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The Kansas City Chiefs have finally dropped a game to the Baltimore Ravens. And coincidentally, the loss came in the exact opposite fashion of how they won against Cleveland in Week One. The team in red and gold started quickly on both sides of the ball. But, late offensive turnovers and leaky, porous defense actually hurt Kansas City this time around.

Every team has one loss that stands out more than others. And despite it only being two weeks into the 2021 season, the Chiefs will certainly have a lot to learn from this humbling experience. Here are the top five items that stood out for Kansas City.

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Top Five Things We Learned

Run Defense Continued To Get Worse

Was it a difficult rushing attack to face in the Ravens? Absolutely. Nonetheless, the Chiefs defense made it look too easy. Tackles were missed on seemingly every run. Gaps were unable to be filled. Additionally, Kansas City was confused as to where the ball was going. Reactions were far too late. Until Kansas City allows less than 6.1 yards per carry, the run defense will be a liability.

Red Zone Defense Has To Button Up

Another area of improvement for the defense is within the red zone. The opponents have been successful within that area of the field on all attempts in the first two weeks. All eight trips have resulted in touchdowns.

And it is not just that touchdowns are being scored. The yards are being picked up with ease. That should not happen in an area of the field that becomes condensed. And mostly, the opponents are not facing crucial downs like third down or fourth down. Winning the early downs more often may help steer that in the right direction.

Receiver Depth Bounced Back

Week One was a game to forget for Chiefs wide receivers not named Tyreek Hill. They bounced back against the Ravens, though. Byron Pringle only received two targets. He cashed in on those opportunities, however. He raced by everyone for a touchdown after getting a quick pass over the middle.

On the flip side, Mecole Hardman responded well enough to finally out-snap Demarcus Robinson. He made some catches in tight windows. Robinson also hauled in a long touchdown catch in the back of the end zone. If they can remain dependable, the Chiefs offense will continue to score in bunches.

Clyde Has A Limited Ceiling

It has been a rough start to the season for Clyde Edwards-Helaire. The fumble at the end of this loss will sting throughout the entire week. Moreover, the production for CEH has simply not materialized. Through the first two games this season, the LSU product has totaled just 89 yards rushing and a measly 3.3 yards per carry. We knew that he did not necessarily have elite speed when he was drafted. Though, Edwards-Helaire still seems to be inconsistent with field vision and timing with his runs on occasion.

Front Seven Needs Younger Guys To Come Through

Chris Jones can turn a game on its head. However, that did not occur on Sunday night. Frank Clark is a better run defender than a pass rusher at this point. To boot, there has been a lot to be desired through two games from veterans Derrick Nnadi or Jarran Reed. The Chiefs are spending 25 percent of their salary cap on the defensive line in 2021. That is the highest percentage for that position in the league.

At linebacker, Anthony Hitchens is the fifth highest cap hit of anyone in the NFL at his position this year. Until these older players prove to be dominant, it will come down to a heroic effort by the younger players in the front seven. Or, Jones will have to be a game wrecker every single week.

Report Cards

Winners

Travis Kelce

Once again, Travis Kelce was dangerous against zone coverage. His touchdown will be what gets talked about the most from his performance. It was a near laughable result for him to score on that type of play at the NFL level. More importantly, Kelce continued to generate explosive plays. He finished the night with 15.57 yards per reception and 13.63 yards per target for the Chiefs offense.

Tyrann Mathieu

Tyrann Mathieu made his presence felt early against the Ravens offense. The first score of the game was an interception returned for a touchdown by the Honey Badger. His other interception halted a commanding looking drive by Baltimore, who was close to scoring in that situation. We all know how much Mathieu can change the course of a game. If results like this continue, the Chiefs will have no other choice but to pay him extremely handsomely if they want to keep him in Kansas City.

Trey Smith

The offensive line has done a fairly admirable job through the first two weeks together. There is one individual who I keep reverting back to more than the others, however. That would be rookie right guard Trey Smith. He is relentless with his punches and body blows up front. Smith has also impressed greatly with his ability to pull and move in space towards the second level. When passes are completed downfield, he is still delivering pancake blocks. Smith’s arrow proceeds to trend upward.

Losers

Run Defense

We mentioned it a bit already. The Chiefs run defense looks as bad as it did in 2018. Assignments are being missed just as much as the tackle attempts are. Meanwhile, the opposition is gaining five yards a pop before contact. Kansas City has to find a way to tighten the box moving forward. If not, their run defense will sit near the bottom of the league. It could also cost them greatly down the line this season.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire

The Chiefs were really eager to get the running game rolling this season. Chances that have been dished out have not been reaching expectations. As mentioned above, Edwards-Helaire must improve on reading blocks and finding the creases quicker. He has also failed to materialize in the passing game as often as one would expect in this offense. Without improvements, the Chiefs may sprinkle in more of Darrel Williams or Jerick McKinnon.

Charvarius Ward And Daniel Sorensen

Of all the defensive backs, we saw Charvarius Ward and Daniel Sorensen struggle the most. Each player made mistakes that were uncharacteristic for them.

Ward is usually sticky in coverage against short to intermediate routes. Nonetheless, he was lost in space and struggled to make the correct reads. One misstep led to a wide open touchdown catch for Marquise Brown. Finally, Ward struggled with play flow throughout the night.

On the other hand, Sorensen failed to exude the physical nature that was needed for a matchup like this. He gave up inside leverage too often on passes over the middle of the field. Furthermore, Sorensen missed too many tackles that ended up leading to big plays.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles throughout this week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.

This article first appeared on Full Press Coverage and was syndicated with permission.

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