The Kansas City Chiefs laid a giant goose egg on Sunday Night Football against the Pittsburgh Steelers. With remaining games on their schedule against strong-looking teams like the NFC South leading Atlanta Falcons, plus two games against the 3-1 Oakland Raiders and two games against the undefeated Denver Broncos, the Chiefs face many tough challenges throughout the rest of the season. However, the games on the schedule might not even be the biggest issue facing the 2016 Chiefs. The Kansas City Chiefs face a tough challenge as they enter their bye week.
Kansas City Chiefs Face Tough Challenge
Who are these Chiefs? Many people expected this team to be more explosive on offense this year, but Alex Smith’s group has been anything but explosive. The only time the offense has looked competent was in the final 20 minutes of the Week One game against the San Diego Chargers. In Week Two against the Houston Texans, the offense failed to reach the end zone. Week Three saw the defense and special teams lead the Chiefs to victory while the offense only amassed 10 points. The Week Four beat down by the Steelers resulted in zero touchdowns in the first three quarters. The offense did manage to score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, against mostly backup defenders. Clearly, in the National Football League, this will not cut it.
Unfulfilled Expectations
Prior to this season, everything appeared to be lining up perfectly for the Chiefs offense. Alex Smith was entering his fourth year in Andy Reid’s system. Jeremy Maclin had spent all off-season mentoring and training with Chris Conley and Albert Wilson, two young receivers who were ready to take a giant leap in production. Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce was going to be a giant mismatch for defenders in the middle of the field. Rookie wide receiver Tyreek Hill was going to become the type of speed player that blew the top off defenses and caused nightmares for opposing defensive coordinators.
The running back duo of Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West were supposed to hold the offense over until Jamaal Charles was fully healthy and ready to go after having ACL surgery last year. Mitchell Schwartz, often seen as one of the best right tackles in the league, was signed to fortify a position of need and to be a bookend on a young, yet talented offensive line. But as the Chiefs enter the bye week, almost none of this has come to fruition.
Struggles and Injuries
Albert Wilson has seen his playing time decrease as the season progresses and has only amassed 10 catches for 64 yards, far below what most expected from him entering the season. On the contrary, Chris Conley’s workload has increased as the season goes on and it appears that the Chiefs have big plans for the second year pro. Conley’s 15 catches for 172 yards are probably on par for what most would expect for a wide receiver in their sophomore season, but definitely not the production you would expect from a team’s number two wide receiver.
The interior offensive line has seen its fair share of injuries to start the season. Both starting guards have missed time, and for the Week Three game, the Chiefs started a third string player. Because of the offensive line struggles, Alex Smith has been sacked 13 times and is on pace for taking 52 sacks over the entire season, which would be the most he has endured in his four years in Kansas City. Granted, while some of these sacks have come from Smith holding the ball too long, the protection must be better.
Despite entering the bye with a 2-2 record, the Chiefs have an identity crisis on offense. Andy Reid appears to want to continue to dink and dunk his way down the field with screens and short passes with a mixture of deep passes every once in a while, but this has not worked for the team yet. The Chiefs are one of only two teams who have yet to score an offensive touchdown from outside of the red zone. If there is anything that clearly defines how non-explosive this offense is, that is it.
Bye Week Adjustments?
Moving forward, Reid will need to figure out a way to better utilize the weapons around Alex Smith, as well as try to keep him standing in the pocket. Maybe a 100 percent Jamaal Charles will provide a spark to the offense. Maybe Smith will start getting rid of the ball quicker and taking more shots down the field. Or maybe the season will be marred by a weak offense that causes a team with so much potential to miss the post-season.
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