Even the Kansas City Chiefs aren’t immune to early-season struggles. Following last week’s close 20-17 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles, they want to do everything they can to rev up their ground attack. The team began the year with an excruciatingly bad 0-2 season. In return, they’re focusing heavily on new various running play concepts to see what works and what doesn’t in their overall offensive scheme. Make no mistake, head coach Andy Reid and OC Matt Nagy are keenly focused on their rushing attack. They hope to do better still as they prepare for their next test against the New York Giants.
In their most recent game, the Chiefs ran just about every type of running play you could imagine. They nailed zone-blocking runs, stretch runs, counter runs. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes played a big role in spreading the responsibility for what’s under center on these plays. The team’s efforts resulted in a modest 94 rushing yards on 28 attempts, with no touchdowns contributed by primary running backs Isaiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt.
Pacheco’s performance has set off alarm bells. He dead last out of 40 qualifying RBs for rushing yards over expected, at -1.2. On the year, he’s only been able to turn that into 10 yards per attempt at best this season. Conversely, Hunt’s longest run was just 11 yards, and both of these runs occurred against light boxes. These numbers illustrate the plight of the Chiefs’ rushing attack and beg the question of what this offense’s identity really is.
He reinforced the idea that even with a deep group, individual performance from the backs will be key. He stressed the fact that “guys can really get in a groove with certain carries.” That signals that a good performance can go a long way towards informing which bench players need to see the field even more regularly.
The early offensive struggles for the Chiefs have been on display through their first three games. Reid’s most audacious call was to go for it on fourth-and-1 the first play of the third quarter. Sadly, their Hail Mary play was called dead, denying them an opportunity to score. This big play served to highlight all the larger problems down the field that were plaguing this team’s offensive production.
Creed Humphrey has been their anchor on the offensive line. He knew that the team needed to do better in the basics. Things like focus and awareness.
“There’s things we’re missing fundamentally and things awareness-wise that we’ve got to clean up,” – Creed Humphrey
Humphrey expressed optimism about the team’s progress, stating, “It’s closer than what it feels like. There’re new guys up front and we’re working through some things. Just continuing to get reps together will help us focus on the fundamentals and the film work. As we grow, things are going to get better.”
The Kansas City Chiefs are emotionally preparing for their next act. By staggering the rushing attempts between Pacheco and Hunt, they hope to renew their newly ground attack. Perhaps not surprisingly, the bulk of these runs are identified as “breather runs.” They allow Mahomes a bit more release from the pressure that he faces on the field. Mahomes stressed the importance of a reliable run game to support their aerial approach.
“Part of football is being able to trust in the run game whenever they’re in the light boxes and force them to come down so we can throw some of the shots down the field,” – Patrick Mahomes
The coaching staff seems to understand that getting an identity on offense is the key to winning more games in the future. Nagy stressed this point, noting, “The biggest thing we’re all tackling is: ‘What is our identity?’ The sooner you find that identity on offense with the players you have, the better you can be. Any quarterback’s best friend is a dangerous, productive run game.
Kareem Hunt made clear after losses that players needed to improve, and the whole team had to take another step forward. He said simply, “We’ve got to do a better job all around just executing, man.”
As they prepare to welcome the New York Giants, what the Chiefs need to do is concentrate on getting their individual performances elevated. They want to create tune as a team strategy that will carry them to success. The only hope for the team to salvage this season is to form a powerful running game. For these small companies, it might be a total game-changer.
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