Henry McKenna
NFL reporter
Have you been being attentive to the Kansas City Chiefs?
How… Truly paying consideration?
In the ultimate important weeks of the common season, they weren’t the center guys. Yes, they’d an ulcer-inducing one-score successful streak. They had a repute for letting themselves go to the restrict. But Kansas City hasn’t needed to stress as a lot in current victories. In Week 15, they’d a two landing lead over the Browns. They managed an eight-point win over the Houston Texans in Week 16, however had been by no means shut. And in Week 17, the Chiefs completely beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 29-10.
The distinction is made by Kansas City’s assault, which is progressively turning into more healthy and extra assured.
In Week 17, the ultimate week by which all starters performed, Patrick Mahomes accomplished 76.3 % of his passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns. It was his most full efficiency of the yr, partly due to the diploma of problem (in opposition to the Steelers) but additionally due to the breadth of expertise (and scheme) he maximized. He accomplished eight totally different cross catchers. None topped 100 yards, however seven of them had two or extra catches. It was a easy operation.
“This is what you wish to do,” Mahomes mentioned after the sport when requested if the Chiefs had been peaking on the proper time. “Obviously, we really feel like we are able to proceed to get higher and higher. But clearly we’re taking part in, particularly offensively, our greatest soccer on the finish of the yr. … This will not be the tip. This is just the start.”
But let’s be clear: This yr has been a grind for Mahomes.
Kansas City’s preseason plan fell aside early.
When I noticed the Chiefs in coaching camp, they’d a four-pronged offense.
1) Pass the ball to working again Isiah Pacheco.
2) Let Travis Kelce tear up the center of the sphere.
3) Have Rashee Rice function a possession receiver.
4) Create openings for Hollywood Brown and Xavier Worthy to assault exterior the numbers, ideally (however not solely) deep.
One may argue that they by no means made it previous step one.
Rice suffered a season-ending knee damage in September.
Brown returned in Week 17 from a shoulder joint damage sustained within the preseason.
Worthy initially appeared overwhelmed by the offense.
Pacheco missed 9 video games with a damaged leg.
Kelce, who has made 97 receptions for 823 yards and three touchdowns this yr, additionally admitted he is not working as traditional.
“What I’m most pleased with is as soon as we get in that pink zone, man,” Kelce mentioned Dec. 4 on the “New Heights” podcast. “I get just a little hungrier. Right now, for no matter cause this yr, I simply can’t discover my manner into the tip zone. I’m simply not on the identical web page as Pat. It can get irritating. It might be f– — irritating. That’s for rattling certain.”
Overall, the Chiefs have needed to formulate a brand new plan for his or her offense this season. And it has remodeled, many instances.
Between the absences and struggles of their key gamers, Mahomes labored on tight finish Noah Gray, working again Kareem Hunt and wideout Justin Watson. The Chiefs additionally traded for veteran DeAndre Hopkins, whose certain arms have been a transparent reduction for the offense.
That mixture did not lay completely new groundwork. It was truly an adjustment to Kelce’s position that helped considerably, with the tight finish turning into established as a checkdown choice. He’s catching plenty of balls, nevertheless it’s nearly an extension of the working recreation (or, no less than, the display screen recreation), given the proximity of his targets to the road of scrimmage. Hopkins took over a few of Rice’s possession position. It was one thing. But the Chiefs weren’t there but.
If there was an indication that the tides had been altering round Mahomes & Co., it was Worthy. In the second half of the season, the rookie wideout appeared to search out some readability.
Is Kansas City’s offense again in kind?
He has by no means topped 100 yards, however has made 5 or extra receptions in his final 5 video games. And he had receiving touchdowns in Week 16 and Week 17 and a speeding landing in Week 15.
“You can really feel it once you watch the tape. Now, unexpectedly, you naturally see extra targets, you see extra touches, you see extra manufacturing,” offensive coordinator Matt Nagy mentioned in December. “That’s precisely what occurred with Rashee, and I’m telling you, it is loopy how comparable it’s. And it is thrilling since you see what Rashee did early (this season), and I believe that is the trail for this child.”
Rice was one of many workforce’s most dependable offensive gamers throughout Kansas City’s Super Bowl run final yr, with 26 receptions, 262 yards and a landing in 4 postseason video games. So if Worthy is in retailer for that kind of position, the Chiefs will probably be thrilled.
Brown’s return was equally encouraging.
“It’s like holding a horse again,” Reid mentioned in December when requested if he would maintain Brown off the sphere whereas he recovers from the damage. “Man, he needs to return again each time we take him out, which is an efficient factor. He’s bought an important perspective.”
Brown impressed the Chiefs in camp when he stunned Mahomes with effectiveness on a various set of routes. Hollywood posed a deep menace, however there have been different nuances to his recreation than his searing velocity. We noticed this in Week 17, when he attacked the perimeter with out making an enormous play. But it is no coincidence that Watson’s 49-yard reception, the third-longest reception for the Chiefs this season, it came with both Worthy and Brown on the field.
The plan is not all that totally different from the place they began. It took your complete common season to get there. And there are some modifications.
1) Pass the ball to Pacheco and Hunt. (And remember Samaje Perine within the on-screen recreation.)
2) Let Kelce rip the quick half.
3) Have Hopkins transfer the chains.
4) Plan your performs to get Horizontal Worthy.
5) Get Hollywood vertical.
Now, we have not gotten into the offensive line but, which has been our drawback. Notably, the Chiefs’ plans for left sort out additionally fell aside. To begin, they chose sort out Kingsley Suamataia within the second spherical. He misplaced his job after some poor performances, and his substitute, Wanya Morris, was simply as unhealthy, if not worse. Kansas City moved guard Joe Thuney to left sort out, and he was effective, however his substitute was additionally effective, which meant the Chiefs had been weakening two positions (and your complete left facet) moderately than one.
But, again within the second half, the Chiefs signed DJ Humphries to take over that position. And though he’s recovering from a hamstring damage, he returned to the lineup in Week 18.
The Chiefs wish to do a three-peat. And it was laborious to doubt Mahomes, regardless of the offensive inefficiencies. But given the way in which the workforce was constructed halfway by the season, it might have been All on Mahomes getting one other Lombardi Trophy for his offense. Now, there’s a ability on each unit (together with particular groups) that resembles a watertight championship workforce.
Kansas City by no means bought out of it. The Chiefs went 15-2 for a cause. But they appeared weaker than their file confirmed. You may see it within the Week 11 loss to the Buffalo Bills. You may see it of their slim win earlier within the season over the Baltimore Ravens – and in slim victories over nearly each playoff workforce. We requested ourselves: Can the Chiefs actually do that for 3 straight postseason video games?
Now, it seems to be like they will not have to do this anymore.
Before becoming a member of FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years overlaying the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.
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