Chiefs Film Room: Where’s the offense?

From Week 7 cellar-dwellers, to entering the playoffs as potential winners of ten straight games (knock on wood). Who would’ve thunk it? Yes, clinching a playoff spot after that atrocious start is fantastic, but we shouldn’t be lulled into the mindset that everything beyond this is just gravy. Heading into the season, we weren’t looking at this team and asking, “Can this team simply make the playoffs?” No, we were elated at the talent on this roster and pondered, “How deep can this team go?” And that is exactly the kind of lofty expectations we should still have of these Chiefs.

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Anytime the topic of Kansas City’s Super Bowl contender status arises, the conversation usually ends with something along the lines of, “But I’m just not so sure about this offense.” Considering this group recently put up only 17 points against Cleveland’s defense and 10 on the Chargers’, each giving up an average of 27 and 25 points per game, respectively, such an argument looks like it may hold some merit. Add in the fact the offense has mustered only three points in the last three second halves combined, and you have fans starting to share that sentiment.

So what is exactly plaguing this offense recently? After re-watching the Browns game, I picked out some plays that the demonstrated the offense’s struggles. These plays range from poor execution and missed opportunities, to simply bad play calling. Brace yourself, bad Chiefs football lies ahead (but don’t worry, things get better later on).

Poor Execution

The Chiefs’ offensive line has shown some improvement during the win streak, but there still are times where they completely derail a play with abysmal blocking. Case and point, this play on third-and-six in the third quarter.

The right side of the offensive line does a good job of picking up the outside blitz; the guard and tackle slide out and prevent a free rusher coming off the edge. However, the center hesitates to slide over as well, allowing his guy to get pressure right in Smith’s face. Now take a look at Maclin, he’s open the moment he comes out of his break, but that’s also when Smith is forced off the spot. A potential third down conversion is dashed before it even had a chance.

Blitz pickups have been a big problem for this line throughout the season, and it was one of the reasons this offense lacked any punch against Cleveland in the second half. The Chiefs’ path to the Super Bowl is going to be filled with much better pass rushing teams than the 27^th-ranked Browns, so the continued inability of the offensive line to execute blitz pickups could be derailing.

Points Left on the Field

Teams with Super Bowl aspirations simply cannot leave points on the field. This is even more imperative when you’re a unit that can struggle to find the end zone at times, a la the Kansas City Chiefs. That is why Smith has to be able to make this play come playoff time.

Smith gets probably the cleanest pocket he’s had all year, and Maclin draws one-on-one coverage with no safety help over the top. Everything is in place for the Chiefs to push the lead up to 24-10 in the middle of the third quarter, essentially icing the game when you have an elite defense. Alas, Smith overthrows Maclin by a step or two, and the defense is forced to continue playing with barely any margin for error.

Letting bad teams hang around and not putting teams away when you have the chance is a recipe the Chiefs have flirted with too often recently. Come playoff time, opportunities to put games out of reach will be scarce, which makes capitalizing on them all the more vital for this offense.

Bad Play Calling

Finally, when examining what has happened to the Chiefs offense recently, one has to look towards the man pulling the strings – Andy Reid. It’s year three of the Reid era, so we are all well attuned with his hot and cold  play calling by now. But recently, his late game calls have been nothing short of infuriating. I’m pretty sure you all know which play is coming…

C’mon Coach! The game is over if the Chiefs convert that third down, yet Reid doesn’t even give the offense a chance with this play call. First of all, when the Chiefs line up in a bunch formation to the outside (especially with three TEs), it typically ends up being a screen to Maclin or Kelce . Defenses have seen this countless times on tape, it’s not catching anybody off guard in Week 16. Second, this play call absolutely eradicates Smith’s ability to scramble for a first down, something he was doing to perfection throughout this entire game.

Reid has to put the ball in the hands of his QB at this point of the game and stop out-thinking himslef. This is the type of play calling late in games that rarely works in the regular season, and it sure as heck won’t work in the postseason.

So, are the Chiefs doomed in the playoffs the moment a team puts up more than 20 points on this defense? Well, not exactly…

Next: Cue the optimism!