Chiefs fans are freaking out over Andy Reid’s offense (but here’s the truth)

Recently, I’ve been trying a variation of box breathing. It’s a method of controlling your breath rate that lowers your heart rate, reduces stress and anxiety, and helps you control your emotions. Athletes and the military use it all the time. You inhale slowly for four seconds, hold your breath for four seconds, and then breathe out slowly for eight seconds, pursing your lips so you don’t exhale all at once. Give it a try: in for four, hold for four, out for eight. Good stuff.

Now that we’ve taken a deep breath, let’s talk about Andy Reid. After the Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 20-17 on Sunday, a lot of blame was immediately put on Coach Reid. There was frustration over the play-calling, and understandably so. There was the draw play on 3rd-and-16 in the opening quarter before Harrison Butker’s missed 58-yard field goal—a timid call at best when you have Patrick Mahomes, who excels on third and long. Then we saw almost the exact opposite: a bold and outright reckless decision to go for it on 4th-and-1 from the Chiefs’ own 36-yard line straight out of halftime, which of course didn’t work.

Chiefs fans need to take a deep breath and keep the bigger picture in mind when it comes to Andy Reid.

The specific play design wasn’t convincing either. A handoff to Kareem Hunt in a triple backfield with Robert Tonyan and Noah Gray as lead blockers seemed like an unnecessary overcomplication. Reid also took an odd timeout toward the end of the first half when the Eagles had the ball that even Tom Brady didn’t understand. There was the surrender punt in the fourth quarter with the Chiefs down by 10 that all but conceded the game, and the general lack of offensive cohesiveness lingered throughout. Chiefs fans were not happy:

Before we get carried away, just take a deep breath. In for four, hold for four, out for eight. I think we might be overreacting—or at least being harsh on Reid without taking the full context of the situation into account. I’ll be clear: Reid had a bad day. He admitted as much, shouldering the blame for the loss straight after the game. But a bad performance doesn’t mean we should throw the baby out with the bathwater. Coach Reid is still one of the best coaches in the NFL right now and is arguably the greatest coach the game has ever seen. Let’s not forget that.

The Chiefs have been to three straight Super Bowls, winning two of them. Reid has never had a losing season during his 13 years in Kansas City—a timespan that included several seasons without Patrick Mahomes. Of course, that doesn’t mean Reid can never be questioned. He is not above criticism or blame when it’s appropriate, as it is after Sunday’s game. Improvements need to be made. The offense needs to be better, and it’s up to him to orchestrate that. We know Reid is an offensive genius; he needs to find a way to make things work better than they currently are.

Context is key. The Chiefs’ offense is without WR1 and WR2 in Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy, and promising rookie Jalen Royals is hurt too. Kansas City is fielding a reshaped offensive line with a total of six combined NFL starts on the left side, and the running back room simply doesn’t have enough juice to be a real threat. And who have the Chiefs had to play while sorting all this out? A tough divisional opponent on the road on another continent and the reigning Super Bowl champions. That’s not exactly easy.

Still, you might point out that Kansas City’s offense has been in decline for multiple years now. Mahomes has seen his yards per attempt tumble and his overall numbers decline, and his EPA on deep balls in Reid’s offense has plummeted since 2023. You’d be right. But there’s a reason for that. Again, context is key. In for four, hold for four, out for eight.

The Tyreek Hill trade changed Kansas City’s offense entirely and fundamentally changed the way the rest of the NFL defended the Chiefs—effects that are still being felt today. Hill was the ultimate game breaker. He could burn excellent coverage and run past a defender in great position. Other teams had to respect Hill and the deep ball. Even then, they weren’t always able to stop it. By trading away Hill, the Chiefs lost that explosiveness. It hasn’t returned since, and the offense’s numbers have taken a hit as a result.

But Reid, Mahomes, and the Chiefs have been able to overcome. Despite trading away the most electric wide receiver the team has ever had, Kansas City still managed to win playoff games and Super Bowls with Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, Marcus Kemp, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Justin Watson, and Richie James catching passes. On Sunday, Tyquan Thornton—who hadn’t caught a touchdown since 2022 and whose previous longest touchdown was seven yards—hauled in a 49-yard TD bomb against the Eagles.

Starting the season 0-2 is far from ideal, but there are bigger things at play for the Chiefs. We’ve seen more deep shots being taken—and crucially, landing—despite Kansas City’s two best receiving targets being sidelined. The offensive line has looked good and improved from Week 1 to Week 2, and the defense, criticized for its effort against the Chargers, stood up. There are problems that need to be solved, but things are improving at the same time.

Andy Reid deserves criticism for the loss to Philadelphia, but he also deserves Chiefs Kingdom’s trust to figure this out. Take a deep breath, and things will get better. In for four, hold for four, out for eight.