Chiefs Bye Week: 3 Things Kansas City Should Work On

Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas City Chiefs had the first pick in the 2013 draft after a league worst 2-14 season in 2012. After nine games in the 2013 NFL season, the Kansas City Chiefs are 9-0. They are guaranteed a winning season. Sometimes I think it’s unbelievable. At 9-0, anything but at least one playoff win would be a major disappointment. The Chiefs have come off their last 4 games with wins that have caused guys the likes of CBS’s Pete Prisco to dub the Chiefs “the softest 9-0 Team” he’s ever seen. The next game is the game to prove the world wrong. NBC has made sure that the Chiefs game in Denver is broadcast nationwide on Sunday November 17th at 8:30 PM EST. This is the biggest game of the season and thank goodness the Chiefs have a bye week to work on them. Here are my three main things the Chiefs need to work on.

1. Defending the Run:

The Buffalo Bills stampeded over the Chiefs in the ground game this past week. It was really a disaster. I was driving back from a crazy weekend back at my alma mater and had to listen to the game via the NFL Mobile app and boy was it just gut wrenching. The homer Buffalo Bill announcers were really difficult to listen to, but what was more difficult to listen to was the big run after big run that the Bills ripped on the Chiefs. The Chiefs are now 24th best rushing defense in the league giving up 118.6 yards a game. You can bet your sweet patootie that the Denver Broncos will see this and use the run to confuse the Chiefs defense and open up the field for Peyton and his playmaking receivers. The Chiefs need to work on stopping the run over the bye week, plain and simple.

2. Take More Chances:

The Chiefs won’t beat the Denver Broncos in a shootout, but they will need to score touchdowns in a more dynamic fashion then they are doing currently. Alex Smith needs to work on his deep ball accuracy in the time they have to prepare for the Broncos so that he can utilize weapons like wide receivers Dwayne Bowe and Donnie Avery. The Chiefs won’t win in a shootout vs. Denver, but they will need to score more then 21 points if they want to beat them.

3. Red Zone Efficiency:

Continuing the trend of scoring points, the Chiefs need to start putting up TDs and not field goals when they get into the red zone. Last year against Denver, all the Chiefs did was kick field goals and they lost 17-9. This year, the first game is in an extremely hostile environment and the only way I know to quiet the crowd at Invesco Field is to score touchdowns against the Broncos. The Chiefs are currently 25th in Red Zone Touchdown scoring percentage scoring touchdowns only 48% of the time they get inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. This has to improve if they want to have a chance of winning this division.

Addicts, what do you think the Chiefs need to improve on over the bye week? Sound off below.