Kansas City Chiefs Analysis: Life without Jeremy Maclin

With Alex Smith as the quarterback last season the Chiefs averaged a similar amount of points per game and the overall passing statistics were very similar with and without Jeremy Maclin. So why did they do SO much worse on third down? While all the other offensive numbers stayed pretty consistent there was one other area where there was a noticeable drop off. Rushing yards. In the eleven games with Smith and Maclin the Chiefs averaged 116.4 yards rushing per game. In the four games where Smith didn’t have Maclin they averaged 94.8 rushing yards. How big of a drop off is that? Over the course of the season last year 116.4 rushing yards per game would have been good for 8th best in the NFL. 94.8 rushing yards per game would have ranked 25th.

So does that mean that defenses stuffed the box with Maclin gone and the drop in rushing yards was due to a decline in rushing productivity? Simply put? No.

On the season last year the Chiefs averaged 4.24 yards per carry.

In the four games that Smith played without Maclin they averaged 4.26 yards per carry.

In fact, the defenses they faced without Maclin were actually worse against the run than those they faced with him over the course of the season. The defenses they faced with Maclin gave up an average of 104.5 rushing yards per game while the defenses they faced without him gave up an average of 110.9 yards per game.

The Chiefs simply didn’t commit to running the ball in those four games. I would personally speculate that Andy Reid felt he needed to get a little too cute with the play calling without Maclin. When teams don’t run the ball they put themselves in third and long and then you don’t convert as many third downs. Am I saying that Jeremy Maclin being gone had ZERO effect on the decrease in third down percentage? No, not having one of their better receivers definitely would have helped but as I have been preaching all offseason, the key to producing next season is less about replacing Jeremy Maclin and more about revitalizing the running game. I think Kelce and Hill showed they can step up and produce without Maclin in the lineup.

So what do you think Chiefs fans? Are you in agreement that these numbers show that the Chiefs can replace Jeremy Maclin in the pass game but in order for them to be more productive (especially without Maclin) that they have to commit to running the football? Do you see any flaws in these numbers that I’ve researched? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!