Andy Reid After Chiefs’ Complete Game: ‘We Needed That'
All season long, the Kansas City Chiefs have talked about how despite their success, they were still searching for a complete game that allowed all three sides of the ball to shine. In Saturday's regular-season finale against the Las Vegas Raiders, they were able to accomplish what they'd been setting out to do in more ways than one.
More important than logging a thorough beginning-to-end victory that got just about everyone involved, Kansas City's Week 18 victory secured a first-round bye and the AFC's one-seed for the upcoming playoffs. A 31-13 blowout didn't necessarily require a quality performance from the offense, defense and special teams, yet managing to piece one of those outings together is still critical. Combining the two together is even better, and head coach Andy Reid tipped his cap to his team after the game.
"Our guys did a good job," Reid said. "We needed to get the three phases working together, and I thought the guys did that. All three phases showed up and did a nice job."
Offensively, Kansas City gained 349 total net yards and averaged 6.2 yards per play. That figure was 8.4 in the first half, primarily when the game's ultimate outcome was still somewhat in question. All three of the team's active running backs scored on game day, helping pave the way for an average yards-per-drive figure of greater than three. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed 14 of his 17 first-half pass attempts and posted a stellar 105.0 quarterback rating for his efforts in his final regular-season outing. Eight different receivers caught passes from Mahomes, including three different tight ends and four wideouts with running back Jerick McKinnon mixed in.
The Chiefs' offensive chemistry has been a work-in-progress effort dating back to the offseason. As soon as general manager Brett Veach made the decision to trade wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins, the pressure was on Mahomes to take the next steps in maturing as both a leader and a football player. Part of that included hosting his pass-catchers for workouts early in the offseason program, which was one of a few things Reid credited as reasons why the Chiefs had a 14-win season after being expected to fall off at least a bit.
"It started with Pat taking in the guys in the receiving corps," Reid said. "He had a bunch of new guys that he was going to have to deal with in just a split second and with accuracy, and he was able to do that and get them on the same page. Defensively, with all the young guys that Brett brought in, not only were they tremendous players but they worked like crazy to step up and do the job that they did. Particularly in the secondary, every week they got a little bit better. My hat goes off to the coaches. Coaches worked hard, players worked hard. Good things have happened, and we still have some games left here."
Getting back to Saturday's win, Steve Spagnuolo's defense played a big role in bringing home the victory. Kansas City's defense held Las Vegas to just 279 total net yards and 4.2 yards per play on the afternoon. Raiders quarterback Jarrett Stidham was under constant duress and got sacked six times before the game ended. Star running back Josh Jacobs ran the ball 17 times but got just 45 yards (a 2.6 yards-per-carry average). The Chiefs' armor has had its fair share of chinks in 2022-23, but Saturday's showing was promising.
On special teams, kicker Harrison Butker nailed his only field goal attempt and the kickoff teams did well on both sides. Punter Tommy Townsend once again cemented his status as one of the best in the league, assisted by well-timed and well-executed downs by defensive backs Chris Lammons and Nazeeh Johnson. Toub's unit is easily the biggest weakness on the team, yet it was a strength in the final regular-season game. As the playoffs approach, this mix of proficiency on all sides will need to continue being the case. If you ask Reid, he'll say the same thing.
"We needed that," Reid said. "We really hadn't put it all together. I thought this was a good time — if I had to pick a time to do it, this was a good time to do it. We strive for it every week, but it seemed like it all kind of came together today, which is a plus."
