The Chiefs aren't running the ball well. Is it a problem?

Looking at the VERY small sample size of the Chiefs' 1st team offense and its struggles to move the ball in the run game.

Let’s be quite clear to start off with… the Chiefs’ first team offense has been on fire so far this preseason. Three possessions, three touchdowns, and a lot of really encouraging moments seeing the new pieces fit well with Mahomes (who has been his typical fire-breathing self).

Of course, while it’s a lot of fun to write about the positives (and I plan on doing the first Mahomes film review of the year soon to go through methodology and celebrate how terrific he was vs Washington), not everything on the first team offense has been sunshine and rainbows and Jody Fortszn. While the offense has looked exceptional overall, they’ve had to convert a high percentage of 3rd downs to do so. It’s great to see their excellence on 3rd down continuing (that’s been a feature of Mahomes that sets him apart throughout his career), it also can be a sign of being behind the chains at times.

While there are a few things that could be cleaned up on offense (that will always be the case, no offense is perfect), perhaps the most worrisome thing that fans have begun noting following two preseason performances is the run game. Or rather, the lack thereof.

This 1st and 10 stuff against the Commanders is a pretty typical result of the Chiefs’ first-team run game in a small sample size this preseason.

Reviewing every rush attempt by the Chiefs’ starters, there were only four results I viewed as “positive” results in the run game, and of those, only one of them was over four yards (the others were a pair of short-yardage conversions by FB Mike Burton and a four-yard run, which should’ve been more. We’ll talk about that shortly).

Naturally, when things go wrong people want to know what the issue is. And so, I went back and looked at each rush attempt to try and figure out what the issues might be. Is it the runners? The blocking? Design? Defenses just making terrific plays? At the end of the day, the offense still looks like a well-oiled machine overall, but it’s definitely a concern if the Chiefs look to move the ball effectively when teams dare them to run this season. So let’s talk about the run game and where things are going wrong.