Getty Chiefs head coach Andy Reid on November 03, 2023 in Frankfurt, Germany.
The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Miami Dolphins 21-14 in Frankfurt, Germany, but it wasn’t exactly pretty.
While the Chiefs’ defense shut down one of the most explosive offenses in the league, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his offense are in a rut. During the locker room celebration at Deutsche Bank Park, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid kept it real with his postgame speech.
After congratulating the defense for doing “a heck of a job” on November 5, “offense, you did enough,” Reid said, before issuing an apology to the offensive line.
HOW BOUT THOSE…
“We’ll get better. We’ll get better,” he said. “O-line, I owe you one, men.”
As for the reason behind the rare mea culpa, it stemmed from their final offensive play against the Dolphins, or lack thereof.
“The Chiefs had an opportunity to finish the game on offense by keeping the ball away from the Dolphins with a successful four-minute drive late in the fourth quarter,” The Athletic’s Nate Taylor wrote. “However, the Chiefs punted after just three plays.
“Instead of trusting his linemen to generate forward movement at the line of scrimmage with a simple running play on a third-and-1 snap, Reid called a play that required Mahomes to pass. But all of Mahomes’ receivers were covered, forcing him to throw an incompletion that gave the Dolphins another chance to rally.”
It was a huge mistake by Reid that nearly cost the Chiefs the game. “If we ran it, you’d ask me why we didn’t throw it,” Reid told reporters after the game. “But I’m going to tell you I probably should have put in the hands of the big O-line.”
‘The Chiefs Will Have No Shot’ If the Offensive Line Doesn’t Step Up
Over the past two weeks, the Chiefs offensive line has given up four sacks and 19 pressures. While Kansas City has given up the least amount of sacks per game in the league, they rank 30th in rushing success rate.
Reid’s coaching decisions are a factor. SB Nation’s Nate Christensen pointed out several occasions in which the Chiefs unsuccessfully utilized 12 personnel (two tight ends, two receivers, one running back) on third and long.
Second 3rd and 10. The Chiefs now go into 12 personnel, put Kelce in a condensed split with Gray next to him to chip for LT, and RT gets a chip from McKinnon. 3-man concept vs. C4 defense. And RDE still gets a decent look at Mahomes! What are we doing!
“Why are they doing this? Because the Chiefs don’t trust their tackles,” Christensen wrote. “Kansas City paid [Jawaan] Taylor a lot of money to be a tremendous pass protector — but over time, the team is relying on him less often.” Taylor signed a four-year, $80 million contract with the Chiefs in March, which includes $60 million guaranteed.
“While [guard Trey] Smith isn’t earning as much, the team has slowly lost trust in him, too. This is alarming,” Christensen noted.
“When you’re putting in two tight ends to chip on third downs, it’s a problem. The tackles have to play better. Otherwise, it’s going to be difficult for Kansas City to move the ball on third down… if this is how their offensive line is going to perform in the stretch run (and the playoffs), the Chiefs will have no shot.”
Chiefs OC Matt Nagy Said The Offensive Issues Are ‘Very Fixable’
🏈 Drama unfolds as Patrick Mahomes loses the football! The Dolphins capitalize on the turnover, pushing into the red zone.
Can they turn the tide? Chiefs still ahead 21-7.
Through nine weeks, the Chiefs lead the league in turnovers (17). Mahomes often doesn’t appear to be on the same page with his receivers. The offense struggles on third-and-short and in the red zone.
The Chiefs offense isn’t bad. They show spurts of brilliant football, but they’re inconsistent. The AP’s Dave Skretta surmised, “Ever since Mahomes took over at quarterback in 2018, the Chiefs have been sixth or better in scoring and total offense. Yet they are 12th in scoring this season — thanks largely to 41 points scored against Chicago — and seventh in total offense. Still good. But far from their usual greatness.”
Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy is confident they can turn things around. “It’s very fixable, There’s not panic. It’s there for us to understand,” Nagy told reporters in early November. “We know we can be better. It is going back to the drawing board, seeing where we went wrong, not placing blame but also accepting that we have to be better.”
Kansas City still sits atop the AFC West with a 7-2 record and have a bye week to rest and get it together. Next up, the Chiefs host the Philadelphia Eagles at Arrowhead Stadium in Week 11.