The Kansas City Chiefs return from their bye week to face the AFC West rival Denver Broncos on Sunday. The Chiefs are currently third in the divisional race, trailing the Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers, highlighting the looming uphill battle. Making matters worse, the Monday Night Football showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers has to leave Kansas City with some regrets following a quiet trade deadline last week.
Instead of improving their pass rush, which is tied for 21st in sacks (20), the Chiefs did not make any noise and appear to have missed out on a major acquisition. Meanwhile, former Miami Dolphins linebacker Jaelan Phillips made his Eagles debut on Monday, collecting a forced fumble, fumble recovery, eight pressures, seven hurries, five tackles, four stops, a 19.4% win rate, and even received the game ball for his efforts following the game.
Warren Sharp, founder of Sharp Football, highlighted some of Phillips' key moments, which included leading his team in pressures and run tackles, all while keeping Packers running back Josh Jacobs from converting a key 4th-and-1. The fact that Eagles executive vice president and general manager Howie Roseman got him for just a third-round pick at the deadline is incredible given his sensational debut on Monday night, and the Chiefs should regret that they didn't beat the defending Super Bowl Champions to the punch.
Chiefs Clearly Missed Out on Jaelan Phillips at Trade Deadline
Kansas City needed another pass rusher ahead of the trade deadline, and there is no doubt that Phillips could have elevated the Chiefs' defensive line alongside George Karlaftis and Chris Jones. While Phillips' overall Pro Football Focus grade (66.5) is only 55th out of 114 qualified edge defenders, his 32 pressures rank 22nd, which would be a huge benefit for a Kansas City team looking to make life more difficult on opposing QBs.
To make matters worse for the Chiefs' defense, longtime defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is reportedly on the short list of candidates to replace former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll, which would leave a huge void to fill. In other words, adding Phillips would've helped give Spagnuolo a shot at going out of Kansas City with a bang.
As of now, no player on the Chiefs' defense has more than two forced fumbles all season, so it is clear the impact Phillips can make in just one game and why the Chiefs missed a golden opportunity to snatch him up, especially when the Broncos made a move of their own to acquire former Chiefs offensive lineman Geron Christian before their Week 11 meeting.
Head coach Andy Reid is an incredible 22-4 after a bye during his time as HC, and the Chiefs are 17-2 in their last 19 against the Broncos, so everything could still work in their favor this weekend, especially against a Denver team that has struggled to beat the bottom-dwellers. Still, it isn't hard to imagine how having Phillips would've given Kansas City an even brighter outlook.
Considering the inconsistent season up to this point and its current placement in the AFC West standings, the Chiefs could have used Phillips to bolster their pass rush, and it would not have taken a herculean effort to get him after what the Eagles did.
Instead, general manager Brett Veach is left with nothing but regret and the hope that the Chiefs' defense will play well enough down the stretch to show that a Phillips trade wasn't necessary.
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