The Kansas City Chiefs had a scorching 2022 NFL season debut against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1.
An offseason’s worth of questions about last season’s AFC title game and the decision to trade Tyreek Hill during the offseason culminated in flat-out domination of the Arizona Cardinals in the season opener. Every phase of the game stood out in the 44-21 win, with key contributions to the winning effort. There were certain things that looked much improved over prior seasons. There was also one key reassurance regarding one aspect of Patrick Mahomes’ game.
Here were our four biggest takeaways from the season-opening victory over the Cardinals:
Red zone offense on point
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The Chiefs scored a whopping six touchdowns in their Week 1 game against the Cardinals. Do you know what each of the six touchdowns shared in common? They were all scored within the red zone. Here is the breakdown:
A 9-yard touchdown reception by Travis Kelce
A 3-yard touchdown reception by Clyde Edwards-Helaire
A 4-yard touchdown reception by Clyde Edwards-Helaire
A 1-yard touchdown reception by Jody Fortson
A 1-yard touchdown reception by Mecole Hardman
A 3-yard touchdown run by Isiah Pacheco
The Chiefs lost one of their biggest red zone threats this offseason in Tyreek Hill, yet they’ve not missed a beat in that area of the field. In fact, they look improved over previous years. Maybe this isn’t the same offense that boasts the big explosive downfield plays, but they don’t need to be when they’re scoring every time they get into the red zone.
Patrick Mahomes is still insanely good against the blitz
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Even though Patrick Mahomes has a reputation as a world-destroyer against the Blitz, Cardinals DC Vance Joseph saw it fit to send pressure early and often in Week 1. He told us that he was going to do as much during his Thursday press conference.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Mahomes was actually blitzed at an extreme rate and the results were exactly how you’d expect.
It’s a shame this happened in Week 1 because it might simply serve as a reminder that teams shouldn’t be too blitz-happy against Mahomes.
Run game was more explosive than we’ve seen in recent years
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The run game in Kansas City was the opposite of explosive last season. On Sunday afternoon, the…
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