It looked like this game was going to start off exactly the way the Kansas City Chiefs wanted after forcing a quick punt on the first possession for the Indianapolis Colts. Unfortunately, poor play on special teams resulted in things getting off to an ugly start for Kansas City. The team has hung in the game and overcome the early errors. At halftime, K.C. will lead the game 14-10. After halftime, the Chiefs will receive the kickoff.
Buy Chiefs TicketsHere are a few quick takeaways from the first half of play:
Skyy Moore isn't a natural punt returner
One of my concerns at the time of 53-man roster cuts was that the Chiefs didn’t have a great answer at punt returner. I even thought that the team might try to place a waiver claim on a player they liked as a punt return specialist or that Corey Coleman might make the roster.
Skyy Moore is still very new to the role after not doing it much during his college career. He struggled during training camp fielding punts cleanly and that came up for the first time in a regular-season game today. He muffed the opening punt after the defense forced a quick three-and-out. The Colts recovered the ball and scored. On the second punt of the game, Moore was back out there and let the ball get downed on the one-yard line. On the third punt, he had a 12-yard return, which was his best look of the game.
Mecole Hardman might be the team’s best option at punt returner right now, but he’s dealing with a heel injury that was seemingly aggravated in the second quarter. The Chiefs also seem intent on sticking things out with Moore, which is fine as he clearly needs more live game experience.
Jonathan Taylor has been held in check
One of the team’s top priorities heading into the practice week was to ensure they were prepared to slow down Colts RB Jonathan Taylor. So far, they’ve done a good job at that goal. Taylor has 14 carries for 41 yards in the running game and 2 targets with no receptions in the passing game.
They’ve done an especially nice job ensuring that Taylor doesn’t get past the second level of the defense. His longest carry on the day is a nine-yard scamper. They were most concerned about his ability to get a full head of steam and for players in the secondary to have to come up and make the tackle. So far, that hasn’t been a big issue for Kansas City.
Need for Sneed
The Chiefs’ third-year corner had a sequence of really nice plays in the first half. It started with a play where his coverage left Colts QB Matt Ryan in conflict. He ended up pitching the ball instead of throwing it to TE Kylen Granson because of Sneed’s coverage. On the next play, Sneed runs all the way from across the formation to tackle Nyheim Hines on a sweep.
They saved one of the best plays for last, with Steve Spagnuolo sending Sneed on a fourth down blitz. Sneed came from the back side and absolutely leveled Ryan, who fumbled the ball. The Colts recovered, but it was a turnover on downs anyways.
Toward the end of the first half, Sneed recovered a fumble forced by Carlos Dunlap. The ball was bouncing around and could have easily been recovered by the Colts, but Sneed was in the right place at the right time.
At the end of the day, Kansas City needs games like this from their veteran players when you’ve got some new pieces at linebacker and on the defensive line making their debut.
Orlando Brown Jr. struggling in pass protection?
Chiefs franchise-tagged LT Orlando Brown Jr. is not having a great day in pass protection. By my estimation, he’s allowed a few pressures. The Colts are starting to pick on him a bit with their rush strategies. There was one play that stood out as particularly bad where he lost his footing.
is Orlando Brown ok out there? pic.twitter.com/r9kOh9MQbq
— EDDIE HIGH (@EddieHigh) September 25, 2022
Kansas City needs to win the battle in the trenches and so far they’ve not done a good job of that against the Colts. If Brown Jr. wants to earn that second contract with the Chiefs, he’ll need to pick up his performance in this game.
