The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the New York Giants 22-9 in Week 3’s “Sunday Night Football” matchup at MetLife Stadium. The Chiefs’ offense started sloppily, but a second-half surge powered the team to victory.
The Chiefs’ offensive line had an up-and-down game. Some players gave solid individual performances, while others struggled.
Let’s start with two players who carried their weight.
Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith took care of business
But it wasn’t all sunshine and roses on the offensive line.
Jawaan Taylor must be benched
Football can be a cruel game. In this instant-reaction era, players who turn in bad performances sometimes fail to get a fair shot.
But Kansas City’s right tackle has had his chance. He’s had more than a fair shot. Now among the team’s highest-paid players, he’s set up for the rest of his life. He was a key member of a Super Bowl championship team, too. Right now, though, he shouldn’t be allowed to play right tackle any longer.
Could there be lingering issues with his offseason knee procedure that are hindering his play? Absolutely. But the Chiefs owe their quarterback more protection than he’s getting from the right side.
Lined up wide to start this play, Brian Burns attacks Taylor with speed and power. While Taylor is fine out of his stance, he brings nothing with his hands — and his pad level is far too high. Burns stabs a hand into his chest, blows him up and smokes Mahomes — who hangs in to absorb the hit. Still, his pass is just about five inches away from being on his highlight film.
On this snap, the Chiefs are trying to sell a running play. Half of the offensive line is sliding left, with Taylor and Trey Smith big on the man side. Taylor is trying to sell a run with a quick jump set — and with tight end Noah Gray in to chip, he has help on the outside against a speed rush, giving him a chance to protect the inside.
The only thing that can blow up this timing play is a rush from the inside — which is exactly what happens. Taylor isn’t patient out of his stance, so Kayvon Thibodeaux quickly blows past Taylor into the B-gap. This flushes Mahomes from the pocket; he can barely get the ball off before he is knocked down.
Taylor still leads the league in penalties: four holds, two false starts and an illegal formation. While these can be drive-killers, the team can tolerate them if the quarterback can otherwise stay on his feet. That’s what has kept Taylor on the field during the last two seasons — but in 2025, things have changed.
The Chiefs have said these problems cannot continue. It is time to see if they meant it. Regardless of the salary cap situation, Kansas City needs a reset at the position.
The team should give backup tackle Jaylon Moore some snaps in Sunday’s matchup against the Baltimore Ravens. He played well enough in camp and the preseason to be given a chance to compete for the job.
While Taylor struggled on the right side, the Chiefs’ two young players on the left continued to gain momentum against one of the league’s better pass-rushing groups.
Here we see Giants’ defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence line up in a 4i-technique outside of left guard Kingsley Suamataia — and on the snap, he attempts a power rush. Suamataia takes a short first step on a perfect 45-degree angle to meet Lawrence. While his hand strike isn’t very violent, it lands in a perfect spot as he starts to sink his hips and lock in to gain leverage. Creed Humphrey eventually comes over to help, but Suamataia doesn’t need it.
This snap showcases the improvement the second-year player has made in his technique and fundamentals to protect from the inside — along with the superior functional strength he needs to lock down and anchor against interior rushers.
Meanwhile, left tackle Josh Simmons has seen a gauntlet of pass rushers in his first three NFL games — and has more than held his own.
On this play, Simmons initially remains patient, staying in his stance as he prepares for the pass rusher to go wide or rip to the inside. As the defenders attempt to work inside, Simmons quickly moves his feet and gets his hands on them, mirroring the edge rushers to finish the play.
The Giants’ Thiboeaux, Burns and Carter challenged the rookie on multiple occasions. Simmons was called for a hold and allowed a few hits on Mahomes, but his footwork and effort gave him a chance to win most plays. His hands are still a work in progress, but as he gains confidence with his strike and continues to grow as a player, his ceiling will rise.
Both players did have a few rookie moments on Sunday, too. One play came extremely close to breaking for a big gain.
Here we see Trey Smith doing a great job on the front side of the right-side zone play, moving the 3-technique off the ball and creating a lane. The back-side trio with Humphrey, Suamataia and Simmons is responsible for the direct gap to their right. The MIKE linebacker walks into the right A-gap before the snap, but then quickly shifts to the left A-gap. Suamataia should now be responsible for the linebacker, while Simmons needs to work to overtake the defensive tackle. Humphrey tries to give body presence, but the linebacker slips through and stops Pacheco.
The Giants were lucky. The play could have gone for at least 40 yards.