Chiefs: Offensive Outlook Through the 1st Quarter of 2020 – Working Out Kinks: Patrick Mahomes is humming a song, while he’s evading the pass rush… he sings a few words too and then releases the ball. Problem is, two teams have taken away the deep routes and one team also took away the intermediate throws, leaving the underzone and running attack ineffective through the first half of the game. In time, he evaded the sack and heaved a long one, a completion to Mecole Hardman for a TD!
And Patrick sings the next verse: “Save me, save me, save me from this squeeze… I gotta big fat mama trying to break me. And I love to live so pleasantly, Live this life of luxury, Lazing on a sunny afternoon.”
First Four Games: Not What I Was Expecting
If I had to guess, other head coaches and their defensive specialist coaches are now in year three of working to read Andy, his playbook, and his tendencies plus, they’re familiar with the OC Eric Bieniemy too! Patrick Mahomes, now a familiar name to a great deal of the public, even outside of NFL football, is a known commodity. The Chiefs didn’t work out the kinks in preseason and the shortened offseason of 2020 didn’t help as much as I thought it would. I also thought that by game four, things would straighten out, but unfortunately, they got worse, especially in the first half of week four. Finally in the second half, things uncoiled and Reid and Bieniemy (R&B) gave Mr. Mahomes the right plays to get the job done, scoring enough points to win by more than two scores. Let’s review.
Week One: HOME v. the Texans on TNF
Chiefs 34 – Texans 20
This was a 2 score win over the Texans in a game that was not in doubt most of the second half. The Chiefs covered the betting line winning handily. Week one was very vanilla and featured a heavy dose of Clyde Edwards-Helaire. It appeared to most of us that Reid called a very conservative game but still won handily, without showcasing anything new from the offense except his new running back. Recall how very pleased everyone was when CEH had such a great game and was not even targeted in the aerial attack. It was not a close game. The ability of the simple ground game kept their opponent at bay for over 9 minutes on a second drive of the game. They chewed up the clock, a lot of turf and added their second score, going up 14-7.
K.C. didn’t score in the first quarter, but their second possession in the 2nd quarter was actually magnificent, lasting more than 9 minutes and 15 plays with CEH getting 6 carries for 39 yards. That drive was totally uncharacteristic of the aerial power of these Chiefs. So, if there was a new thing revealed it wasn’t the plays. It was the players’ play itself. The Texans philosophy was to take away the deep ball and keep the play of the game in front of the Safeties. Andy called on CEH and by the end of the game he had 138 yards rushing and a TD to boot. The passing game was effective. The Chiefs might have scored 40 if Reid had been pressured to make scoring the difference. Late in the game he managed the clock instead. Fans were smug, thinking, “Hey! We got this new toy!”
Week Two: AWAY vs. the Chargers
Chiefs 23 – Chargers 20 (OT)
The Chargers were a different opponent, providing greater proficiency on both sides of the ball with their own brand new toy. They too tried to take away the deep game and they had the power to apply pressure. The first game away was a very tough game and their front four harassed Patrick all day while stymying the Chiefs ground game. Remember this game because the Chiefs again scored in the last 3 quarters. Harrison Butker had 3 FG’s two of them from 58 yards out and was carried aloft by his teammates.
The Chiefs Defense held the Chargers to their 20 points per game average. It got the job done. The Chiefs Offense put a lot of time and effort to score 20 but it wasn’t the prolific offense I have come to expect. The Offensive Line blocking was exposed and the Chiefs were fortunate to come away with a win. In this game, Patrick’s passes were a bit off: too many missed targets still, he threw no INTs. In truth, when Charger HC, Anthony Lynn, decided to punt the ball away in overtime instead of going for it on 4th down, it may have been the deciding factor in who won the game. The Chiefs drive stalled. Butker had his opportunity. Game over. CEH did not get much going in this game against a very tough front four. The aerial game was stymied by a good secondary, but this was made possible because the pass rush was so formidable.
