With the Washington Commanders in the midst of a two-game losing streak after a 7-2 start, one narrative that's emerged involves offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.
On Thursday, it was addressed to him firsthand.
Kingsbury's response comes across as a bit unprepared and improvised, and there's no doubt he was trying to save face by denying his knowledge of the trend. At least he followed it up with a lighthearted addendum.
Regardless, even if Kingsbury truly had been completely unaware of his team's second-half slumps previously, that can't be said now. And, as they say, the first step towards solving any problem is acknowledging that there is one.
Dating back to his time at Texas Tech, Kingsbury's teams have consistently faded down the stretch. Since 2013, he's gone 56-27-1 in his teams' first seven games of the year and 21-58 afterwards. The Commanders this season started 5-2 and are 2-2 in their past four.
The hope for Kingsbury in Washington, obviously, is that the Commanders' momentum can still be found again. No one is pronouncing the season dead due to Kingsbury's history of late collapses -- it's just a cautionary tale.
Perhaps addressing the elephant in the room is exactly what the Commanders need to get back on track, and for Kingsbury to exorcise his second-half demons.