The Kansas City Chiefs have come up short over the last two weeks, and while the sky is certainly not falling at One Arrowhead Drive, difficult questions are beginning to raise some concerns. Steve Spagnuolo's defense has been steady for the better part of a decade, and while Chris Jones and his unit is not blameless, these two losses fall mostly on the offense and it's playcalling head coach.
Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star brought up a telling statistic that hit very close to home, especially with how the loss against the Denver Broncos occurred in the waning seconds of the game, and the offense failed to score.
From 2018-2022, "when the Chiefs trailed by 4-7 points with less than 13 minutes left (therefore needing a TD), they scored TDs on 8/14 drives, a rate of 57.1%," McDowell wrote.
But from 2023 to the present day, the Chiefs have been in the same spot 11 times. They have scored zero touchdowns. A clear, damning statistic on everyone involved with the offense. It speaks to a no-longer-advantageous-offensive scheme by Andy Reid, a drop in performance from Patrick Mahomes in the clutch, and a group of pass-catchers that have quite simply done the team a disservice for years.
Kansas City's offensive regression cannot continue to be swept under the rug
This is a telling number that exposes just how much regression has happened offensively for Kansas City. Much of this can be pointed to the aging of Travis Kelce and the loss of Tyreek Hill. Two elite, Hall-of-Fame weapons who, in their prime, always seemed to deliver.
It is undeniable that Kansas City has become incredibly cheap when adding receivers and tight ends, with Patrick Mahomes and the offense paying a steep price.
Taking this a step further, Andy Reid's offense has let Mahomes and the unit down. If KC is going to be cheap when it comes to adding playmakers, it forces the team to lean on the genius of its head coach to do much of the heavy lifting.
Reid's offense has become predictable and stale, with the last two weeks of Kenneth Walker III struggling being clear evidence. When Walker isn't creating, the offense lacks a counterpunch, and this is both on the front office's decisions and on the shoulders of a legendary offensive mind, who may not have his fastball anymore.
The system has been electric in years past, with Reid scheming ways to get the best of Mahomes. It feels like this is a forgotten era, and while there are a lot of moving parts that caused the drop, it falls on Reid the most.
No matter where you fall on this, there is no denying the franchise has continually moved in the wrong direction on the offensive side of the football. McDowell's stat remains undeniable: the lack of consistent offense in clutch situations is why Kansas City is no longer viewed as the dynastic giants they were three seasons ago.
The return of Eric Bieniemy has helped solve some of the issues haunting the Chiefs, but the last two games exposed that issues remain. It will be interesting to watch how the franchise chooses to navigate these clear issues and what needed changes are made.
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