Kansas City Chiefs: Wasting offensive firepower
In 2015, the Kansas City Chiefs did put up significantly more points than that. Over the course of the season last year KC put up 25.3 points per game. That was good for 9th best in the NFL. That included defensive and special teams touchdowns, but as a whole the offensive was more productive last season than it has been in 2016.
Even when you factor in the non-offensive touchdowns and the fourth quarter and overtime against the Chargers the Chiefs are still only averaging 20.8 points per game. That’s still significantly lower than last season (and it certainly doesn’t feel like KC is averaging 20 points per game based on how they’ve played in 15 of their 16 quarters).
The Chiefs have lost ZERO offensive weapons from last season. ZERO. They have the same starting quarterback in Alex Smith and the same offensive play caller in Andy Reid. Yes, they lost Jeff Allen who was a solid starting guard last year, but they gained one of the best right tackles in the league in Mitchell Schwartz. Not only is their not any justification for a drop off from a roster perspective, there is actually pretty valid reasoning for the offense to be more productive. Last season Chris Conley was a non factor in the offense for most of the season. He finished the season with just 17 receptions.
This year Conley looks like a physically gifted starting NFL receiver and already has 15 receptions in just four games. Then there is the addition of Tyreek Hill. Last season DeAnthony Thomas only had 26 offensive touches with mediocre results. Hill seems to be playing a similar role in 2016 but already has 14 touches through four games and has looked even more explosive than DAT ever did.
So if the Chiefs have returned all the key pieces from last year’s offense and have actually upgraded play at wide receiver with Conley and Hill why are things going so poorly?