Why is the Kansas City Chiefs offense so awful?

Alex Smith hasn’t been anywhere near good enough.

I’m not an Alex Smith hater. In fact, I’ve dedicated countless words right here in my weekly ramblings to defending him. I still think he’s probably the best option at quarterback that the Chiefs have on the roster, but their best option still hasn’t been good enough.

Alex Smith ranks 26th in the NFL in passing yards per game.

Alex Smith ranks 26th in the NFL in passing yards per attempt.

Alex Smith ranks 28th in the NFL in passing touchdowns.

When you factor in that the Chiefs are an offense that is built around the pass (more on that in a minute) that is incredibly depressing. Andy Reid has put the fate of the 2016 offense in Alex Smith’s hands and he flat out hasn’t been able to produce. He isn’t putting up yards and he isn’t putting up points.

That isn’t a good combination.

The Chiefs are averaging 22.2 points per game which is good (or bad actually) for 20th in the NFL. HOWEVER, they’ve scored four non-offensive touchdowns. If you take those out of the equation it means the offense is only averaging 19.4 points per game which would rank 26th in the NFL. Keep in mind, the Chiefs lead the NFL in forced turnovers and their special teams return game often provides them with great field position. You can make a very strong argument that the KC offense has been put in a better position than any other offense in the NFL and with that the offense is scoring one of the lowest totals in all the NFL.

The offense built around Alex Smith isn’t working. Period.

Many of you are probably ready to bench Smith and give Nick Foles or even Tyler Bray a shot. While I wouldn’t riot in the streets if that happened, I don’t think that’s their best option. That option is directly related to the second major reason the offense has been awful.