Week Three: AWAY vs. the Ravens
Chiefs 34 – Ravens 20
This score mirrored the score in week one. Seth Keysor who writes for his own site, Chief of the North, and The Athletic (subscription required for both) wrote an article believing that this was the earmark game that was the Best So Far of Patrick Mahomes Career. He managed the clock, the yards, the plays, and the exposures of the Ravens to get this victory on the road against a very good Baltimore team. Harbaugh was beaten, outcoached and his team outplayed. This was a huge win.
Week Four: HOME vs. the Patriots
Chiefs 26 – Patriots 10
The Chiefs scored in the first quarter, but not the 2nd. In rewatching the game, Mahomes throws were off by a bit, not fully on target. The Offense could do little successfully in the first half. Bill Belichick had figured the tendencies of the Chiefs attack as well as Mahomes and put up a defense that matched up by taking away as many strong points as possible. Again the deep ball was taken away even though Patrick targeted Mecole Hardman for a deep TD, a magnificent play.
CEH did not get much done on the ground. The OL was again suspect and didn’t block well for the ground game between the tackles. It’s tough for a Running Back to make a hole and also gain yards when he’s are running into a brick wall every time. I came away from this game a bit disturbed by the inability of the Offensive Line in the ground game. The Patriots though, are a top defense in the AFC – similarly tough as the defense of the Chargers. I was particularly pleased with this game because CEH came alive as a receiver and demonstrated why he is a threat through the air as well as on the ground.
Overall Result? Chiefs 4-0
Meaningful Stats: two successful game with more than 30 points scored. Two games where the result was below the output that I think the Chiefs offense should average per game or better: 30+ PPG. They did exceed Alex Smith’s best numbers with the Chiefs which was 28.5 PPG.
For me, there have been spectacular plays intermixed with faux pas. In the game against the Patriots I believed that the Chiefs shot themselves in the foot too many times and stalled their own advances. That was my earmark game against a tough opponent. Many think the Patriots are a mediocre team without Brady and they are mistaken. In the first quarter of the season the Chiefs faced off against 4 tough opponents. Yes, I think the Texans played well against the Chiefs. No, they did not play up to their potential, nor did the Ravens. The Chargers and Patriots did though and the K.C. came out on top in those games as well.
The Biggest Success
The Chiefs won games on the ground… in the air… and in combo. The offense took control in all four games and won them, even if one was to get to long Field Goal range. In the Second half of the Patriots game, the Offense showed versatility and adjusted on the fly and thus scored to come away with a win. They used the ground game very effectively in two game and in two, they used a variety show to get the job done.
Parting Shot
The Offensive First Quarter statistics didn’t captured my attention in these games. The rookies did on both offense and defense. Townsend is a very good punter and has distance. He will improve. CEH is a very good RB and he will improve. I did add stats that I thought were of import. If the Chiefs add in the rookies making a big contribution on defense, this is where I see the future of the team. More rookies and my hope is that Brett Veach continues to bring in talent that has the type of impact that the latest group of young men have brought to One Arrowhead Way!
My biggest disappointment is the offensive line. I expect to see Martinas Rankin get a start quickly. There is nothing to do about Reiter until next year unless they want to give Allegretti or Williams a shot. Fisher, Schwartz, and Osemele are playing good football. We have two weak points and I just gave you the names. Perhaps the biggest factor is that the players have yet to get fully in sync, week in, week out.
The Chiefs have demonstrated their versatility. They have two significant scoring games, and two weak ones. Of the four games, at least at the time, they faced four contenders. For the Texans? BO’B lost the team. They now won’t be a factor. Still, at that time, the downturn had yet to occur. The Chargers, Ravens and Patriots are all contenders, or, at least it appears to me to be the case. They face the 1st game of their second quarter vs a division foe, the LA er… Vegas Raiders. I really don’t see them as a contender yet. Perhaps next season.
I do think the usual about my 3 C’s. The Offense remains out of sync at times. That hurts and they do it to themselves.
Let’s see where it goes from this point on.
David Bell — ArrowheadOne
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