Can the Chiefs get the offense turned around? | KCSN Daily 11.10
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At the midway point of the 2023 NFL season, the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense is still figuring things out.
Typically by this point of the season, the offense is purring. This time around, it’s coughing up some hairballs.
“We’re gonna get this offense figured out, I promise you,” Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes said to NBC Sports’ Peter King after the Week 9 win over the Dolphins. “And we’ll be a hard team to beat.”
Mahomes elaborated during his postgame presser and explained exactly why he believes the offense can get things turned around.
“I think you can see it in spurts. You look at the first drive, the 90-yard drive that we had, you can see that we can do it. It’s just about being consistent every single drive. Obviously penalties, me not connecting on guys deep down the field hurt us. Luckily for us, our defense is playing their tail off and we got the win.”
It all starts with building consistency. In order to do that, the team needs to just keep working at it with each passing week. They’ll get some time off during the bye week, but the coaching staff will be hard at work to rectify issues from their vantage point. When the players return ahead of their rematch with the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11, that’s when the real work begins for the offense.
“I think all you can do is keep working,” Mahomes said. “That’s everything. It’s me with timing. It’s them just continuing to get catches as much as possible. Lucky for us, our defense is playing so good, so we are sitting here 7-2 going into the bye. We can get better as an offense. I think if the offense can get where it needs to be, I think we’ll be a hard team to beat.
The Best - The Chiefs’ offense is better than you think it is.
On the 59-yard fumble recovery touchdown
“[It] doesn’t get any better than that,” Chiefs HC Andy Reid exclaimed of the defensive touchdown in his postgame press conference.
Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie’s forced fumble on Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill and the ensuing recovery by Mike Edwards and pitch to Bryan Cook was a defining play in the game. For those players who lived out the moment, it was months and months of hard work and trust coming to fruition.
“Man, we were man-to-man,” McDuffie told reporters. “Honestly, it was pretty easy seeing that screen play develop. Lucky enough the play happened, made a play on it. Luckily there were guys on the back end.”
Edwards took us through the play and explained what exactly was going through his mind when he decided to pitch it.
“Yeah, once I got it, I felt [wide receiver] Tyreek [Hill] on my ankle, I was about to get tackled,” he said. “I was like, no, we got to do something else. I kind of looked back and I seen my boy BC [Bryan Cook]. I trusted him. You got to have trust to do some stuff like that. But I trusted him I pitched it back in, he did the rest.”
The last time that Cook scored a touchdown, he was playing for Howard in 2018. He knew that the moment that Edwards pitched him the football, he needed to bring out the speed and get it into the endzone. He did exactly that, hitting a top speed of 21.31 miles per hour, which is the fastest play by a ball carrier from Kansas City this season according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
“That’s a fastball,” Cook said. “I ran track in high school a little bit. Try to bring that out. Trust my guys, they gave me the ball, [I] gave it my best shot.”
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Former Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro linebacker Derrick Johnson and former Chiefs defensive tackle Mike DeVito sit down with Craig Stout to break down how the Chiefs’ defense dominated the No. 1 offense in the NFL, the Miami Dolphins.
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Former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Chase Daniel and Matt Hamilton break down three pivotal plays from the Chiefs Week 9 matchup vs. the Miami Dolphins. Later the guys look at what makes Andy Reid so good after the bye week.
Quick Hits:
The Athletic’s Nate Taylor takes a deep dive into the areas where the Chiefs’ offense needs improvement.
Sports Illustrated’s Jordan Foote encourages the Chiefs to find their ceiling during the bye week.
Rashee Rice’s postgame comments in Week 9 foreshadow exciting things in the future.
Picking MVPs for the Chiefs at the midseason point of the 2023 NFL season.
Chiefs legend Tony Gonzalez congratulates Travis Kelce on latest accolade.
A disappointing surprise for the Chiefs at the midseason mark.
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Nov. 20: NFL Week 11 - Chiefs vs. Eagles - Monday Night Football
Nov. 26: NFL Week 12 - Chiefs at Raiders