Santa Clarita native Matt Moore’s feature with the NFL champion Kansas City Chiefs was looking pretty grim after they signed the other backup, Chad Henne to a two-year deal back in March and left Matt Moore waiting in free agency limbo.
This was concerning considering that the 35-year-old Moore played well last season when Patrick Mahomes was out with injury. In his six games played, he passed for 659 yards, 4 TDs, and no interceptions. For those who love fantasy football, he dropped 42.3 points on opponents making him a worthy backup in their fantasy lineup.
2018 to 2021
It’s amazing where life leads. In 2018, Matt Moore was working as a scout for the Fins and as a high school coach. But when Chad Henne went down with a severe ankle injury, the Chiefs called him up to the bigs once more to back up Mahomes. All was quiet for the first half of the season, giving Moore a chance to get back up to speed with the Chiefs’ offensive scheme after coming in at the end of August.
But in Week 7, Patrick Mahomes went down with knee injury in their tilt against the Denver Broncos. Moore stepped on the field to take over and instead of stinting the offense, he threw the ball for 157 yards and a touchdown, closing the game out with a 30-6 victory.
Still, it seemed like the Chiefs were going to let him over this coronavirus-riddled offseason. They waited until the proverbial last second to resign Moore to a 1-year backup deal. I looked like they would keep Chad Henne on and Shea Patterson as the third-string guy. However, they cut Patterson – who just signed in May– along with their signing of Moore.
Another Ring for Matt Moore?
Matt Moore earned his ring last season by contributing on the field during Patrick Mahomes’ absence.
In 2020, the Kansas City Chiefs lead the way on the odds to win it all again. So, there is a very real chance that the Van Nuys born Moore could get another Super Bowl ring with the Chiefs.
They open their season against the Houston Texans, which will be their first real test of a relatively mediocre first half of the season. After the Texans, they face Tyrod Taylor, possibly Justin Herbert-led Chargers team in their first division-rivalry game. Even though the depth chart has Taylor at No. 1, but many experts think that it will be Herbert starting come Week 1.
Either way, this is a game that the Chiefs win, but maybe not as easily as last year. The Chiefs’ biggest Challenge of the season comes in Week 3 when they head to Baltimore to face the Ravens in what could be a preview of the AFC Championship game. Baltimore is perhaps the most complete team in the league right now and this game could very well show us – barring injuries or other unforeseen events– who’ll end up as 2020 champs.
Both of these teams are expected to win 12 games on the season, so it’s safe to say that it will come down to one of these two squads in the AFC. That said, the winner of their Week 3 showdown is not necessarily indicative of whether or not Matt Moore will get another ring with the Chiefs. There is still a lot of the season left after Week 3 and many things can happen.
Injuries will come into play later on in the year and we’ll see schedules take shape as well. The Ravens definitely have it easier, especially in the back half of the year, so will they head into the playoffs better rested and less banged up than the Chiefs?
With that said, the Kansas City Chiefs have a later bye week than the Ravens, so will that end up being a factor? There are so many variables to consider which is why it makes it so hard to predict who will win it all. It isn’t always the ‘best’ team that wins, but chance and circumstance end up impacting the overall outcome in significant ways. But when all is said and done, Moore and the Chiefs are the favorites for a reason.
