the second half of the game. His biggest play could have been on a long pass where he couldn't get his feet down on the sideline. While Patrick Mahomes could have thrown a better ball and led him up more upfield, Worthy has to be able to get his feet down in that situation.

The connection between Mahomes and Worthy has struggled throughout the first half of the season. They haven't been consistently on the same page with the deep ball. Strengthening their chemistry will go a long way to having Worthy become a bigger part of the offense, but the offensive staff needs to find a more consistent way to get him involved. After having a touchdown drive where he was the focal point, he disappeared for the rest of the game. Using his speed on a variety of crossing routes on all three levels of the field can improve the offense and get Worthy more touches.

The four-man pass rush must be more productive

Through 11 weeks, the Chiefs are tied for the fourth-fewest sacks in the NFL. Against Buffalo, their lack of four-man pass rush was on full display, and the quarterback could sit in the pocket without worry. While the Chiefs have Chris Jones in the middle of the defensive line, teams have been able to focus on him without another defensive lineman proving they can consistently win one-on-one. George Karlaftis has generated the second-most pressure on the team, but he has been less productive in the past few weeks against better offensive lines.

Kansas City has heavily invested in Mike Danna and Felix Anudike-Uzomah over the last two years, and they have combined for just 12 total pressures this season, according to Pro Football Reference.

Getting Joshua Uche more comfortable in the system and adding Charles Omenihu back should give the defensive line more juice up front. Uche has proven to be a quick, bendy rusher over his career and should be able to really help out in obvious pass situations. Omenihu is coming off a torn ACL, so he might not return to form right away, but the Chiefs likely need him to get there eventually.

Find a solution at cornerback

Through what has unfortunately been an injury-plagued season for the Chiefs, No. 2 cornerback Jaylen Watson's injury might have been the most consequential for the team. Without Watson, the Chiefs defense has really struggled. In the weeks Watson played, the Chiefs' defense held opponents to -0.066 EPA/play, which was eighth-best in the league. Since Watson has been out of the lineup, the defense has allowed 0.078 EPA/play, which is 22nd in the league. That's a dramatic drop-off, and it was an enormous factor in the Chiefs' first loss of the season.

During Sunday's game, the Bills continuously picked on Watson's replacement, Nazeeh Johnson. The Chiefs were already getting away with weak coverage from the linebacker position by having their safeties help out in the middle of the field more often because of their trust in Watson and Trent McDuffie on the outside. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and his staff have yet to find the answer with Watson out of the lineup, but they will need to find it before another team exploits it.

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