Kansas City’s offense is clicking on all cylinders in crunch time

The Kansas City Chiefs have the top down and are in cruise control in the left hand lane. The rest of us are just Clark Griswold in a station wagon.

Imagine you are standing in the parking lot at the dealership, looking at the brand new muscle car you have just purchased. It might not have been the most frugal thing you could have done, but you really don’t care. It’s magnificent. You shake your head and grin at the bright, glossy paint. It’s the color you’ve always dreamed of. You admire all the bells and whistles as you slide into the driver’s seat. As you click the key in the ignition, the motor gives a brazen rumble before settling into a hypnotic rhythm, and you can’t help but to lightly tap your foot over the gas pedal and rev the engine a little bit, just to get a sample of what your new whip can really do.

It may have felt a little bit like this when head coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy inserted quarterback Patrick Mahomes into the starting lineup at the beginning of the 2018 season. As a bright 23-year-old first-round pick with outrageous tools, Mahomes gave everyone the sense that he was a noticeable upgrade over his predecessor. And that’s no knock on Alex Smith, who was a steady, reliable, cost-effective luxury sedan during his five seasons in Kansas City. It’s simply recognizing Mahomes for what he is.

The engine is growling, but thus far, the 2019 version of the Kansas City Chiefs offense has not yet needed to put the pedal to the metal in a crucial situation with the game on the line. Through three games, the Chiefs have held comfortable leads in the 4th quarter and managed them without error.

Chiefs Kingdom is hungry. Chiefs Kingdom wants to hit the highway and push the throttle for 60 minutes. If nothing else, just to see how far we can go.

We don’t have a sample of what the offense can do when the pressure is on in the 4th quarter. But we do have a scaled-down view of the Chiefs when they want to score quickly. Through three games, the Chiefs have had a total of five possessions in the last five minutes of the first halves of those games. That’s a total of 15 minutes, or one quarter of one game. In those five possessions, the Chiefs have scored three touchdowns (albeit one with a missed extra point) and kicked two field goals.

That’s 26 points. In one quarter of football.

Small sample size, I get it. But it’s worth noticing that in two games against elite, prideful defenses and a third against a division opponent on a field made of cat litter, the Chiefs have produced points on every single drive in which they have been in any sort of a time crunch. And they’re doing it without several key personnel on offense. Let’s rewind the tape and look at those five possessions.

Week 1 at Jacksonville
The Chiefs took possession at their own 25 with 4:22 left in the first half, leading 20-13. The drive started nicely with five consecutive completions in the short passing game, but it appeared the offense stalled things after the 2-minute warning in order to keep Jacksonville from getting too much time on the clock. The drive resulted in a 46-yard field goal from kicker Harrison Butker with just 24 ticks on the clock. The halftime score was 23-13.

Week 2 at Oakland
With just 3:33 left in the 2nd quarter, Kansas City took over at their own 6-yard-line, nursing a conservative 14-10 lead. The Chiefs were pinned back near their own goal line. In the Black Hole, up by four. Conventional wisdom says you just scrap for first downs while churning clock, and hope to make it to halftime without a mistake that gives Oakland the lead.

Patrick Mahomes doesn’t operate that way.

A 32-yard gainer on a wheel route to running back Damien Williams changed the complexion of the situation. Next play, 43 yards to wide receiver Demarcus Robinson. Then Mahomes connected with tight end Travis Kelce downfield for a 27-yard score. The Oakland crowd was silenced. Kansas City took a 21-10 lead with just 1:41 on the clock.

After the Raiders tried to take the air out of things with futile handoffs. The Chiefs took over with excellent field position at the Oakland 39 with 00:47 on the clock. Mahomes promptly deposited another dime to Robinson at the goal line for a 39-yard touchdown pass. All of a sudden it was halftime and Kansas City held a commanding 28-10 lead.

Week 3 vs. Baltimore
Late in the 2nd quarter, the Ravens were hanging in there, trailing the Chiefs by a score of 14-6. For all the post-game talk about analytics and going against the grain, Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh went conservative with 4:27 remaining in the first half and chose to punt from the Ravens’ 43. Ravens punter Sam Koch skillfully pinned the Chiefs at their own 4.

After a couple effective runs by running back LeSean McCoy, the Chiefs had a first down at their 17. Mahomes rocketed a pass to rookie wide receiver Mecole Hardman, who hauled it in at midfield and scooted into the end zone untouched. The 83-yard score is the second-longest pass play in the NFL this season. Chiefs 20, Ravens 6 after a missed extra point.

Baltimore took over again with three minutes remaining in the half, but their drive stalled after a pair of first downs. Another punt from Koch, and the Chiefs regained possession with 1:18 to play at their own 17. After a couple short completions, Mahomes hit Robinson on a deep out at midfield, right in front of the Ravens sideline. Then Mahomes connected with Kelce for 19 yards.

A few plays later, the Chiefs could have potentially taken a shot at the end zone, but the chance to take a three-score lead was the right path to take. Butker banged a 42-yarder through the uprights, and Kansas City took a 23-6 lead into the locker room.

Again, it’s five possessions in fifteen minutes of football. And in case you missed it, two of those touchdown drives began 90+ yards from paydirt. But we know what this thing is capable of when the rubber meets the road. Everyone knew about Mahomes’ arm when he entered the league. No one predicted this kind of consistency under duress. We’ll not soon forget how Mahomes and company were able to operate under pressure in the AFC Championship Game. 24 points in the 4th quarter alone.

We’re only a few chapters into this season’s story, but it looks as though we are in for another breakneck adventure across the landscape of the AFC and beyond. The Kansas City Chiefs have the top down and are in cruise control in the left hand lane. The rest of us are just Clark Griswold in a station wagon.