Have teams around the NFL finally figured out a way to slow down the explosive Kansas City Chiefs offense? After suffering a huge upset at the hands of the Denver Broncos in Week 8, losing 24-9, people are starting to wonder if the Chiefs have been made.
For as long as Patrick Mahomes has been the starting quarterback, Kansas City has been an unstoppable force offensively. Sure, there were a few hiccups along the way in singular games, as every team has an off day. But, something feels different about the group this year.
The Chiefs are still third in the NFL in yardage gained but are only 12th in points scored. That would be the lowest ranking for points scored in the Mahomes era and the third lowest since Andy Reid took over as head coach.
This season alone they have been held to 20 or fewer points four times, going 2-2 in those games. Mahomes still has some impressive statistics this season, but it is clear that the team has let him down when it comes to wide receiver talent.
That, in the opinion of Skip Bayless, is a big reason the Chiefs haven’t looked right thus far this season. In a segment of UNDISPUTED on FS1, Bayless shared his opinion of the offense, as they are over-reliant on Mahomes being Superman and veteran tight end Travis Kelce making a play.
There is certainly some truth to what Bayless is saying. After remaking the group following the Tyreek Hill trade last offseason, the Chiefs needed to do so again this offseason. Kansas City saw JuJu Smith-Schuster depart in free agency, which resulted in the wide receiver group being very young and inexperienced outside of Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
They had high hopes for Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney becoming regular contributors to the offense but that hasn’t happened yet. Those two have combined to catch 33 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns.
Moore and Toney have fallen woefully short of expectations, but the Chiefs have received strong contributions from rookie second-round pick, Rashee Rice. The SMU product has caught 30 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns, doing what he can to fill the void behind Kelce on his own as he is the team’s leading receiver, by a large margin.
Relying on a rookie to be the No. 1 wide receiver on a Super Bowl-contending team is certainly not easy. If the opportunity presents itself, it would not be surprising if the Chiefs looked to bring in an established veteran to help take pressure off of Kelce as the go-to target and provide Mahomes with another consistent wide receiver option beyond Rice and Valdes-Scantling.
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