The Kansas City Chiefs’ failures this season can all be traced back to opening day on September 7. That’s when the Chiefs suffered a stunning 26-10 home loss to the Tennessee Titans, which finished 2-14 this year. On a promising sun splashed day at jam packed Arrowhead Stadium the Chiefs gave a preview of what they season would be like when they lost to the worst team in football.
Kansas City went on to finish 9-7 after Sunday’s home win over the San Diego Chargers, but they were unable to claw their way back in to the AFC playoffs. It will go down as a season of regret.
The Little Things and What Ifs
The loss to the Titans proved to be catastrophic but there were other near misses. Kansas City showed up to Oakland unprepared and unready on November 20 against a then winless Raiders team and suffered a costly 24-20 loss in the rain and slop of the mostly empty O.co Coliseum. The Chiefs self-destructed in a sloppy 17-14 loss at Arizona on December 7. Kansas City’s 20-12 loss at Pittsburgh on December 21 was an exercise in frustration in which the Chiefs were 0-4 in red zone efficiency. Any one of those losses could have easily been the win that got them into the playoffs.
Toe-to-Toe with the Best
What is most disappointing to Chiefs fans is that Kansas City proved it could play with the best teams in the NFL. Their 41-14 annihilation of the New England Patriots at Arrowhead on Monday Night Football was perhaps the high point of the season for the Chiefs on September 29. The Chiefs also beat the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks 24-20 in November. The one elite team that still handles the Chiefs are the AFC West division champion Denver Broncos. Denver swept the season series against the Chiefs that included a 29-16 win at Arrowhead.
Offensive Woes
The main culprit for the 2014 Kansas City Chiefs’ woes was an offense that ranked 25th overall in the NFL and 29th for passing yardage. The mediocre offense wasted the efforts of a defense that ranked seventh overall and second for points allowed. Although QB Alex Smith had a respectable 93.4 QB rating with a tidy 18-6 TD-INT ratio, he averaged only 7.0 yards per pass attempt. The Chiefs lack of a big play receiver proved to be costly. Their top two receivers, TE Travis Kelce and WR Dwayne Bowe, each averaged below 13 yards per catch. The Chiefs wide receiver corps did not catch a single TD pass all season, which is the ultimate indictment of their problems at that position. Obtaining a breakout receiver will be priority one for KC this offseason.
The one bright spot for 2014 was RB Jamaal Charles, who rushed for 1033 yards, 5.0 yards per carry, and nine TDs. It was the third consecutive 1,000-plus yard season for Charles and the fifth out of his last six seasons. Charles was also a valuable receiver with 40 catches this year with five TDs.
Dominant Defense
The Chiefs defense was the anchor of the team and the thing that kept them in the playoff race all the way to the end. Linebacker Justin Houston set the franchise record for sacks with 22 this season, which was just half a sack shy of Michael Strahan’s NFL record that was set in 2001. Houston is now being mentioned in the same breath as franchise great and NFL Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas and in fact is a more complete player that can also play the run effectively. Houston is one of the hardest workers on the team and should be getting a huge payday in the area of $13 million per year now that his rookie contract is finished.
A new Reid on Chiefs
Just two years ago the Chiefs were coming off the worst season in their history and facing a fan base that was disgusted and in open rebellion. Ticket sales were falling like a rock and there was turmoil and chaos within the organization. Owner Clarke Hunt flipped all of that with the hiring of head coach Andy Reid. After two years on the job Reid has restored the faith of the Chiefs passionate fan base and given the franchise hard earned credibility as a solid AFC contender. There should still be plenty of upside for this team under Reid.
