Chiefs’ Struggles in Brazil Reveal 3 Issues That Have Fans Worried

Well, that's certainly not how we drew it up. The excitement of the dawn of a fresh NFL season was abruptly stunted on Friday as the Kansas City Chiefs opened the season with an uninspired 27-21 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in São Paulo, Brazil.

The Chiefs looked nearly lifeless on both sides of the ball in the first half of this one, and even though signs of life were detected in the second half, there was never enough there to derail what the Chargers had cooking on Friday.

There are certainly factors that contributed to this lack of juice for Kansas City. The Chiefs knew coming into the game that they would be without wide receivers Rashee Rice (suspension) and Jalen Royals (injury). What they did not know is that they'd have to completely retool their game plan three plays in after losing Xavier Worthy to friendly fire. There are a few other things it appears the Chiefs were unaware of coming into the affair.

First, it seems like they were unaware that Justin Herbert had a pulse. Herbert shone in only his third total victory and second against the Chiefs’ starters—one of his three came in Week 17 of the 2020 season against Chad Henne and the skeleton of a Chiefs team that had already locked up the AFC’s one seed. Steve Spagnuolo's defense looked lost at times, particularly in the secondary, but somehow at every level at times in the game.

Kansas City's offense wasn't much better, looking completely out of sync for most of the game. Rhythm between Mahomes and wide receivers who would have been considered mostly secondary options coming into the season contributed. Mental errors from familiar faces added to the fire, and a lack of commitment to running the football from the offensive coaching staff made an early-season appearance, reminding us all of that head-scratching feeling we've gotten at times in the Andy Reid era.

All in all, the result of this game is one of 17 that the Chiefs will accrue over the course of this season. As long as the team limits these types of performances, which you would have to believe they will, nearly everyone would assume this team ends up right back in the thick of things when the playoffs roll around.

The Chargers looked like a viable contender on Friday night and certainly had a chip on their shoulder coming into this one to knock off the Chiefs—something they've rarely been able to do since 2019.

While perspective is important, it's impossible not to overreact to some of the things we saw on Friday. Here are the three most concerning aspects of a disappointing showing from Kansas City.

1. The Chiefs, once again, are in wide receiver purgatory

When Xavier Worthy went down, time stopped momentarily in Kansas City. It's one thing to know the team will be without Rashee Rice for six weeks as he serves his NFL-mandated time for a reckless driving incident in 2024 that led to a multi-vehicle crash in Dallas. It's another to lose Worthy for any notable amount of time during that six-game span, which appears to be on the horizon.

Worthy was, without question, the feature piece on the outside for a Chiefs offense that could still have life with him. It remains to be seen if the team can prove viable offensively without both him and Rice, along with promising rookie Jalen Royals (who is currently on the shelf).

This has been the case with the franchise multiple times over the course of the last few seasons. How many times have we simultaneously complained about the Chiefs’ wide receiving corps while simultaneously lauding Mahomes for doing what he continues to do with plumbers to throw the ball to? Well, welcome back to purgatory.

Hollywood Brown was productive on Friday with 10 catches for 100 yards on 16 targets, but those numbers look a whole hell of a lot better than the actual process it took to get there on the field. Much of that is padded by a miracle 40+ yard heave from Mahomes on 4th-and-7 late in the fourth quarter.

We saw glimpses of Mahomes’ brilliance on occasion on Friday, which leads me to believe that Kansas City will come out of whatever stretch they have to endure without both Rice and Worthy just fine. But the lack of depth in the receiving corps at the moment is certainly a cause for concern, and while that alone may not be enough to prevent Kansas City from making the playoffs, it could be something that prevents the Chiefs from having the luxury of hosting their playoff games in the friendly confines of Arrowhead Stadium.

2. The Jawaan Taylor experiment should officially be over

The Chiefs’ offensive line was 80% a pleasant surprise last night. While rookie first-round pick Jonathan Simmons was penalized twice for false starts, he was overall impressive in his pro debut. Kingsley Suamataia looked overmatched at times but held his water well throughout the course of the evening in his first start at LG for Kansas City. Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith were, for the most part, Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith. You can say the same for Jawaan Taylor, which is a massive cause for concern.

