Last season the Kansas City Chiefs were one of the best teams in NFL history at winning one-score games. This season, the Chiefs find themselves 0-2 after dropping their second straight one-score game, 20-17, versus the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Last season the Chiefs always did just enough to allow Patrick Mahomes to work his magic late, but this season the supporting cast just hasn’t done enough to even give him that chance.
Patrick Mahomes would be the first to tell you that he hasn’t been perfect and shares responsibility for the offense underperforming through two games. While that is true, anyone with eyes can see that Mahomes is having to carry the Chiefs’ offense on his back so far this season. His offensive playmakers don’t even deserve that name, because they simply aren’t making plays.
Through two games, Kansas City’s wide receivers and tight ends are averaging a combined 17 receptions for 211 yards and 1 touchdown per game. If that average were to continue for the entire season, the Chiefs would end up with 3,587 yards receiving and 17 touchdowns. Last season, with Rice and Brown out most of the season and Kelce having a down year, they totaled 3,435 yards and 24 touchdowns. So the yardage output is about the same, but with even less touchdown production.
The really deflating part is that part of the problem last year was the black hole at left tackle that was giving Mahomes no time to throw. Josh Simmons has been really good through two games and yet the passing game has been just as bad, if not worse.
There is some hope with Rashee Rice eventually coming back at the end of his six-game suspension and Xavier Worthy hopefully returning sooner rather than later from his shoulder injury, but if KC doesn’t do something quickly, they could find themselves out of contention before they even have a chance to see the offense they envisioned before the season.
Ideally, when a team is down some of their top pass catchers, they would rely more heavily on the running game. Unfortunately, that’s not really an option for the Chiefs. In Week 1 Andy Reid refused to run the ball, handing it off to running backs just 10 times.
Versus the Eagles, Reid did a better job of trying to make the offense less one-dimensional, handing the ball off to running backs 19 times. Unfortunately, those 19 carries only went for 55 yards and 2.9 yards per carry. Without a dynamic lead running back, that kind of “run just enough to keep the defense honest” approach is probably about all you can expect against good defenses.
So what is the solution? How do the Chiefs make sure they get Mahomes enough help next week against the New York Giants (who scored 37 points against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday) so that they don’t drop to 0-3 to start the season and then have to face the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4?
How the Chiefs can help Patrick Mahomes
1. Travis Kelce has to play like an elite tight end.
Kelce may be getting up there in age, but with the receiving corps decimated, he has to step up. He only had two catches against the Chargers (although one was a touchdown), and while he had four catches against the Eagles, his bobbled potential touchdown that turned into an interception was the turning point in the game. He is clearly motivated this season, but the results haven’t been there yet. That has to change.
2. They need to take more deep shots to Tyquan Thornton, especially early in the game.
With Hollywood Brown looking more and more like a short-pass/possession receiver, they have to take more shots downfield to Thornton. If defenses aren’t afraid of the run game or the deep ball and can just sit on Brown and Kelce in the short passing game, then KC is in trouble.
Thornton is averaging 25 yards per reception on his catches this season, including a 49-yard touchdown on Sunday. He was wide open right before that touchdown on another deep throw that Mahomes missed. Without Worthy, they have to use him to stretch the field so they can open up the middle of the field for Kelce and Brown.
3. Brett Veach should already be working the phones.
The Chiefs shouldn’t wait until the second half of the season to bring in another playmaker like they did with DeAndre Hopkins last season. While they may be getting Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice back (and hopefully Jalen Royals can contribute at some point), they still could use another NFL-caliber guy.
Worthy is passing on surgery to play this season, but his small frame could easily lead to re-injuring that shoulder at any point. Also, Rice is coming back from a major knee injury, and Brown has had some problems staying healthy as well. They need an insurance policy, and Brett Veach shouldn’t wait to go out and get it.
If Veach doesn’t love his trade options at wide receiver, he should consider trading for an upgrade at running back. The San Francisco 49ers added Brian Robinson Jr. for just a sixth-round pick, so adding a running back without paying a huge return can be done. If the Chiefs had a little better run game it would go a long way toward taking some of the pressure off Mahomes.
4. Andy Reid (or Matt Nagy?) has to be a better play caller
It doesn’t feel like the play-calling is helping Patrick Mahomes at all, either. It feels like the Chiefs are just trying to run the offense they always have, but without the players to make it successful. They aren’t calling the game like they’re trying to create plays to get things going and help Mahomes out. They may have been to three straight Super Bowls, but they still have to be honest about where they are right now, and it feels like they’re calling a generic/typical Chiefs game from the past three years instead of adapting to the team currently on the field.
It isn’t clear how much of the play-calling is Andy Reid and how much is Matt Nagy, but it feels like there needs to be a change in approach. If Nagy has been calling plays, maybe Reid needs to take over. If Reid is already calling plays (or heavily involved), maybe they need some fresh voices in the room when they’re putting together the game plan.
The Chiefs’ defense played well enough against the defending Super Bowl champs to get the job done, and Steve Spagnuolo has a history of improving as the season goes on. Patrick Mahomes is the greatest quarterback in team history and is still in his prime.
Despite the 0-2 start and offensive struggles, the offensive line looks improved this season with the arrival of Josh Simmons. If KC can just get some playmakers who will actually make some plays for Mahomes, this team can still absolutely be a contender, but if they don’t do it soon, it may be too late by the time this offense finally comes together.