Chiefs HC Andy Reid
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As the Chiefs' offense struggles, HC Andy Reid doesn't believe a drastic change is needed.
After a slow start to the season, the Kansas City Chiefs‘ offense seemed to be picking things up. In Weeks 4-7, head coach Andy Reid’s team averaged 31.5 points per game. Unfortunately for them, that success hasn’t sustained itself.
A 28-7 win over the Washington Commanders in Week 8 was solid, but it got followed up with 21- and 19-point efforts against the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos.
In the aftermath of consecutive defeats, some fans are demanding change. Does Reid believe that’s in the cards? His answer won’t make some folks happy.
Andy Reid Not Ready to Make Major Schematic Tweaks to Chiefs’ Offense
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Reid said he doesn’t believe big-time tweaks need to be made.
“We’re not in a position where we need to wholesale that,” Reid said. “That’s not where we’re at right now. We need to just clean up some things. The nice part about this offense is you’ve got a lot of directions you can go with it. A whole lot of things, different things you can do with it. It’s important that we do the right things and get ourselves in the right place.”
A few specific areas stand out. For starters, some believe going away from shotgun plays to more under center actions might help. The Chiefs entered Week 12 with the fourth-lowest number of under center plays (110) in the sport. That not only makes a horizontal run game trickier to establish, but it leads to many run-pass options (RPOs) that aren’t true rushes. On the ground, that problem is compounded by lackluster personnel.
Reid and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy’s passing attack could also use some work. It’s no longer a question of availability, as players like wideouts Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy have been back in the mix for weeks. The coaches have their players, but they’ve oftentimes insisted on flooding the same areas of the field with overlapping skill sets. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is struggling immensely against man coverage, ranking 19th in EPA/dropback there, per FTN Fantasy.
Accusations of an outdated, stale, passed-up system aren’t quieting down. Reid’s hope is things normalize as he sticks to his guns.
Refined Clutch Execution Could Be Kansas City’s Ticket to Success
Still, this is a lot of hoopla for an offense that grades out quite well. It’s third in EPA/play, via SumerSports. It’s fifth in success rate. This year’s chiefs attack is first in plays per drive and third in points per drive. Their problem is having limited possessions and not maximizing certain opportunities. Contrary to in years past, executing in crunch time isn’t working as well.
Look no further than Week 11’s Broncos game as an example. The offense had a chance to put the game away, only to stall. Mahomes had an ugly second-half interception that swung the outing. Kansas City went 5-for-13 on third downs, 0-for-1 on fourth downs and 1-for-4 in the red zone. That’s without even considering a staggering 10 penalties.
Reid thinks being better at the little things — especially when it matters most — is paramount.
“You guys see it all, you know this,” Reid began. “When you do it in crucial situations, that gets you, then it’s tough to overcome at times. Whether it’s a third down and short or where you’re down at the 2-yard line and then you have to back up, those types of things, those come back to haunt you when you’re playing good teams.
“We might be able to overcome it against a not very good team, but against good teams, you’ve got to be sharp. There’s not a huge secret to that. You guys watch it like we watch it. As coaches, we’ve got to make sure we are giving the guys the stuff they can do the best at.”
Sunday’s Week 12 showdown with the Indianapolis Colts will be a big test for Reid, Nagy, Mahomes and company.