A former Kansas City All-Pro lineman called the Chiefs’ offense ‘gross’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chiefs failed a key 4th-and-1 run, reigniting criticism of short-yard play calls.
- Former linemen Mitchell and Geoff Schwartz labeled the offense as ineffective.
- Late touchdown to Thornton offered hope, but Chiefs lost possession and the game.
The Chiefs made a bold decision on their first drive of the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Eagles at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Facing fourth-and-1 from their own 36-yard line (following three straight completions from quarterback Patrick Mahomes), the Chiefs handed off to Kareem Hunt and .... the play went nowhere.
Hunt actually lost a yard, and for Chiefs fans it was a case of déjà vu.
The Chiefs continue to struggle in short-yardage plays, and one former Chiefs All-Pro offensive lineman expressed his displeasure on social media.
“This offense is gross,” former Kansas City right tackle Mitchell Schwartz wrote on X.
Geoff Schwartz, another former Chiefs offensive lineman (and brother of Mitchell Schwartz), wrote this on X: “I’d much rather have Mahomes throw on 4th down than try getting Hunt across a formation on a wide zone handoff.”
Chiefs fans joined the brothers in lamenting the team’s inability to convert on a regular basis in short-yard situations.
The good news is the Chiefs did pick up a first down on a fourth-down run early in the fourth quarter as Hunt ran for 3 yards.
Schwartz liked that particular play-call and wrote: “If they could just line up and run that same Dive play every 3rd or 4th and 1 and maybe 1 or 2 play actions off of it the success rate would skyrocket”
Unfortunately for the Chiefs, disaster struck a short time later. They failed to score on that 14-play, 74-yard drive when a Mahomes pass went off the hands of Travis Kelce and was intercepted.
The Chiefs’ offense did show a spark late in the game, as Mahomes completed a 49-yard touchdown pass to Tyquan Thornton. But the Chiefs never got the ball back after that play and lost 20-17.
Don’t blame Matt Nagy
Schwartz posted a lengthy analysis of the Chiefs offense following the game.
“Let’s get this clear, it’s not Matt Nagy’s offense. It’s Andy Reid’s,” Schwartz wrote. “The offense has been declining since they lost the most explosive player in the NFL and replaced him with a revolving door of new guys and castoffs who vacillate between effective, extremely ineffective, and injured. That and a revamped OL that has had ups and downs the previous few years. Despite all that the team has been to 3 Super Bowls in 3 years and won 2. It’s not very pretty most of the time but it’s been good enough.
“Overall the resources, especially in the draft, have gone to the defense. And to the OL. Not to the skill positions. Losing (former Chiefs’ quarterbacks coach/pass game coordinator Mike) Kafka was a bigger loss than people realized too but we gotta stop with blaming Nagy every time the offense looks bad. He’s not stocking the WR room this way. The offense looks the same as the couple years before he came back, no? Just with way worse WRs and a changing defensive landscape designed at taking away explosives and muddying the waters for offenses. Nothing and no one is good enough right now, players to coaches, but please let’s stop acting like Nagy is the singular person to blame.”
This story was originally published September 14, 2025 at 7:11 PM.
