Several Questions Following The Chiefs Loss To The Falcons

The Chiefs’ season opener is in the books, and the team will try to regroup after an embarrassing home loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Kansas City still has some major question marks on both sides of the ball in regards to injuries and personnel decisions, and it will be interesting to see how this translates to the team’s second game against the Buffalo Bills.

The biggest question regarding the defense is whether or not Brandon Flowers will be able to play this Sunday. After it appeared that Flowers would be able to go against the Falcons, he was held out of the game due to an ongoing foot injury. Head coach Romeo Crennel has stated that if Flowers can practice, he will play. This week’s practices will be a telling sign on whether or not Flowers is ready to start again for the Chiefs. Flowers’ return is even more crucial because his normal backup, Jalil Brown, is battling a groin injury and barely played against Atlanta. Jacques Reeves got torched by Julio Jones several times on Sunday, showing how crucial a healthy Flowers is to the defense.

One player who was missing Sunday that will for sure suit up against the Bills is Tamba Hali, who has served his one-game suspension and is officially back. Kansas City’s pass rush against the Falcons was weak – while Justin Houston got a sack and pressured Matt Ryan several times, Edgar Jones (who played in Hali’s spot on passing downs) failed to get to Ryan. Hali’s return should make a big difference this Sunday against Buffalo.

Offensively, most Chiefs fans are wondering where last year’s first-round pick Jonathan Baldwin has gone. Against Atlanta, Baldwin did not start (the Chiefs started Steve Breaston and Dexter McCluster) and did not receive a target. It didn’t seem like he even got on the field. For the game, McCluster received ten targets, while Dwayne Bowe and Tony Moeaki each received six. The coaches raved about Baldwin during training camp, and it appeared that he was on the verge of breaking out and having a big season. Not seeing him get much action has to be disheartening for Chiefs fans, and many will wonder if the team has yet again whiffed on a first round pick.

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