While everyone in Kansas City was thrilled to see the Chiefs' run game kick butt and take names on Monday night, it wasn't hard to miss the lack of involvement with the wide receivers in the offense.
Travis Kelce had a nice night, tallying 71 yards off of three catches. The rest of the Chiefs receivers, however, had just 37 yards receiving. That came from Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy, who had 19 yards and 18 yards respectively.
A receiver who was hyped up all summer long was Cyrus Allen and he went on to be targeted just once and didn't catch that one target. It was a disappointing debut for Allen and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was asked about Allen's debut while speaking to the media on Thursday.
"Cyrus is working his tail off," Bieniemy said. "He did participate and play I think a few plays... He played on special teams, unfortunately he got the penalty. We're gonna continue bringing him along and making sure we're bringing him along the right way and not putting him in the situations where he's not sure of himself. But the thing I love about Cyrus is Cyrus comes to work every single day and that's the beauty of it and obviously he's gonna be a part of our success moving forward, I can guarantee you that."
Eric Bieiniemy doesn't sound worried about Cyrus Allen's quiet debut
Anyone who is panicking about Allen's quiet night needs to step back and look at the bigger picture. Allen was a fifth-round pick and Monday night was his first-ever glimpse of NFL action, at least in the regular season. Sure, some rookies come out swinging right away but Allen isn't even a starter for the Chiefs yet.
It also wasn't just a quiet night for Allen but for all of the Chiefs' receivers. I mentioned the lackluster numbers Worthy and Rice put up but Tyquan Thornton also was targeted one time and didn't haul in that pass so it's not like the rest of the guys put in the work and Allen was invisible. The entire passing game was off against the Broncos.
Bieniemy is saying all of the right things here though. Allen is still young and there's plenty of time for him to correct course and become the threat many thought he could be. Bieniemy is confident that Allen will be a big piece for this offense and that should ease fans' minds a bit.
Hopefully, the Chiefs can get their pass offense cooking a little more so that they don't become one-dimensional. Before, they were reliant on the pass while their run game faltered but now, clearly, the rushing attack is as ferocious as ever. If Allen can get a little more involved and show that grit he displayed during the preseason, this offense can be quite the force this season.
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