What is wrong with the Kansas City Chiefs' offense? Are they simply missing too many players? Or has Patrick Mahomes not yet rounded into regular season form, whiffing on balls and throwing picks where he would usually drop dimes?
Well, in the opinion of NFL offensive lineman-turned analyst Brian Baldinger on the NFL Network, the answer is simple: the Chiefs need to run the ball more in order to change how defenses play them.
“The birthday boy is the 16th leading rusher in the NFL with 123 rushing yards, and that's not good because there two running backs, Pacheco and Hunt, are averaging 3.5 yards a carry. And what's happening right now is they're not getting explosive plays. But what's happening, teams are playing two high safeties and you've got to run them out of it,” Baldinger explained.
“Like, for example, last week, you'll see the Eagles with their safeties deep right here. All right. When you get that look, you're man on man inside, like you've got to make that, you've got to run them out of it. You've got to make them drop the safety down, and the Chiefs haven't been good enough at the running back or at the offensive line position.”
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After sharing multiple examples of where a strong running game could force opposing teams to load up the box and create more downfield opportunities, Baldinger delivered his conclusion: the Chiefs lack explosive plays because they can't run the ball.
“And so if you can get them out of that two high shell by running the ball better, you're going to get a chance for one-on-one on the outside with Thornton and some other players,” Baldinger noted. “And maybe you can take advantage of it and start adding some explosive plays to the offense, which they desperately need. So there's struggles in Kansas City. I don't think anybody's panicking, but there are real struggles. And it does show up on tape.”
Is Baldinger on the money? Should the Chiefs double down on the run game and the passing opportunities that could open up? Or would committing to something that hasn't been working be nothing more than a waste of plays? While that conversation will certainly take place in Kansas City, Baldinger makes a strong case and might just be onto something.
.@giants will see a Chiefs offense that has struggled to run the ball v 2 high safety looks and have missed some opportunities for some big plays. These struggles are real but there is many games to get this corrected #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/PTSqMdE02R
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) September 18, 2025