The Chiefs offense must shine against Patriots
The Kansas City Chiefs offense must shine on Thursday if they have any chance of winning on the road against the Patriots.
The last time the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots met was in the divisional round of the playoffs in 2015. The Chiefs lost to the Patriots 20-27. Depending on how you look at the ending of that game, it was partially similar to the Steelers game in the sense of the last drive taking too long.
Nonetheless, Alex Smith found himself throwing 29/50 for 246 yards and 1 TD. With Spencer Ware being banged up, that left Charcandrick West and Knile Davis to run the ball. Smith also had 9 rushes for 44 yards in that game.
The Patriots took Travis Kelce out of the game for the most part only allowing him 23 yards the whole game. With Jeremy Maclin limited, Smith was throwing to receivers Albert Wilson, Jason Avant, and Chris Conley for most of the game.
All of this sounds very familiar, right? Maclin being limited, running backs banged up, and Kelce being the main focus of the defense. Sounds a lot like the Steelers game in the divisional round last year.
While both teams improved this offseason, they both also have key injuries going into week one. Patriots will be without star receiver Julian Edelman for the season and the Chiefs will be without starting running back Spencer Ware.
What the offense has to do
First things first, the Chiefs need to have a strong running game for them to see much success. Andy Reid’s offense relies heavily on running backs not only in the running game but the passing game as well.
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While Ware will be out for the season, new rookie running back Kareem Hunt will be leading the way along with veteran running backs C.J. Spiller and Charcandrick West behind him. I think you will see a good mix of all three come Thursday night.
These backs will need to have success as Bill Belichick will continue his gameplan for shutting down top weapons in Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill. Smith struggles against the Steelers finding a third receiver target that he could rely on.
Which leads me to what Smith has to do for success. While he will still be able to get the ball to Kelce and Hill from time to time, he will have to find more weapons. Guys like Chris Conley and against all of Chiefs Kingdom’s better judgment, Albert Wilson.
Another weapon that will be used pretty often I’m sure to help free up Kelce and Hill will be Demetrius Harris. While I have expressed how he is the tight end version of Dwayne Bowe in the sense of making amazing catches while dropping the wide open stuff, he has shown some great flashes with multiple quarterbacks in the preseason.
Harris is another weapon that Smith puts a lot of trust in so expect him to get the ball a few times as well. This could be the biggest part of the offense in my opinion. While the Patriots defense is putting extra guys and scheme on Kelce, that leaves another big tight end in Harris with one on one coverage.
If the Chiefs can find a way to make Harris a big part of their gameplan, it could really open up the whole offense. Help get some pressure off of Kelce and Hill, while also helping open up the run game by keeping the safeties back.
Time to shine
Fans have been raving about the Chiefs not getting the respect they deserve in the media. It came a lot before the playoff game against the Steelers.
Well, the Chiefs have plenty of primetime games to prove themselves to the world this year. None is bigger than this one though.
Kicking off the regular season against the Super Bowl Champions in their house will be their biggest stage of the regular season. If Smith and the Chiefs want to prove that they are not just a one and done playoff team, this is the time to do it.
The Patriots have been the team to beat in the AFC and nothing is changing that this year. If Smith wants to show that he can lead this team deep into the playoffs and get the critics off of his back, he will have to show he can win in a tough environment, against a tough defense.
No more excuses. Smith has to prove that he can take the next step and overcome the Patriots in New England. Especially if the Chiefs want to make a Super Bowl run this year, they will most likely have to travel to New England again in the playoffs.
The offense relied too heavily on the defense and special teams last year and it is time that they show they can carry their own. If the offense can become a strength instead of the missing link, this team can do some amazing things.