This article is part of our NFL Observations series.
I was put in the unusual spot of rooting against my own team, the Giants, because I had the Chiefs in Survivor. You might wonder why I'd take such an ineffective team, but I had already used the Rams and Bills, and Dalton Del Don didn't want to take the Bengals (thankfully.) As I expected, the Chiefs are not the team of the past few years, and the win was there for the taking for the Giants. But our entry into the $6 million Circa contest is a Team of Destiny, and for that reason, the outcome was never in doubt.
- Patrick Mahomes is all dink and dunk these days, and his rhythm is off. He's not even that accurate, and scrambling around to buy a check-down doesn't have the same payoff as doing it for a 50-yard TD. He also kept snapping the ball with 15 seconds left on the play clock during the team's final drive, leaving the Giants with extra time on their final drive (not that it mattered.) But this iteration of the Chiefs offense has been solved.
- Tyreek Hill (18-12-94-1) is the only player who resembles his glory-days self. He caught passes thrown behind him and escaped tackles for extra yards and first downs.
- Travis Kelce (7-4-27-0) lost a fumble and didn't look in sync. It's far easier to gash the defenses for deep-intermediate plays when everything's wide open. Now the field looks smaller and tighter. Kelce is still the top TE for now, but he's not the difference maker he was last year.
- Darrel Williams (13-49-0, 6-6-61-0) has the role we thought would go to Clyde Edwards-Helaire -- pass-catching and third-down back. But Edwards-Helaire never played with check-down Mahomes, and Williams is competent enough to keep the third-down role even after CEH returns. Derrick Gore (11-48-1) also ran hard and scored the TD.
- Daniel Jones shows flashes, but as much as I love the guy's tenacity and toughness, I don't think he'll going to make it. I hope I'm wrong, but I see him as a high-end backup for the next decade. The Giants should draft a QB in 2022.
- Devontae Booker (15-60-0, 6-5-65-0) was the only Giants skill player of note. He's a solid backup, but Saquon Barkley would have broken off a couple big plays with the holes Booker had.
- Sterling Shepard got hurt again. He's a quality route runner and has good hands, but he rarely stays healthy for long. Kadarius Toney came back from his ankle injury, but left the game with some other ailment briefly. Hopefully, he can hold up, because there's no doubt about the talent.
