After just over a quarter on Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs found themselves down 14-0 to the Las Vegas Raiders.
That’s when superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes took over and righted the ship as the Chiefs went on to outscore the Raiders 31-3, ultimately resulting in a 31-17 road win.
Mahomes’ performance further proved why he’s widely considered the game’s best QB. The former Texas Tech standout went 27 of 34 for 298 yards and two touchdowns.
The comeback win was the type of offensive effort the Chiefs have been looking for all season. While it was a feel-good moment, there are still some glaring issues with K.C.’s offense.
Kansas City Chiefs Offense Still Shaky
Beating a mediocre Raiders team still reeling from the firing of head coach Josh McDaniels, doesn’t quell all the problems the offense has experienced in 2023.
The most concerning issue has been the receivers dropping balls. KC entered Sunday’s game with a league-leading 26.
In his postgame interview Mahomes addressed the elephant in the room.
“We’ve shown we can move the ball, but turnovers and drops and me not getting it to the right guy at the right time has limited us offensively,” Mahomes said.
For one week that issue seemed to be solved, but an even bigger issue is the loss of former offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who during his time in KC played a huge role in holding players accountable and making huge adjustments when the offense was sputtering.
Bieniemy Is Sorely Missed
Bieniemy, who’s now the offensive coordinator and first time play caller for the Washington Commanders was head coach Andy Reid’s right-hand man and day-to-day leader.
Bieniemy wasn’t considered the main play-caller, but he designed the offensive game plans and worked most closely with Mahomes.
In five seasons under Bieniemy, the Chiefs finished in the top three in total offense four times, including No.1 last season. This year they’re currently 8th.
This season they also rank dead last in second half points (5.3). A huge drop from the 13.3 second half points they averaged with Bieniemy as OC.
Huge when you consider their three losses have come as a direct result of their lack of second half offensive production.
Bieniemy Has Immediately Improved Washington Offense
With Bieniemy’s arrival in Washington, the Commanders’ offense has soared from 17th in second half scoring to 11th at (11.8).
Unheralded QB Sam Howell leads the NFL in passing yardage (3,339), another indication of how influential Bieniemy’s offensive schemes are.
The Commanders, a team that finished 24th in offensive ranking in 2022, are currently ranked 15th overall under EB.
Bieniemy’s strengths are exactly what seems to be ailing the K.C offense; holding players accountable, like when wide receiver Marques Valdez-Scantling dropped the game-winning touchdown during last Monday night’s (21-17) home loss to the Eagles.
Drops, shabby route running and everything else in between would be chastised by EB, who even called out the aforementioned Mahomes on many occasions.
In-Game Adjustments Aren’t The Same Without EB
Bieniemy was responsible for a lot of KC’s in-game adjustments, none bigger than his two play calls in last season’s Super Bowl that resulted in two 1-yard touchdown passes by Mahomes.
The football world had no idea about the level of responsibility Bieniemy had with KC until Reid mentioned that it was nothing new for Bieniemy to help make key adjustments even if he wasn’t calling plays.
Those are things that a Chiefs’ offense which relies heavily on timing and execution misses dearly, and with things teetering a bit on Sunday, Mahomes took matters into his own hands.
Prior to Sunday, K.C. ranked dead last in points per game in the second half at 5.3. Sunday’s 17-point half should help that meager average.
