Welcome back to Arrowhead Pride Mailbag! Throughout the season, keep watching The Feed for a chance to submit your questions about the Kansas City Chiefs!
The box score and advanced metrics paint a better picture than the Chiefs’ Week 3 24-10 victory over the Miami Dolphins felt as the actual game unfolded. Let’s see what our readers have in mind ahead of Sunday’s unexpected 3-0 team’s matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Has quarterback Patrick Mahomes lost faith in Xavier Worthy? Or does he not open? Only two targets Sunday.
The Chiefs ran just 49 offensive plays on Sunday, making it a difficult sample to determine which staff might be fading or which isn’t contributing to a truncated game plan.
I think there is evidence that Tyquan Thornton has more confidence in deep routes than Worthy. Worthy still appears to be preferred over his fellow speedster on short and intermediate routes, although second-year Jalen Royals is trending in that category.
Worthy’s 17-yard catch on Sunday was one of the better routes we’ve seen him run in 2026, and he came down with a high pass from Mahomes. But right now, if the deep throws are going to Thornton and Rashee Rice, and Travis Kelce is getting a lot of intermediate work and getting yards after the catch, where is Worthy’s ceiling to improve on a dismal showing so far this season?
Both Worthy and Mahomes spent the offseason recovering from major surgery, so it’s a little early to write off his season. But if he’s not a more effective part of the offense coming out of the Week 5 bye, I think you’ll see his snaps start trending up a lot.
If Rashee Rice stays at this kind of pace for 1k and maybe 5-6 TDs, and IF he can walk the straight and narrow, do the Chiefs give Rashee a short 2-3 year deal like they did with Tyreek Hill?
The ship has sailed with Rice signing an extension as Hill did in 2019. Hill signed a three-year extension after his final season on his original rookie contract. So the Chiefs actually had four seasons to pay off what was then a very controversial three-year deal. Ultimately, the Chiefs traded “The Cheetah” before the extension’s final season in 2022.
Rice is now three games into the final season of his rookie deal and is set to be one of the most interesting free agent cases next offseason. He is currently on pace for 1076 receiving yards and six touchdowns, with his targets increasing each week. With Rice coming off his own offseason surgery, I expect his production to increase further from what we see.
With the return of Kenneth Walker getting significant check-down work in the passing game, Rice’s current 6.4-yard average depth of target could easily set a career high if it holds.
That said, the Chiefs need to have some serious conversations about his future. The wide receiver franchise tag for 2027 is currently estimated (per Over the Cap) at $30.9 million. Even if Rice becomes Kansas City’s first 1,000-yard receiver since 2021, will that really be because of his transcendent talent — or a product of the Chiefs’ offense?
Ultimately, I predict that Rice will somehow be a Chief in 2027. I don’t think the Chiefs will eat up the salary cap room to use the tag — but I also don’t think teams will line up to pay him as the No. 1 wideout. If he has to prove himself — on and off the field — for another season, I think Rice will ultimately decide that the Chiefs will give him the best chance to put up the numbers that will ultimately pay him off.
Will defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo give cornerback L’Jarius Sneed the Daniel Sorenson and Ben Nieman treatment or will he play Chris Roland-Wallace and/or rookie Jadon Canady in the slot?
Over the last two weeks, offenses have thrown quick passes to Sneed to mitigate anything the Chiefs can do to pressure the quarterback. His lowest passer rating allowed through three games was 89.6 in Week 1.
I’m not sure this will be the frustrating situation Chiefs fans have seen with Sorensen and Nieman in the past. Spagnuolo is obviously relevant for Sneed, but that’s true for many players in the current secondary.
With Chamarri Conner likely back in Week 4, I wonder if he’ll take on some of the rotational third-safety role and let Roland-Wallace take up some of Sneed’s slot. Roland-Wallace played just 12 defensive snaps Sunday but led the team’s defenders with a 93.2 coverage grade per Pro Football Focus.
One solution I think we’ll see after the bye is Nohl Williams taking some work in the slot, with veteran Kristian Fulton rotating on the outside. After playing the first two weeks in relief of rookie Mansoor Delane, Fulton did not see the field against Miami.
Canady played more than two-thirds of the special teams snaps the last two weeks, and I’m not sure the team can currently survive him unless absolutely necessary. I expect the fourth-round pick to have a learning year in 2026 and compete next summer for a significant defensive role.
When will we see rookie wide receiver Cyrus Allen get some more offensive snaps? I want to start working with him to see if the pre-season hype is true or not.
I expect Allen to defy expectations and play a bigger role early in his rookie season. A complicating factor was the use of the Royals, who I wasn’t entirely sure would even make the team six weeks ago. The Royals only had three catches for 17 yards, but all came on three snaps. One was a touchdown, and his other two catches resulted in first downs.
Whenever Allen’s first real action comes, I think it’s unexpected and the result of the Chiefs seeing something they think he can exploit. With a chance to enter the bye at 4-0 and alone in first place in the AFC standings, I wouldn’t be surprised if they find a situation to use him against the Raiders in Week 4.
Pass rush….where have the last 2 weeks been?
As the following two slates unfold, I truly believe the Denver Broncos entered Week 1 with a terrible offensive game plan that made the Chiefs pass rush look more ready than it actually was.
This is a young defense, and you should expect ups and downs.
The pass rush and coverage often work hand in hand. The Chiefs give up too many frustrating third-down completions. A more reliable linebacker would also help reduce the teams success against Kansas City in play-action.
It was concerning to see Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis enter the game as the league’s most sacked quarterback and for the Chiefs not to get him. It’s still early, and the Chiefs have less mobile quarterbacks on tap for their next two games in Kirk Cousins of the Raiders and the Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert.
The Vikings, Bills, Raiders and 49ers went 3-0 this Sunday, playing 0-3 and 1-2 teams in one-score games. Why is everyone acting like the sky is falling for the Chiefs, who are only one of three teams this week to win by more than one point?
There’s really no way to explain to someone who hasn’t watched the game why the fans are mad. The Chiefs covered a 10-point spread, giving up just three points after halftime. Per Next Gen StatsKansas City never had a lower than 76% probability of winning (and never lower than 86% in the fourth quarter).
Watching the game (and reading real-time reactions), I was reminded of another Week 3 contest against a seemingly formidable opponent. The eventual Super Bowl LVII champion Chiefs traveled to face the Indianapolis Colts for their third game — only to lose 20-17 to a team that ultimately finished the 2022 season 4-12-1.
You can accept that the past two weeks have raised some early concerns for the Chiefs while also appreciating that beating either team by 14 points is a difficult feat. Each of the NFL’s (now five) remaining undefeated teams was tested to some degree in Week 3 as the teams inevitably adjusted to two games of film.
Many football fans get the full picture of their favorite team while disproportionately getting most of the highlights of the other 31 squads. At times, the normal variation in quality of play seems like a distinct weakness for the team they follow.
The “the sky is falling” feeling will be very strong and real if the Chiefs lose to an undefeated Raiders team and leave us waiting two weeks to see how Kansas City rebounds.
Thanks for reading this week Arrowhead Pride Mailbag! We’ll be back after the Chiefs’ season continues with another road game in Las Vegas on Sunday. Keep watching The Feed for the opportunity to ask your questions.