As we all learned a year ago, ugly wins populate the W column in the exact same way that flashy blowouts do. It's like the comparison of a windmill 360 dunk and a layup—style points aside, both count for the same amount of points on the scoreboard. So despite the fact that the Kansas City Chiefs’ 22-9 win on Sunday against the New York Giants may have been apathy-inducing in the first half, the second half greeted us with multiple causes for optimism moving forward.
If you started the month of September hoping to gather inspiration from the Chiefs’ defense, you're likely doing well. The way that Kansas City's defensive unit has turned things around since the Week 1 head-scratcher against the Chargers has been a breath of fresh air. If you've sought the same from the Chiefs’ offense, you're likely going through a bit of a rough patch and may need to talk to a friend or therapist.
While Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City offense looked a bit more recognizable in the second half against New York on Sunday night, the first half left so, so much to be desired. Coming into the night, it was the hope of many that Kansas City would attempt to establish the run, show multiple formations, and utilize jet sweep motion concepts to create misdirection for the opposing defense—you know, do the things that the Chiefs have found success doing in the past. Instead, within the first 22 minutes of real time (around 7:42 p.m. Central), it appeared the Chiefs’ offensive staff had only learned about shotgun formations and were unaware that the ball could be handed off to a running back to gain yardage.
Luckily for all of us, the Chiefs returned to these principles in the second half and looked much more capable offensively. Was there some assistance from the Giants’ lack of secondary talent? Sure. Did it help that Russell Wilson and the Giants’ offense could put together drives but not finish them, allowing for a balance of time of possession that didn't result in the Chiefs having to play frantically and match scores that the opposing offense was doling out as the Chiefs’ defense bent but luckily never truly broke? Of course.
While there's still a lot for Kansas City to figure out offensively this season, there's also a ton of firepower to add back into the offense from a personnel standpoint and a lot of time left for them to make the rubber hit the road. There doesn't seem like there's as much time for them to figure out some other things, and I'd love to overreact to those if you have a minute.
The offensive playcalling is the worst we've seen in the Andy Reid era
Did anyone else find themselves lulling into a sense of undeniable apathy toward the Chiefs’ offense during the first half of Sunday's game? Andy Reid notoriously has a "script" that the Chiefs open each game with. The script is tailored to each opponent, obviously, but generally is a predetermined set of plays or concepts that are designed for the Chiefs to effectively start out each game by putting points on the board. Great concept, right? Sure—when it works.
When the entire world, including the fans watching at home, knows exactly what you're going to do in this script, it renders it essentially useless. So when the Chiefs once again came out and ignored the fact that they are allowed to run the football behind some of the road graders they have up front and seemingly acted like they are required to operate solely out of shotgun formation to start the game against the Giants, it once again rendered Andy Reid's script—you guessed it—useless.
Where has the motion been? Are we worried that Creed Humphrey has IBS from all of the Jack Stack barbecue he's probably comped from his endorsement deal and is trying to avoid a mess with Mahomes' throwing hand? Or is this some sort of evil mastermind plan from the Chiefs’ offensive coaching staff to put the maximum amount of junk on film so that by the time the Chiefs see the Ravens and Bills, those teams have no idea what they're actually going to throw at them? I know the Chiefs play the Ravens next week, but I also know that they've put enough nonsense on film offensively so far for that to still be a possibility.
The real answer here is that the Chiefs’ offensive playcallers are still trying to figure out exactly what this offense is with the changes in personnel that they've both gradually and suddenly had to cope with. Rashee Rice wasn't supposed to have his meeting with the league about his suspension until the end of September. They didn't know Xavier Worthy was going to go down in Week 1, nor did they enter training camp expecting to be without Jalen Royals or even know what they actually had in Kingsley Suamataia at guard and Josh Simmons at left tackle.
It's better to be patient with these things, and I have gotten there, but the slow starts and boneheaded playcalling have to end. You can't shove the square peg into the round hole; it has never worked. And if the Chiefs’ offensive coaching staff continues to try that early in the season, there are a couple of games on the horizon (hello, Baltimore and Detroit) that could be over by halftime.
The Chiefs' body language on the offensive side has been atrocious
At one point on Sunday, I found myself asking if anyone on the Chiefs’ offense knew this wasn't a practice. I'm not even talking about a pregame walkthrough where energy is high and the excitement of an imminent battle is pulsing through the guys' veins. I'm talking about a mid-August, dog-ass-hot practice where no one wants to be there. That's how much of the first half felt from a viewership standpoint last night.
The body language from players like Travis Kelce, Creed Humphrey, and even a guy who is typically a spark plug like Isiah Pacheco seemed so off last night and has all season long. These guys have to be frustrated with how the season has started, given the standard that the organization sets on a year-to-year basis. It's Super Bowl or bust every season, so if you start 0-2 and you look pretty bad (at times) doing it, there's going to be some frustration.
But where has the leadership been from anyone not named Patrick Mahomes? I love Travis Kelce just as much as anyone in Chiefs Kingdom, but we've seen way more of his despondent thousand-yard stares and his hands going up in the air when things go wrong this year than we've seen the cries of "LET'S GO" and "Come on, now" that we've become accustomed to. We are no longer interested in watching the newest inductee of the Tortured Poets Department—we want our Uncle Travvy back.
Someone on the Chiefs’ offense has to step up and give Mahomes some help not just in performing like a championship-level team but in leading a championship-level team. The rubber started to meet the road in the second half on Sunday. Let's hope that side of the ball can bottle that up and maintain it over the next three weeks before some game-changing playmakers come back.
Harrison Butker is broken
It wasn't long ago that if the Chiefs got inside of ~55-yard field goal range, fans felt like points were automatic. Harrison Butker has been a weapon for Kansas City, particularly in clutch-time postseason scenarios, for the entirety of the current dynastic run. There have been occasional lulls, and there have been a few injuries that he's had to deal with and come back from, but all in all he has been as reliable as they come.
What happened? Butker has missed a field goal or an extra point in all three of the Chiefs’ games to start the 2025 season, including one of each Sunday night in New York. He is 7-for-9 on field goals so far and 3-for-5 on extra points. Sixty percent on extra points for a guy who, for a long time, was the most accurate kicker in the NFL?
Butker has had a lot going on in his personal life the past couple of weeks. I won't get too far into that, but it's understandable that his mind would be elsewhere at times. But for a guy who has been a lock to become a liability at a time when the Chiefs are looking for any possible way to put points on the board is certainly a suboptimal arrangement, to say the least.
Butker could not miss a kick for the rest of the season, lead the Chiefs in scoring, and win numerous games in walk-off fashion before everything is said and done. But as of right now, he's not the same guy we've grown accustomed to seeing, and he looks broken.