What the last 5 preseasons told us about those Chiefs teams

Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

2013

Preseason record: 2-2

Regular season record: 11-5, wildcard berth

Biggest question entering the season: Can Andy Reid bring consistency to the offense and the rest of the organization?

So, what do you do when you have a roster loaded with six Pro Bowlers but only managed to squeeze out two wins? You bring in a head coach who knows how to win, and a QB who can bring stability to an erratic offense. Hellooo Andy Reid and Alex Smith. Throw in the first overall pick, Eric Fisher, and you have a offense that was once again under the microscope entering 2013.

So how did the offense fare in August? Not too well. The Chiefs finished the preseason ranked 30th in YPG, and 17th in PPG. Our shiny new QB went 31-48, 288 yards, 6 YPA, 1 TD, and 0 INTs, not exactly the most hype-worthy numbers. How about the future anchor of our offensive line? Well on top of learning a completely new position, Fisher suffered an injury in camp, played through it, and finished the preseason ranked 144th out of 157 offensive tackles by PFF. Not what I would call encouraging.

While the offense was getting all the attention, the defense and special team’s units were  showing signs of putting it together. The defense allowed the fifth fewest PPG in the preseason, while Special Teams was rattling off long returns throughout the preseason, including a 109-yard kickoff return TD by Knile Davis against the Steelers.

When the regular season finally came, the offense managed to get out of their preseason scoring funk (with a major assist from the defense), finishing sixth in PPG. Alex Smith played better than his preseason performance would indicate, putting up 27 touchdowns to only 7 interceptions while slightly bumping up his YPA to 6.5. Eric Fisher on the other hand, played exactly how we feared he would given his preseason, finishing the season ranked the 4th lowest RT according to PFF.

The scoring defense regressed quite a bit in the regular season, going from sixth best in the preseason to sixth worst in the regular season. However, their dominating pass rush and ball-hawking DBs were two things that we didn’t see too much of in the preseason, but really shined in the regular season.

Finally, special teams managed to parlay a strong preseason showing into an even better regular season. That group lead the league in yards per kickoff return, kickoff return touchdowns, and punt return touchdowns. All hail Dave Toub!

Next: 2014