Since Taylor was signed by the Chiefs in 2023, he has led the NFL in penalties with 20 in 2023 and 16 in 2024. In Week 1 of the 2025 season, he got off to a blistering pace to maintain his title as the most undisciplined offensive lineman in the game by racking up four penalties (two false starts in crucial moments and two holding calls) that at times stunted the rare bits of momentum the Chiefs’ offense attempted to find.

Taylor's inability to be in sync with his teammates is jarring—remember, he knows the snap count on each and every play. There is a possibility that this is now a three-year running joke where the 10 other members of the offense make him guess every snap, but that seems like a pretty good way to light $60 million on fire.

The amount of money Taylor is making is one of the most frustrating players in the history of the franchise at this point is depressing. After year one, you would have expected an improvement or at the very least some form of evidence of work toward improvement. Now that we're in year three seeing the same, Taylor has to hit the pine.

The Chiefs acquired Jaylon Moore this offseason from the 49ers, who competed with Taylor for the right tackle spot in camp. Incumbents generally do very well in elections in the U.S., and the vote of the coaching staff went the same direction with Taylor to start the year.

The level of uncertainty the coaching staff or fans may have about Jaylon Moore's readiness to take over the right side of the offensive line could be a cause for discomfort, but there is no way it can outweigh the certainty that we all have to have at this point about Taylor's lack of ability to get the job done.

Even if Moore is a slight step down talent-wise from Taylor, it's impossible to imagine that he (or anyone else) could have the same lack of discipline that Taylor has shown consistently in his time with the Chiefs.

3. The Chiefs' secondary and defensive line will be in a "chicken and egg" battle all season long

Two themes were recurring for Steve Spagnuolo's unit on Friday night: the defensive line could not contain nor get pressure on Justin Herbert, and the secondary could not keep track of his wide receivers. Ladd McConkey found hole after hole in the Chiefs’ zone, and Quentin Johnston somehow looked like a competent NFL wideout. I found myself wondering if it was 2025 or 2016 with the way the Chiefs’ secondary made Keenan Allen look last night.

So what gives? Is the secondary so bad that QBs can get whatever they want downfield, leading to quicker tempo and a more gassed defensive line? Or is the defensive front so bad—the Chiefs produced next to zero pressure without blitzing on Friday—that the corners and safeties are having to cover forever and simply cannot pull that off?

The answer, and blame, lie somewhere in both scenarios and on both groups. Many Chiefs-centric analysts spent a good chunk of the offseason wondering what Kansas City would do to bolster a defensive line that lost pieces from an already unimpressive unit from a season ago. The answer ended up being draft Omarr Norman-Lott and Ashton Gillotte, and trade draft picks to the Jets for Derrick Nnadi after letting him walk in free agency in the same offseason.

Some would call this not enough, while others would call it gross negligence. Relying on a 31-year-old Chris Jones to do things that previous versions of Chris Jones have done is a dangerous gamble, particularly when he elects to freelance in crucial moments.

Kansas City fans have been spoiled at the safety position for a very long time. Since 2010, the Chiefs have, for most games, had either Eric Berry, Tyrann Mathieu, or Justin Reid in the back half of the defense not just providing at times league-best play, but more importantly, leading the secondary

The safety room is very young and fairly inexperienced, so we're going to have to be patient. The corners are similar, but something tells me that unit will self-correct as Trent McDuffie heats up. Hopefully, last night's less-than-inspiring showing on the field serves as inspiration for the Chiefs’ secondary to get things back on track in the weeks to come.

Both units will almost certainly find their footing and improve throughout the course of the season, as many Chiefs’ defensive units have in the past. But this combination of lack of experience and depth in some positions could make the journey there painful. The development of players like Jaden Hicks, Ashton Gillotte, and Nohl Williams will be paramount for Spags to get the most out of the defense in 2025.