The Kansas City Chiefs offense (not defense) must be better

Could Things Be Different For The Chiefs Next Time?

Despite the Chiefs losing, I don’t think anyone came away from this game thinking these same two teams won’t meet again in the playoffs with the Super Bowl likely on the line. We entered the game thinking these were the best two teams in the AFC and I think that is still the case. So what might a rematch in January look like and what needs to happen if the Chiefs want to come out on top next time?

First, I’m definitely encouraged by the performance of the defense in this game. The Bills’ offense is scary good and the Chiefs defense kept them from going wild. Injuries are always a wild card and who knows how healthy either team will be three months from now, but if KC can get some of the guys that were out in this game back (particularly Willie Gay and Trent McDuffie) it should only help them to be better than they were in this one. The Chiefs’ defensive performance in this game should give them confidence that they can hang with the Bills’ offense if these teams meet again.

So what about the offense? We all know that Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are off-the-charts good. However, you can’t just assume that those two will be enough to just go out and put up 30 points against a great defense. So what needs to be better? Well, Mahomes’ two interceptions were a major part of this loss, but I’m not worried about him. He’s still a huge net positive overall for the team so let’s start with the offensive line/blocking instead. Patrick Mahomes was sacked three times and harassed even more than that. All three sacks came off the edge and the offensive tackles’ pass protection just has to be better. Von Miller can make plays against everyone (except maybe Mitchell Schwartz), but the Chiefs made it too easy for them in this game.

While we’re talking about the offensive line, the run blocking wasn’t the same dominant level as we saw against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers either. The Chiefs running backs had just 13 carries for 43 yards. That’s just 3.3 yards per carry. The Bills have a good run defense, but that’s still just not good enough. If the Chiefs want to be a dominant offense that can put up points against anyone the offensive line is going to have to step up their game from what we saw on Sunday.

The other thing that has to be better is the play calling and urgency. The Chiefs players and coaches just seemed unconcerned. I’m not saying I want them to panic, but when you have a chance to go out and take control of a game against one of the best teams in the NFL there should be some urgency and some intensity. The playcalling seemed safe like they were fine if it didn’t work. It was like they thought they’d just get an unlimited number of chances. The Chiefs are usually scary when their back is against the wall, so why can’t they turn that on when they have a chance to take control of the game instead of when time is running out or they’ve fallen way behind?

Mahomes wasn’t able to work his last-second magic in this game. That stinks, but even the greatest can’t pull off every last-second drive. What really bothered me was that the offense didn’t take advantage of the numerous opportunities that the defense gave them throughout the game so there wasn’t a need for last-second heroics. That is what has to be better the next time these two teams meet if the Chiefs want to come out on top.