The reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are 8–5 and while they could be 12-1 if not for a myriad of things, the one that stands out is accountability or lack thereof. This season it’s been uncharacteristic drops by receivers 33 to be exact, misalignments, and running the wrong routes. As a result those mistakes have been the main reason for four of the team’s five losses this season by a combined 15 points.
A huge fixture in the area of making players accountable was former offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who left after last season’s Super Bowl run to become the offensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders. That move may not have left a void in the play-calling area, but it definitely hurt when it comes to keeping players on their toes in practice and in games. Bieniemy’s hard-nosed and intense approach was vital in K.C.’s becoming the standard franchise in the NFL the past five seasons.
Mahomes Laments Losing Bieniemy
Just days after his sideline blowup in a tough home loss to the Buffalo Bills, which he quickly apologized for the next day, Mahomes was talked about the team missing Bieniemy. During his weekly Wednesday presser the two-time league MVP and Super Bowl MVP mentioned how Bieniemy’s focus was on things of that nature and it kept everyone in line.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s a combination of a lot of guys,” Mahomes explained. “I think Coach Bieniemy set that standard when he was here. And I think you could set those lingering effects of the other coaches who have coached underneath EB [Bieniemy], and then Coach [Matt] Nagy.
New offensive coordinator Matt Nagy even chimed in on what Mahomes was spewing.
“I mean, I coached with EB, been an offensive coordinator, and QB coach last year. We hold each other accountable, the coaches hold us accountable. But obviously we’ve made some mistakes we don’t typically make, and we’re gonna try to correct as quickly as possible.”
Nagy saying they’re gonna try is a total different approach to what Bieniemy would say, and that type of accountability is sorely missed in K.C.
Chiefs Not Doing The Little Things This Season
K.C.’s offense has looked out of sync all season. When they aren’t dropping passes they’re being called for penalties. They rank 12th in the league with (83) accepted penalties, including a league-high 19 offensive holding penalties. That’s a direct result of the lack of attention to detail that Mahomes spoke of, and Bieniemy brought this during his time in Kansas City.
Mahomes is tied for fourth in the league with 11 interceptions. While some have come on tipped balls by receivers he’s also been erratic at times.
But, even with all that’s gone wrong, the Chiefs still have a path to securing home field throughout the AFC playoffs. Win out on games versus the Patriots, Raiders, Chargers and Bengals. Plus have the Baltimore Ravens drop two of their final four games, which is highly plausible with road games at Jacksonville and San Francisco and home games versus Miami and archrival Pittsburgh.
If not, it’ll be the first time in the postseason that Mahomes and company have had to play away from raucous Arrowhead Stadium come January.
