The Kansas City Chiefs Shouldn’t Panic but Cause for Concern Is There

The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off of a loss to the Denver Broncos, something that hasn’t happened in years. This team, especially the offense, has been questioned but because of the wins, it was hard to argue things weren’t going well. The loss to the Broncos went beyond a simple number in the loss column. The offense didn’t score a touchdown against one of the worst defenses in the league. The Kansas City Chiefs shouldn’t panic but there is some cause for concern.

Kansas City Chiefs Offensive Rankings

Let’s start with the reasons not to panic. It has been well-documented that offense has been down leaguewide. Part of the reason that this offense feels off is because it isn’t generating the numbers it has in the past. No one is. The Chiefs are 12th in points per game and 3rd in offensive yards per game. Their EPA per play, dropback EPA, dropback success rate, first downs per game, and third down conversion rate are all in the top half of the league comfortably. By all the league metrics, the offense is fine but then you watch it and something just feels off.

Kansas City Chiefs Offensive Issues

The offensive issues come down to a couple of things, reliability at pass-catcher and quarterback play. Travis Kelce we will not question. You can show me all of the stats of Taylor Swift in attendance versus not and it means nothing to me. Kelce is the best tight end in the league. The rest of the pass-catching group has been anything but reliable. Kadarius Toney has to be directed by Patrick Mahomes often. Skyy Moore looks lost in his second year. The most reliable target has been rookie Rashee Rice but he’s still adjusting to the NFL. Mahomes is amazing but at some point they need someone besides Kelce to become a reliable target.

The quarterback play conversation is hard to have. It’s Mahomes who has won two Super Bowls and shown he can make those around him better. However, he hasn’t played up to his standard. The Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia pointed this stat out on social media. Sunday’s game was the lowest EPA per drive in the Patrick Mahomes era. This season has seen 5 games this season that rank 80th or lower among Mahomes’ 102 starts. Mahomes’ bad is still considered pretty good but this is concerning.

Big Tests Coming Up

One of the reasons the Kansas City Chiefs have been able to mask the issues is they haven’t played many good teams. Their best win is likely against the Jaguars but they were only able to muster up 17 points. Coming up they have matchups against the Dolphins, Eagles, Bills, Bengals, and Chargers. These are not teams that the offense will be able to mess around with. The Dolphins and Eagles especially have high-powered offenses that Mahomes and the offense will need to match. They see them in the next two games with a bye week in between.

Concern But Not Panic

The two losses the Kansas City Chiefs have can be explained away. In week 1, the loss to the Lions was a game where they didn’t have Travis Kelce. In the loss the the Broncos, Mahomes was dealing with an illness and might have not been himself. I could look very silly writing an article questioning the offense and in a couple of months Mahomes is lifting the Lombardy trophy again. However, this offense looks different in 2023 and while we shouldn’t panic, it is something to watch.