The Kansas City Chiefs desperately needed a win on Sunday night against the Detroit Lions to avoid dropping to 2-4 on the season. Just a few hours before the game started, word spread that KC might unexpectedly be without their rookie star left tackle, Josh Simmons, making that win even more difficult to pull off. Fortunately for the Chiefs, Jaylon Moore and Jawaan Taylor stepped up, made sure Patrick Mahomes was comfortable, and led KC to a 30-17 win.
Most of the attention will be on Patrick Mahomes and the all-around performance of the offense (and the pending return of Rashee Rice), but that performance doesn’t happen without the solid tackle play by Moore and Taylor. We’ve seen that Mahomes doesn’t play as well when he doesn’t trust his tackles, but that wasn’t the case on Sunday.
The Kansas City Chiefs appear to have three starting caliber offensive tackles
Last season, the Chiefs never found an NFL-caliber starting left tackle, and while Jawaan Taylor’s play on the right side fluctuated between poor and average, he was racking up penalties left and right. So basically, last season, K.C. didn’t really have any solid tackles. This season, rookie Josh Simmons has come in and instantly solved the Chiefs’ left tackle problem, but with him out on Sunday night and Taylor’s inconsistent play continuing, there were real questions about how things might go against the Lions.
Instead of it being a problem, it was a huge boost of confidence for the Chiefs' tackles going forward. Taylor had his best game of the season thus far. Not only was his protection solid, but he didn’t have a single penalty. On the other side, Jaylon Moore showed that the money KC paid him was well spent. While maybe not as gifted as Simmons, Moore looked like a solid NFL starting tackle against the Lions.
It’s never wise to base expectations on one game, but this was a really encouraging step. Jawaan Taylor’s problem has never been talent. He has the ability to be a solid NFL tackle (just not elite, despite what Kansas City is paying him). Taylor’s problems have been mental. Getting his big payday and then having the NFL put a spotlight on him to change how they officiate the position seemed to really get in his head, destroy his confidence, and leave fans clamoring for him to be benched. One game won’t change that, but the more solid games he can string together, the better the chances he can get his head right and level out his play.
As far as Moore goes, he’s had to be patient this season. When he originally signed with the Chiefs, he thought he was signing on to be their starting left tackle. Then Josh Simmons fell into K.C.'s lap, and suddenly he was a highly paid backup. Tonight, he proved that he can be counted on to maintain the Chiefs' solid outside line play if Simmons (or Taylor) should miss time in the future. That’s huge, especially considering Moore didn’t even prepare to start this week. He found out he was starting just hours before the game, like everyone else.
When it comes to keeping the NFL’s best quarterback protected and confident, no amount of resources can't be justified. Jaylon Moore was worth every penny the Chiefs gave him on Sunday. After the season is over, there will be a conversation to be had about freeing up cap space by cutting Jawaan Taylor and moving Moore into the starting right tackle spot, but for now, Kansas City (and Mahomes) can rest easy knowing they have three starting tackles on their roster.