The Chiefs need to look at their WR situation closely. Very closely

With the trade deadline here, Brett Veach and Andy Reid need to be honest about the 2023 offense and possibilities available to address it.

Overreacting to a single NFL game is foolish.

Looking at a single game as demonstrative of an issue that has been visible throughout the season? That’s just being honest.

Before we get too into it, I need to remind you (and myself) that less than a week ago I was writing about the Chiefs’ balance and how it led to them beating the Chargers at home. After a strong performance from the offense, it seemed like the early-season struggles on that side of the ball were becoming a thing of the past and Kansas City was looking stronger than ever.

Fast forward to now, following an absolutely humiliating defeat at the hands of the Broncos (the first time that’s happened in 8 years), all of those questions about the offense have come screaming back. While the final score will read 24-9 in favor of Denver, even those points scored by the Broncos were largely due to failures by the offense or (in one case) special teams.

Again, one game is not something on which to base a real opinion about an NFL team. Everyone has bad games. Everyone loses sometimes. And even the very best offenses/defenses have bad days. It happens.

However, this isn’t just a one-game issue for the Chiefs. While their season-long stats look solid (particularly DVOA and EPA per play), that’s been in part propped up by a pair of very strong performances and some work between the 20’s (that they haven’t been able to capitalize on). However, on a game-to-game basis the offense has just not been what we’ve become accustomed to in the Patrick Mahomes era.

And if we go deeper, it’s at least worth considering that if it weren’t for the defense making a tremendous turnaround, Kansas City’s fortunes may look very different than its current 6-2 outlook. Wins against the Jaguars (17 offensive points), Jets (23 offensive points), Broncos (19 offensive points), and (to a lesser extent) the Vikings (27 points but multiple failed drives in the first half) were in large part fueled by the defense holding up during dry spells from the offense.

A great deal of the conversation has centered around the wide receiver room. And while there’s been a lot of debate as to what the specific issue is (has Mahomes been worse? Are the WR’s just never open? Are assignments being executed correctly? Does he actually trust the guys getting snaps?), I’ve seen enough to say that I’m at a point I’d at least consider taking action if I were the Chiefs. But what is that action? What is even a plausible solution vs an overcorrection?

Let’s talk about some of the issues that have been on display all season that came to a head last night, what options the Chiefs have to make a change, and whether or not the juice is worth the squeeze to do so. Because with the season halfway in the bag, one thing we can say with certainty is that the status quo doesn’t seem tenable.