Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs Losing Strategy

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:31 p.m. ET

Fansided, Lyle Graversen/FanSided via Arrowhead Addict

The Kansas City Chiefs lost one of the most frustrating, maddening, irritating, and disappointing games that I can ever remember on Sunday when former Chief Ryan Succop hit a game winning field goal as time expired to give the Tennessee Titans a 19-17 victory at Arrowhead. There are a number of reasons this game was so upsetting. There’s the fact that the Chiefs wasted an early lead. There’s the fact that they won the turnover battle but didn’t take advantage of it. There’s the fact that they stopped the Titans on a two point conversion with only minutes remaining but still gave them the ball back with time to win the game. There was Alex Smith’s mind boggling interception in the end zone. There was Andy Reid’s time out on Succop’s first kick (which he missed) that cost KC the win. Take your pick on which of these was at the top on your list of things that made you pull your hair out.

While I was enraged, befuddled, flabbergasted, and exasperated by all of the things I mentioned above, I don’t believe any of them are the most worrisome or the biggest reason that the Chiefs lost the game.

I know what some of you are thinking. It is either…

“How can Alex Smith’s interception not be the biggest thing that lost them the game? Even if they just kick a field goal there they still win!”

Or……

“How can Andy Reid’s time out not be the biggest thing that lost them the game? If he doesn’t do it they win. Period!”

You can isolate both of those individual actions as the two biggest moments that cost the Chiefs the game. I won’t argue that. However, I will argue that neither of those two mistakes should have mattered. Players and coaches make mistakes. The best ones make fewer than the rest, but they ALL make mistakes. I hated those mistakes, but the Chiefs should have been in a position to overcome both of them. The problem with this loss and the thing that worries me more going forward is not those two mistakes but the losing strategy in this game that put the Chiefs in a position where a couple of mistakes like that could cost them the game.

That losing strategy is simply this…

The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t utilize their best offensive players.

Dec 18, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) carries the ball past Tennessee Titans cornerback LeShaun Sims (36) to score a touchdown during the first half at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas City Chiefs have two of the most talented and dynamic offensive playmakers in all of the NFL in Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill. I don’t think you can debate this. Travis Kelce leads all NFL tight ends in both receptions and yards. He is averaging 13.1 yards per reception. So he is averaging a first down every time he touches the ball. He has shown the ability to be a mismatch for any type of defender that a team puts on him (linebacker, safety, or cornerback). With Rob Gronkowski out with an injury I don’t know if anyone would argue with the statement that Kelce is now the most dangerous tight end in the NFL.

Then there is Tyreek Hill….

The Chiefs dynamic rookie has proven to be a threat every time he touches the ball. He has scored on pass receptions, rushing carries, kick returns and punt returns. He is literally the fastest man in the NFL and is averaging 9.9 yards per touch on offense. That means that every time he touches the ball regardless of if it is a rush or reception he averages just about a first down. His eight offensive touchdowns leads the team.

The Kansas City Chiefs offense as a whole hasn’t been very dynamic, but these two have been and that is why it is crucial that they be at the center of every offensive game plan that the Chiefs put together. On Sunday, on a day where the offense was sputtering these two players combined for just FOUR TOUCHES. That is inexcusable and I will argue until I am blue in the face that that is the number one reason the Chiefs lost to the Titans.

In Kansas City’s three previous wins over playoff caliber teams Kelce and Hill averaged a combined 15 touches per game. For that number to drop all the way to four is inexcusable. Especially since the few times they touched the ball they were productive. Here are some numbers that will make your head explode.

On Kelce and Hill’s four combined touches the Chiefs averaged 27.25 yards per play.

On KC’s other 53 offensive plays they averaged 3.92 yards per play.

The Chiefs simply don’t have enough play makers on their roster to ignore their two best. The only other player I would argue is worthy of being included with them is Jeremy Maclin. Maclin had a good game with six receptions for 82 yards. So let’s combine his numbers with Hill and Kelce’s to see the difference when KC gets the ball to their best players compared to when they do not.

On the ten plays where Maclin, Kelce, and Hill got the ball in their hands the Chiefs averaged 19.1 yards per play.

On the 47 plays where those three didn’t get the ball the Chiefs averaged 2.68 yards per play.

Now to be fair, a few of those 47 plays were incomplete passes that were intended for one of KC’s top playmakers. So let’s take incomplete passes out of the equation all together and see how those numbers look.

On the 33 plays where any other offensive player than Maclin, Kelce, or Hill got the ball in their hands the Chiefs averaged 3.9 yards per play.

So the Chiefs gave the ball to the players that were averaging 19.1 yards per play 10 times and gave the ball to the players that were averaging 3.9 yards per play 33 times.

That is why the Chiefs lost to the Tennessee Titans.

Aug 27, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith (11) talks with head coach Andy Reid during a time out during the first half of the preseason game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

We could probably spend hours debating who is most at fault for not getting the Chiefs best players involved. Alex Smith’s biggest detractors will say that he doesn’t do a good enough job getting them the ball. Andy Reid’s biggest critics will say that he overthinks his play calls too much and doesn’t do a good enough job of calling plays to get these players the ball. I probably lean more towards blaming Reid myself, but I think if we are being fair we can all agree that both men are at least partially to blame regardless of which deserves a bigger percentage.

If the Chiefs want a chance to compete for a Super Bowl they can’t do it without Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill being major contributors on offense. Period. The Chiefs offense should be centered around distributing the ball to those two and Jeremy Maclin with enough carries for Spencer Ware to keep the defense on their toes. While Ware wasn’t impressive on Sunday, I would argue that his 18 carries for 70 yards is perfectly fine if Kelce and Hill get a combined 15 touches like they had in KC’s previous three wins. When those two only get four touches suddenly that 18 carry, 70 yard stat line becomes problematic.

I’ll go as far as to say that I was no less confident that the Chiefs would win the game when KC got that stop on the two point conversion than I would have been had Tennessee made it. While that sounds crazy, the fact is that when KC made that stop we all knew they would be conservative with the football and that means little to no Maclin, Kelce, or Hill. Had the Titans made the two point conversion KC would have been forced to try to move the ball down the field and that means using their best weapons. The Chiefs have repeatedly been successful doing this throughout the season. That’s why their late game drives have been so good compared to the rest of their offensive production. They have no choice but to go to their best players and the results speak for themselves.

Andy Reid is a mastermind when it comes to designing plays to attack the other team’s defense and Alex Smith can efficiently distribute the ball to his best playmakers. We’ve seen them both thrive at doing this at times during this season. The problem is that both men tend to overthink things. While NFL football can be complex it can also be very simple sometimes. Getting the ball to your best players is one of those simple concepts that doesn’t need to be over thought. If Andy Reid and Alex Smith had focused on doing that against the Titans I am confident that the Chiefs would have won that game. I sure hope they realize this and don’t make the same mistake again. The fact that they did it on Sunday may have cost them the division. Who knows what it will cost them if it happens again?

So what do you think Addicts? Do you agree that the lack of touches for Kelce and Hill on offense is what ultimately lost the Chiefs this football game? Are you more upset about the individual mistakes that Smith and Reid made? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!