The Kansas City Chiefs rely upon passing plays. Through the initial five weeks of the period, Kansas City passed the ball on 60% of their offensive snaps. In any case, things changed on Monday against the Buffalo Bills. Unexpectedly throughout the season, the Chiefs not just ran the ball fundamentally more than they passed it, they add more than turned around their season average, running the ball on 63% of their offensive plays.
Was it part of the game plan in light of the consistent rain in Buffalo on Monday evening and night? Was it in view of the adjustments in the offensive line that started by supplanting focus Austin Reiter with veteran Daniel Kilgore? Was it since that is exactly how the game played out?
“This is me talking,” said Chiefs head coach Andy Reid after the game, “so I didn’t think I gave the guys enough of a chance last week with it — especially in the second half.”
Reid was alluding to the Week 5 game against the Las Vegas Raiders, in which the Chiefs ran the ball at the most reduced pace of the period: simply 30%.
“So, we wanted to make sure — you know, we’re best when we have some kind of a balance going,” continued Reid. “When you can go back and forth, it puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the defense. So, we were able to do both, and we felt like we needed both in this game.”
However, it additionally gives the idea that probably a portion of the run-substantial game content happened basically on the grounds that it was working.
“Obviously we had a few more pass plays called,” said quarterback Patrick Mahomes, “I mean, we always do — but once we saw how deep their linebackers, safeties and corners were playing, we knew that we had the run game.”
Mahomes told correspondents it required some change on his part.
“It was definitely different,” he said. “I had a few of the RPOs called — and I had to keep telling myself not to throw it and just keep handing the thing off. Clyde Edwards-Helaire was running well, [the] o-Line was blocking well — and I just want to win. I don’t care how that’s done. Pass, run, defense — whatever [it] is — and we found a way to do that.”
As the game played out, it helped him to remember something.
“Kind of takes me back to my college days at Texas Tech,” he recalled, “where we’re getting like drop eight — and linebackers are six, seven yards deep. If teams are going to do that, [we’ve] got to run the football until they come up — and when they come up, we’ll throw the football again. We’re a well-versatile offense that can do it all — and so we’re going to prove that week to week.”
