The easiest game on the schedule — on paper, anyway — grew a bit difficult.OK, really difficult. The Chiefs turned a trip to Charlotte into relief rather than blowout, using Spencer Shrader’s 31-yard field goal for a 30-27 victory.They didn’t exactly coast. Well, the offense did. Patrick Mahomes produced points on six different drives.His arm. Then his legs. A 33yard scramble set up the gamewinning field goal as time expired.They’re 10-1, still with the fate of the AFC No. 1 seed in their possession, but it’s apparent that while the Chiefs’ ceiling is high, their floor too might be low.Here are five observations from immediately after the game: 1. The openerThe autopsy on the Chiefs’ first loss in more than 300 days revealed some scars — pass rush, pass protection, the No. 2 cornerback, I could go on — but the roots were planted early.The Chiefs were terrible in the first quarter a week ago in Buffalo, a theme of the season that prompted quarterback Patrick Mahomes to use the word “urgency” in response to three different questions after the game.Well, the Chiefs had some urgency for a better start Sunday.He had some urgency. Mahomes went 7-for-7 with 94 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter, when the Chiefs scored 10 points. He hit tight end Noah Gray on a deep over route for a 35yard touchdown — his first touchdown pass in a first quarter all season. That’s a real stat.Here’s another: Before the day, the Chiefs were averaging just 2.7 points per first quarter, 27th in the league.That’s all saying the same thing: The offense has been lousy at the start of games.This was a change.2. The pass coverageHere’s a sentence you can use for the first time in 2024: Bryce Young cooked. The Chiefs allowed the NFL’s worst passing offense to move up and down the field like the 2018 Chiefs. While the first instinct is to blame coverage, which wasn’t great by any means, the primary issue lay elsewhere.Where is the pass rush? The Chiefs are failing to generate pressure without blitzing, and when offered time to throw, Young got into a rhythm unlike he has all year. Then he started making plays even when he did see some opposition in the backfield — killing the Chiefs’ blitzes, too. That’s how this tends to work.Young threw for 262 yards and a touchdown. That’s a seasonhigh ...
