Tafoya: Chiefs loss to Bucs no ‘anomaly,’ team ‘just getting by’

The Kansas City Chiefs had a chance Sunday to potentially keep pace with the Oakland Raiders and stay one game ahead of the Denver Broncos in the AFC West standings.

But the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had different plans.

Oakland won, on Monday, to improve to 8-2 and Denver stayed at 7-3 with the bye, but Jameis Winston and the Bucs knocked off the Chiefs at home 19-17 to snap Kansas City’s five-game winning streak.

The Chiefs defense gave up 442 yards, higher than their average yards per game (373.7) in 2015, while its offense mustered only 17 points on 343 yards.

But with a top-ranked defense and still in second in the AFC West, 104.3 The Fan’s Charles Johnson, co-host of “C.J. and Stokley” asked NBC Sports’ Michele Tafoya if it was more of a fluke loss or indications of things to come.

“I don’t think it was an anomaly. I don’t. I think that they have just been getting by,” Tafoya said. “And I think that that offense was considered something that really it might not be.”

Through Week 11, Kansas City’s offense ranks among the bottom of the NFL at No. 19 — No. 25 in total yardage (3,338) — and Tafoya said from reading those who cover the team regularly that they “just don’t have what everyone thought they had offensively.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see them go on the road at Denver and get beat up by this Denver defense,” Tafoya said.

The Chiefs defense, on the other hand, ranks sixth in the NFL, according to Pro Football Reference, with the Denver defense trailing just three slots behind.

And with both defenses clearly the strength, Johnson said how the offensives play against its tough opponent will be the storyline of Sunday’s game.

“I think part of the storyline in Sunday night’s game, I think for both of these teams it’s going to be a big test … on the offensive side of the ball,” Johnson said. “You’re not going to have consistent success against either one of these defenses, not with these offenses.”

By comparison, Denver’s defense ranked No. 15, just slightly ahead of Kansas City.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.