What went wrong on Chiefs’ sneak attempt vs. Saints? Here’s what coach Andy Reid saw
The Kansas City Chiefs played a single offensive drive with quarterback Patrick Mahomes during Sunday’s 26-24 preseason loss to the New Orleans Saints, and that one stalled because of the final play.
Facing a fourth-and-1, the Chiefs attempted a sneak with tight end Blake Bell, who was stuffed short as KC turned it over on downs.
After watching a replay, coach Andy Reid said the team’s offensive coaches quickly diagnosed what went wrong.
“We probably should’ve gone to the left and not the right. They (the Saints) ended up pinching on that side, the left side,” Reid said. “We probably could have gone that (other) direction.”
The video confirms Reid’s assertion. Saints defensive linemen Khalen Saunders and Nathan Shepherd pushed toward their left at the snap, overwhelming that part of the Chiefs’ offensive line to create the congestion needed to stop Bell short.
The Saints also had a huge advantage in Saunders, as he spent the last four years with the Chiefs before signing as a free agent with New Orleans in the offseason.
“Really, I felt like I saw a lot of plays that I’m used to seeing,” Saunders said after the game. “I was out there calling out some stuff and kind of cheating a little bit — but not cheating, because I know them.”
Reid still was adamant afterward about the Chiefs getting this matter fixed.
Though KC’s offense dominated nearly every statistical category in 2022, short-yardage situations were a notable exception. On third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 plays last season, the Chiefs earned first downs 44.4% of the time according to Stathead — a mark that ranked 30th out of 32 NFL teams.
“We’re trying to get where we can do that. And you can’t work on that during camp ‘live,’ so you get good work on it here,” Reid said. “And it didn’t work. So that was the bottom line. We’ve gotta go back to the drawing board on it.”
The Chiefs continue to look for creative ways to run sneaks without using their starting quarterback. That stems from a 2019 game at Denver, when Mahomes dislocated his kneecap in a freak injury that occurred as he was picking up a first down on a QB sneak attempt.
KC’s unsuccessful first drive Sunday afternoon was just part of a forgettable day for the Chiefs’ starters, as the Saints jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead.
“The 1s, we’ve gotta pick up the tempo there, both sides of the ball. Not good enough,” Reid said. “So we’ve got some things to work on there.”
