Reviewing the Chiefs offense so far in 2020: Mahomes, Hill, Kelce and the running game
Here’s a look back at how the Chiefs offensive position groups contributed to the team’s 8-1 record in the first half of the 2020 regular season:
OFFENSE
Notable league rankings, via NFL GSIS and Sportradar:
- Total yards (net) per game: 4th (409.0)
- Net passing yards per game: 2nd (295.3)
- Rushing yards per game: 15th (113.7)
- Total first downs: 4th (213)
- Third-down pct.: 4th (50.0)
- Red-zone TD pct.: 10th (65.7)
- Time of possession per game: 18th (29:48)
- Average starting field position after kickoff: 2nd (28.2)
- Big plays (20-plus yards): 1st (43)
- Big-play (20-plus yards) touchdowns: T-2nd (9)
- Points per game: 2nd (31.8)
- Giveaways: 3rd (6)
QUARTERBACKS
When the Chiefs’ megastar quarterback has thrown two underhanded passes for touchdowns or threw another while going in motion in 2020, what else is there to really say?
OK, simply put: Patrick Mahomes continues to raise the bar on playing the position and make his case for a second career NFL MVP award.
With Mahomes running one of the NFL’s top offensive units, the Chiefs rank first in big plays, defined as 20 yards or more, and the unit’s nine big-play touchdowns is tied for second-most in the league.
On the season, Mahomes has completed 220 of 329 passes for 2,687 yards and 25 touchdowns against just one interception. He currently ranks second in the league in yards passing, second in touchdown passes and third among starting quarterbacks with a 115.9 passer rating.
Mahomes, who was chosen the AFC Offensive Player of the Week in Weeks 3 and 8, also continues to rewrite the NFL’s record book this season.
In Week 3, the fourth-year pro became the fastest player to record 10,000 career yards passing, a feat he accomplished in just 34 games. In Week 9, Mahomes’ four touchdown passes gave him 101 in 38 career games, making him the fastest signal-caller in league history to top 100 and breaking Hall of Famer Dan Marino’s previous mark of 44 games.
Veteran Chad Henne, who serves as Mahomes’ backup, completed 5 of 6 passes for 30 yards in late-game relief duty. Henne also recorded a rushing touchdown.
The Chiefs currently have veteran Matt Moore on the practice squad.
RUNNING BACKS
Rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Le’Veon Bell, Darrel Williams and Darwin Thompson anchor a running game ranked 15th in the league.
Edwards-Helaire, the Chiefs’ first-round pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, leads the team in rushing with 586 yards, which also ranks as the fourth-most yards rushing in the league. The rookie running back found the end zone three times in 2020, two on the ground, and also has 28 catches for 224 yards.
The Chiefs added Bell in Week 7 as complementary piece to Edwards-Helaire. In three games with the Chiefs, Bell has rushed for 54 yards on 16 carries and added four catches for 26 yards.
Williams has rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown on 20 catches in a third-down role, while Thompson’s contributions come mostly on special teams.
In Week 3, fullback Anthony Sherman was on the receiving end of one of Mahomes’ underhanded touchdown passes in a play called “Smoked Sausage.” Sherman missed three games while spending time on the reserve/COVID-19 list after being exposed to someone who tested positive.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Tyreek Hill leads the wide receiver group with 44 catches for 650 yards and a team-high nine touchdowns, which also leads all wide receivers in the NFL. The explosive Hill also has 62 yards rushing and a touchdown on eight carries.
The Chiefs have been without Sammy Watkins since he suffered a hamstring injury in Week 5. Before Watkins went down, he had 21 catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns in five games.
Others have stepped up in Watkins’ place.
Mecole Hardman enters the bye third on the team in yards receiving (395) and he found the end zone three times. Demarcus Robinson has 21 catches for 220 yards and two touchdowns, while Byron Pringle produced clutch catches on offense and exploded with a 102-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in Week 7.
The Chiefs have utilized the practice squad to compensate the absence of Watkins by rotating an elevation between wide receivers Marcus Kemp and Gehrig Dieter. Both players mostly helped out on special teams as the fifth receiver.
TIGHT ENDS
With 769 yards receiving on the season, Travis Kelce is well on his way to a fifth consecutive 1,000-yard campaign and likely a third career All-Pro selection. His 769 yards ranks as the third-most in the league behind wide receivers Stefon Diggs (813) and DK Metcalf (788).
Kelce’s 159 yards in Week 9 marked his 22nd career 100-yard receiving game, which is the second-most in team history. He also has recorded a catch in 104 straight games, which is the fifth-longest active streak in the NFL.
Nick Keizer, Deon Yelder and Ricky Seals-Jones round out the tight ends group.
Keizer, who has four catches for 43 yards, sees the most action as the complementary blocking piece to Kelce’s receiving in the Chiefs’ 12-personnel package (one running back, two tight ends).
Seals-Jones, who signed as a free agent during the offseason, has been invisible this season, appearing in just one game while being a healthy inactive the other eight contests.
OFFENSIVE LINE
The Chiefs opened the season with tackles Eric Fisher and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, guards Kelechi Osemele and Andrew Wylie, and center Austin Reiter.
Injuries, however, have prompted shuffling along the front five.
In Week 5, Osemele suffered torn tendons in both knees and was lost for the season. The Chiefs turned to Mike Remmers to fill in at left guard before he was forced to move to right tackle in Week 6 after Schwartz left the game with a back injury. Schwartz hasn’t played or practiced since.
To fill left guard, the Chiefs turned to second-year pro Nick Allegreti, who has started the past three games.
At center, Reiter dealt with a sore knee early in the season, prompting the Chiefs to give veteran Daniel Kilgore three straight starts before Reiter returned to the starting rotation in Week 8.
The Chiefs have rookie Yasir Durant on the 53-player roster and have utilized a weekly rotation of elevating guard Danny Isidora and Bryan Witzmann from the practice squad to the active roster for game-day depth purposes.
While the Chiefs have been forced to adapt to injuries to the front five, the team showed their willingness to get creative with the offensive line.
Fisher caught his first-career touchdown pass in Week 3 in a trick play the Chiefs called “Catch and Release.”
Remmers might have been on the receiving end of a called play inside the 5-yard line in Week 9, but a Panthers defensive player saw it coming and held Remmers coming off the line of scrimmage.
