The Kansas City Chiefs were once one of the hottest teams in the NFL, but after two straight losses, the sky is suddenly falling. Okay, maybe things aren't that dramatic, but fans are definitely anxious about the direction this team could be headed this season, and that's fair.
A big criticism that arose from the Chiefs' narrow loss to Denver in Week 8 was their refusal to run a QB sneak at a time when the majority of teams in the league would have done exactly that. Three of the Chiefs' final four plays were run from the one-yard line, and not once did they opt to run the QB sneak. The Chiefs have seemingly been afraid to run the play ever since Patrick Mahomes got injured while doing it back in the 2019 season.
While it makes sense that Andy Reid might not feel comfortable having Mahomes run the sneak, there's no rule saying the starting quarterback—or even a quarterback at all—has to do it, even if the play is named after the signal-caller. Justin Fields was brought to Kansas City as a backup option and would be perfect to run that type of play. Or, if the Chiefs don't feel comfortable having Fields do it, why not have a tight end do it?
Chiefs need to run more QB sneaks
Mina Kimes and Benjamin Solak were discussing the Chiefs' refusal to run a QB sneak, and Kimes brought up an interesting point about the Chiefs' offense.
"They kicked a field goal, fourth and two at the 27. They punted fourth and inches. And then at second and one at the goal line with two timeouts, they couldn’t punch it in. Just pick up a freaking yard, dude. Like, there’s a number of things that we can get into with this offense, but that’s just what I want to start with because it just really pissed me off. And running game has been so much better," Kimes said on The Mina Kimes Show.
She nailed it with this take. The Chiefs played scared in their loss to Denver, and it came back to bite them, as we all knew it would during the game. Had they run the QB sneak, we'd probably be sitting here singing a different tune right now.
Kimes then went on to discuss how the Chiefs have traditionally been really good in clutch situations late in the game but how that's not the case anymore.
"They’re usually really strong in these positions, but they’ve played a lot of control the clock, make sure there’s no possessions, and we think we can win the game with field goals. That’s been their approach the last couple of years, is within one score, and then they play the clock game as opposed to 'We can score fast, we can punch it in.' And then all of a sudden, Harrison Butker is not as reliable as he once was kicking the football. Now we’re in a position where we need seven instead of three."
Again, nailed it. The Chiefs used to rely heavily on Harrison Butker's accuracy in the kicking game to help them win close games down the stretch. Now that he's not that same clutch kicker anymore, their strategy needs to change. Reid and Eric Bieniemy can't just play for the field goal and play it safe. They need to be more aggressive and shake up their offense.
Chiefs' offense is stale and needs a new approach
It was clear on the Chiefs' final offensive drive that the Broncos weren't fooled by anything Kansas City was trying to pull. That falls on Reid and Bieniemy, who are the ones in charge of cooking up plays and trying to keep defenses on their toes.
If the Chiefs continue to run stale, predictable plays, things will end the same way they did in Denver. Teams will be able to sniff those plays out and put a stop to them. Kansas City has been hesitant to run QB sneaks in the past, and understandably so, but seven years have passed since Mahomes last attempted one and was injured doing it. He doesn't even have to be the one to attempt it. Put Fields or Noah Gray or whoever—anyone—out there. Just try it.
Reid is very much set in his ways, and to his credit, more often than not, it's worked. But it's clearly time for the offense to try some new things and keep defenses guessing more than they've had to in recent years. The Chiefs' season could depend on it.
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