Kansas City Chiefs: Offense Has to Be Better in 2016
The Kansas City Chiefs’ offense has benefitted over the past few years from a stellar defense backing them up. This year, they need to be better.
The 2016 season will be different for the KC Chiefs for many reasons. One of the main ones, however, is the fact that the defense will likely take a step back.
The defense won’t be as solid as they were in 2015 because Justin Houston isn’t healthy and Sean Smith is no longer manning the secondary. Instead, the Chiefs will trot Dee Ford out to replace Houston and we don’t know for sure who will be replacing Smith, but either way it’ll be a youngster filling his shoes.
There’s also the fact that Marcus Peters could experience a bit of a sophomore slump. These are common for NFL players who had tremendous rookie seasons, and it’s something I don’t see many Chiefs fans taking into consideration when it comes to this season.
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How will Peters react when he’s the top dog cornerback for the Chiefs? We’ll find out.
With the defense dropping off a bit this offseason, it’s even more important for the offense to really step it up and put up points this year. It’s not crazy of a thought, as Alex Smith is coming off the best season of his long career, and the team is getting Jamaal Charles back.
The Chiefs also have Travis Kelce and Jeremy Maclin, who are two of the best offensive weapons in all of football. These guys will help Smith move the football and should be able to make big plays for the team.
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A reassuring factor is that the team did improve along the offensive line this offseason. Pro Football Focus still ranked them in the lower half of the league, but with the addition of Mitchell Schwartz, Smith shouldn’t have to run around as much this season.
Another reason that the offense needs to play better is that the division is getting tougher. Last year, Kansas City’s main rival in the AFC West was Denver, but now they’ll have to compete with the contending Raiders this year.
Oakland will bring a tough offense to the table and their defense is getting scarier by the day. They’re not really a “sleeper” pick for the playoffs because it honestly seems like everyone is picking them to go far this year. It’s definitely not something I’d rule out, and the Chiefs are going to need to be able to put up points against not only their division rivals, but all teams.
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Personally, I’d rather my football team have a better defense than offense, but you can’t win games without scoring points, and the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense needs to do just that this season.
What do you think, Chiefs Kingdom? Will the offense need to be the more reliable unit this season?