The Kansas City Chiefs' offense has been a rollercoaster this season. Things were looking up during a stretch early in the season when they averaged over 30 points per game and won four out of five games by double digits. However, down the stretch, the offense failed to live up to expectations and was a big part of the Chiefs’ failure to extend their playoff streak. Now the Chiefs find themselves entering their final three games without star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and a new offensive approach is needed.
Andy Reid is an offensive mastermind who has been the champion of the West Coast–style offense during his long NFL tenure. He’s incorporated more components of the college spread offense into his system over the years, but it’s still one of the NFL’s more dense and demanding playbooks. His belief in his system has often kept young or recently acquired players from seeing the field because he demands players know the entire playbook so that he can call whatever he feels best fits the situation.
That approach to offensive play-calling sounds good on paper, but the results on the field have floundered at times over the past couple of seasons, even with arguably the best quarterback in the league running things on the field. Whether it’s been a beat-up offensive line, wide receivers who all seem to lack something (knowledge of the playbook, playmaking upside, consistency, or all of the above), or perhaps just enough exposure over time that defenses have mastered his tendencies, Reid’s offenses just haven’t been what they once were.
This Sunday, against the 2–12 Tennessee Titans, the Chiefs begin a three-game stretch without Patrick Mahomes, who was lost to an ACL tear last week. The Chiefs were also eliminated from the playoffs in that same game and now have no reason not to get some of their younger players on the field to gain more experience and audition for more playing time next season. However, a backup quarterback surrounded by inexperienced playmakers trying to run Andy Reid’s full playbook is a recipe for disaster.
It's time for Andy Reid to water down the Chiefs playbook with three games left.
The solution here is simple. Actually, it’s to make things simple. The Chiefs shouldn’t try to run their offense on Sunday like they have Patrick Mahomes throwing timing routes to guys who are going to be in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. That plan wasn’t really working with Mahomes at quarterback, and it would be foolish to think Gardner Minshew would even be able to do that as well as Mahomes did. So Reid must come up with simple routes designed to get the ball in the hands of KC’s playmakers.
Reid needs to make Dameon Pierce active and try running the ball with him and rookie speedster Brashard Smith. Keep the packages simple and let them just go out and run the ball. Once they establish some successful runs, mix in some screens, quick slants, and play-action passes to guys like Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, and Travis Kelce.
If Reid has Gardner Minshew drop back 30-plus times and read the entire field, going through multiple progressions with KC’s offensive line injuries, he’s just asking for KC to fail. Run the ball. See what you potentially have in Pierce and Smith, and give Minshew some quick passes with a high success rate. Maybe even get Jalen Royals on the field this week and scheme up a screen or two to see what he can do with the ball in his hands.
Andy Reid has forgotten more about play-calling than anyone reading (or writing) this article has ever known, but all that knowledge can be a blessing and a curse. Sometimes, Reid can overthink things and put more trust in his system and playbook than he does in his players. While the players have certainly made their share of mistakes this season, it’s time for Reid to make his game plan about what the players need and not what he wants.
The Tennessee Titans are not a good football team. The Chiefs’ defense has its flaws, but they should be able to contain the Titans and keep them from putting up many points in this game. So Andy Reid doesn’t need a brilliant game plan that has to put up 30 points. He needs to keep it simple, let his young players play, and find easy ways to get the ball into their hands. If he does that, the Chiefs just might be able to get a few more wins down the stretch and might even develop a few more young players in the process.