“The Case of the Missing Dropped Passes” – needs to be Fixed before Super Bowl LVIII

“The Case of the Missing Dropped Passes” – needs to be Fixed before Super Bowl LVIII

Someone better call Sherlock Holmes because “The Case of the Missing Dropped Passes”

must be examined before Super Bowl LVIII.

The Chiefs led the NFL with 44 dropped passes during the regular season,

a flaw so obvious that it appeared the wide receiver corps might prevent head coach Andy Reid,

quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and tight end Travis Kelce from making their usual playoff push.

The playoffs began, and the same cast of Rashee Rice, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Justin Watson,

Richie James, and Mecole Hardman began to play as if their gloves were produced in an Elmer’s glue factory.

“Truly, that’s one of the biggest things that was a concern for any Chiefs fan all year,”

NFL on CBS analyst Tony Romo told The Post, ”

because what happens during the regular season usually comes back to haunt you in the playoffs.”

Somehow, the Chiefs have been able to change the narrative while also producing on the field.

The poster child for regular-season failures is now the face of a comeback.

Valdes-Scantling fumbled a potentially game-winning 53-yard score late in a loss to the Eagles,

a third-down catch-and-run touchdown against the Bengals, and a catchable pass against the Chargers.

In the playoffs, however, he makes 30-plus-yard catches on both second-half touchdown drives against  the Bills and a backwards-falling 33-yard grab to convert third-and-9 and close out the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game.

“This year, he had a couple drops in big situations, didn’t hang his head, didn’t lose confidence, kept battling, working with Pat,” he said. “He continued going, hoping that things would change around. He has made tremendous receptions in the last two games. Very similar to his performance in a few games last year. I’m most delighted for him because he was able to recuperate, or whatever you want to call it, from what had happened previously.”

Reid is “proud” of Valdes-Scantling, who gained some equity during last year’s Super Bowl run but has seen “people coming down on him everywhere” in recent months.

“He understands that you can go into a slump,” he remarked. “Sometimes the ball  looks big, sometimes it looks small — and he worked through that.”

Since the imaginary Holmes is unavailable, Romo feels there is more to the receivers’ reversal of fortune than just hard effort and luck working together.

For example, he mentioned “championship DNA” and smart coaching during a chat with Broncos head coach Sean Payton earlier this week.

“When you look at it closely, these guys know how to play in big games,

but I think the biggest reason when I study it is that they’ve simplified the offense,” said Romo,

who labeled the Chiefs’ system as “next-level” with several choices for each receiver dependent on a variety of variables.

“I asked Payton, ‘You know what’s funny? As a head coach,

the better [your team] gets at the quarterback position, the more you strive for perfection in the play.

When performing Calculus, you sometimes forget that these young receivers are still in Algebra.

I believe they just went back to Algebra and simplified the game for their receivers.

Next Sunday’s Chiefs receiving corps will bear little resemblance to that of Super Bowl LVII. Skyy Moore and

Kadarius Toney scored fourth-quarter touchdowns but did not play in the playoffs due to injuries,

and JuJu Smith-Schuster, the game’s best receiver with seven catches, played for the Patriots this season.

“If you watch the receivers every single day, they’re catching on the side when the defense is up,

they’re catching after practice, they’re catching before practice,” Mahomes said.

“I remember I was walking to lunch one day and Skyy was out there catching by himself.

Those guys have that mindset that they’re going to continue to get better.”

The rookie Rice has been the biggest gainer this season,

with 63 catches for 741 yards and four touchdowns in his previous nine games,

including eight consecutive without a drop.

He was Mahomes’ first look at the game-winning throw, which went to Valdes-Scantling against the Ravens.

What can we expect from Rice in the Super Bowl.

“Explosive plays,” Rice explained. “More explosive plays.”

Yes, the Chiefs receivers have regained their confidence.

Get more related news on https://dailysportnews.co.uk