The Kansas City Chiefs found a way to win once again. On Sunday, the Chiefs defeated the rival Los Angeles Chargers 19-17 on a walk-off, 31-yard field goal by kicker Matthew Wright that bounced off the upright. It was another case of the Chiefs finding a way out of a jam once again. As a result, they were 12-1 on the season, and won the AFC West for the ninth consecutive season.
Last year, the Chiefs looked like a disaster late in the campaign, as they went 4-4 after the bye week. Yet, they turned the corner once the playoffs began, and won their second consecutive Super Bowl. While this year, the Chiefs are finding ways to win games this season, they have been far from decisive. In fact, 10 of their victories were in one-score games. One has to wonder if the Chiefs magic will run out.
When looking at the Chiefs' roster, here are three areas that fall on general manager Brett Veach and why they will come back to haunt the team.
3 Brett Veach mistakes Chiefs can't overcome despite close win over Chargers
3. Left tackle situation
If there is one thing that a quarterback can ill-afford to not have, it's a left tackle. Since Patrick Mahomes is a right-handed quarterback, having a top blindside tackle should always be a priority. For Brett Veach, he didn't really do much to improve the situation after letting Donovan Smith walk.
The Chiefs had not one, not two, but three different starting left tackles this season. Wanya Morris started in 10 games, where he allowed 33 total pressures, seven hits, and five sacks on 416 pass block snaps, per Pro Football Focus. Kingsley Suamataia started two games at left tackle, where he allowed 13 total pressures and three sacks on 107 pass block snaps.
On Sunday, the Chiefs started former Arizona Cardinals left tackle D.J. Humphries, who they signed recently. It went asyou would expect for a tackle staring not too long after signing with the team mid season. However, he did leave the game with an injury, and there has been no update.
However this season goes, Veach needs to prioritize bringing in a stable left tackle option in the offseason.
2. Cornerback depth
The Chiefs and Veach had a difficult choice to make this offseason in terms of who to give a lucrative contract to — defensive tackle Chris Jones or cornerback L'Jarius Sneed. The Chiefs decided to keep Jones on a five-year, $158.75 million contract extension. With that, Veach decided to move on from Sneed altogether and sent him to the Tennessee Titans.
While Sneed hasn't panned out for the Titans, who signed him to a four-year, $76.4 million contract, the Chiefs don't have quality depth behind starter Trent McDuffie. That is mostly due to injury.
The Chiefs have already lost Jaylen Watson for the season due to a broken ankle. Then, on Sunday night against the Chargers, they saw Joshua Williams exit due to a chest injury, but there wasn't any update after the game..
Kansas City's cornerback depth is in rough shape. While they have Nazeeh Johnson and Keith Taylor Jr. on the roster, they are meeting with veteran Steven Nelson on Monday. But there's no denying that the lack of depth has been a detriment for the Chiefs.
1. Wide receiver injuries
The Chiefs and Veach tried their best to improve their wide receiving corps this past offseason. We can't necessarily blame the general manager for bringing in Marquise "Hollywood" Brown and drafting Xavier Worthy in the first round. The problem is, the wide receiver room is cursed.
Brown suffered a shoulder injury in the preseason, and it was expected he could miss the entire regular season. However, there is a chance he could return in the team's final two or three games.
Then, Rashee Rice suffered a season-ending knee injury during the team's Week 4 game against the Chargers after getting inadvertently tackled by Mahomes following an interception return.
Add Mecole Hardman Jr. and Skyy Moore, who are both on the injured reserve, and you have a disastrous season for the Chiefs.
While the team did bring in DeAndre Hopkins at the trade deadline in a deal with the Titans, and he has shown to be a scoring machine when on the field, his snap count has been limited thus far. That is surprising, considering the amount of injuries at the position.
Look, the Chiefs tried to ensure they didn't have to rely on a Kadarius Toney again. But thus far, luck hasn't been on their side, and it could come back to haunt them come playoff time.