The Kansas City Chiefs and the Green Bay Packers are playing a football game on this glorious Sunday evening. It was a rocky start for Matt Moore and the Chiefs but they’ve battled back in this one. At the half, Kansas City has a nice three-point lead on 17 unanswered points. The score is 17-14 Chiefs and they get the ball following the break.
Here are some key takeaways from the first half of play:
Andy Reid did Matt Moore no favors in the first quarter
The first time Moore threw the ball tonight he looked uncomfortable. The second time Moore threw the ball tonight he looked uncomfortable. The third time Moore threw the ball tonight he looked uncomfortable. Are you seeing a pattern here?
I understand what Reid was trying to do in establishing the run early but Moore hasn’t started a football game in well over a year. In a primetime game with all eyes on him, they could have done a better job getting him into a rhythm. They finally did that in the second quarter but the Packers already had a 14-point lead.
Redemption in the second quarter
It was a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde performance for the Chiefs in the first half. Kansas City came firing back in the second quarter with some creative and gutsy play calls. They managed to get the ball in the hands of the fastest playmakers in Tyreek Hill and Mecole Hardman.
They had some plays dialed up that got Moore looking a bit more comfortable in the offense. I even saw a few of the plays that I suggested on Twitter that could get him a bit more comfortable. Moore even fired off one of his signature rainbow deep balls to Travis Kelce for his first score of the game.
Who would have thought that Moore would actually out-perform Rodgers at halftime?
The defense is trying to keep the Chiefs in this
I was skeptical about what we saw from the Chiefs defense against Broncos in Week 7. It feels like they’re finally starting to find their identity and find some success. Is it too soon to say that they’re getting better and comfortable in Steve Spagnuolo’s system? Maybe it’s Spagnuolo getting more comfortable coaching his personnel too.
They’re winning at the line of scrimmage and stopping the run with much more success than earlier in the season. They’re getting home with the blitz when they send an extra linebacker, safety or corner after the QB. Rodgers isn’t exactly an easy quarterback to bring down either. They’ve already got to him 10 times tonight with 3.0 sacks and 7.0 quarterback hits.
The benefit of injuries
There’s actually a benefit of having all of these big injuries early in the season. You have a lot of players in the game and getting snaps that wouldn’t normally get snaps. That will only help this team get better down the line.
Especially on the defensive side of the ball, this will be helpful for the Chiefs. Guys like Tanoh Kpassagnon and Rashad Fenton are really starting to come into their own. Injuries can happen at any moment and these snaps will help players be prepared to come in and play when these games count the most.
