Chiefs had a midseason emphasis, Andy Reid says. It paid off big in playoff win
Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid said his staff had an offensive emphasis midway through the season — and one that paid off at the most critical of times during the AFC Divisional Round.
The Chiefs, for a stretch, struggled with their opening drives of the second half. In fact, starting with Week 5 against New Orleans, KC failed to score on its initial drive then for six straight games.
“That’s something we’ve worked on here this season,” Reid said Monday. “We weren’t very good at that the beginning of the season, and we tried to really focus in on that.”
Reid said the Chiefs emphasized coaching points like staying tuned into the game and remaining warm and loose on the sideline.
KC passed its greatest test in that regard during Saturday’s 23-14 home playoff win against the Houston Texans.
Houston closed out the first half with a four-minute, 20-second scoring possession before Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes took a kneel-down to send it to halftime. Then, out of the break, the Texans put together a 15-play, 82-yard scoring drive while taking 10:24 off the clock.
KC’s cold offense — leading just 13-12 — responded as well as Reid could’ve hoped. The Chiefs followed with a 13-play, 81-yard touchdown march, capped in the fourth quarter by a touchdown pass from Mahomes to tight end Travis Kelce.
“The guys, they kept themselves ready to go,” Reid said.
The Chiefs’ season-long numbers — after the early drought — ended up mixed in these start-of-second-half scenarios.
KC scored on its first four second-half possessions of the season before going scoreless over the next six weeks; after that, the Chiefs had two touchdowns, two field goals and three punts in that setting.
That was before Saturday’s all-important situation, when Reid saw his offensive guys “have a purpose” when they got their first opportunity after halftime.
“I’m glad we were able to put it together,” Reid said. “I appreciate the focus that went into it.”
