Andy Reid's Post-Game Comments Could Fix a Flaw in the Chiefs' Offense

During his time in the NFL, Andy Reid has established a reputation as one of the top offensive minds in the game. While his clock management has at times left something to be desired, no one can question Big Red's creative mind.

In Kansas City, though, an apparent shortcoming has reared its ugly head. For all of the Chiefs' offensive talent, short-yardage situations are a challenge. Reid, for whatever reason, prefers to rely on gimmicks rather than pure power, and things don't always work out.

And while that trend continued in Germany, a change could be on the horizon. When entering the locker room, the head coach seemed to acknowledge his mistake. As the cliche says, that's the first step toward solving the issue.

Let's break it down.

Reid Acknowledged a Bad Choice After Beating Miami

While the Chiefs owned the first half of Sunday's date with the Dolphins, momentum swung in the Floridian's favor during the second half. They closed the gap to seven points, but in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter, KC had the chance to put the game on ice.

"The moment: The Chiefs faced third down, one yard to go, from their own 19-yard line with 2 minutes, 42 seconds remaining. Pick up the first down here, and the Dolphins' task would've been made more difficult. With another first down, the Chiefs would line up in victory formation," Blair Kerkhoff of The Kansas City Star recounted.

A first down, of course, didn't follow. Patrick Mahomes dropped back to pass, couldn't find an open receiver and ultimately threw the ball away. A punt then gave the Dolphins a chance to tie, if not win, the game.

That didn't happen, though, and the reigning Super Bowl champs secured a big win. After the game, though, Reid acknowledged that he could have handled things differently.

During a locker room conversation with his players, which the club shared on X (formerly Twitter), he said, "O-line, I owe you one, men. I owe you one."

That comment seemed to suggest that Reid realized he should have trusted his offensive line to create a single yard of space on a running play. And when speaking to the media, he shared a similar sentiment.

"If we ran it, you'd ask me why we didn't throw it," the coach explained after the game. "But I'm going to tell you I probably should have put [it] in the hands of the big O-line. I owe them one."

A Change Could Make the Chiefs That Much More Dangerous

To be clear, Reid didn't promise he'd do things differently in the future. Coaches, for better or worse, can be creatures of habit who hold to their convictions, no matter the circumstances. However, the fact that he acknowledged a different course of action does suggest that a change could be in the cards.

Is it reasonable to expect a historically pass-heavy coach to start exclusively running the ball in short-yardage situations? No, the Chiefs' struggles aren't an on-off event.

After KC's ugly loss to Denver (which featured a failure to convert in both a third-and-short and a fourth-and-short situation), Sam McDowell of the KC Star pulled some numbers.

"Since the onset of 2022, the Chiefs have converted on third or fourth downs with 1 or 2 yards to go only 62.3% of the time. That ranks 22nd in the league," he explained. "In contrast, they convert on all other third and fourth downs (those with 3-plus yards to go) at a 3.6% better clip than any team in the league."

The situation isn't helped by the fact that Reid has refused to use quarterback sneaks since Mahomes injured his knee in 2019. That's some creative play-calling, and while it can work sometimes, those sorts of efforts aren't consistent.

Would running the ball in short-yardage situations be a magic bullet? No, but it's hard to imagine that it wouldn't help. Isiah Pacheco averages 4.6 yards per attempt across his NFL career; the Chiefs' offensive line is built for pass protection, but it's hard to believe that Creed Humphrey and Joe Thuney can't create a little bit of space.

And, if nothing else, a few runs would mean that the defense has to respect the possibility of a push up the middle. That, in turn, could create even more space for Reid's creative ideas.

Given that the Chiefs are already one of the NFL's top teams, it's easy to think that a few extra conversions won't matter. In reality, though, those short-yardage plays are less about the play itself and more about control.

Every first down keeps the offense on the field. While KC's defense has been strong this season, the best way to prevent the opposition from scoring is to keep hold of the ball.

Consider the end of the game against Miami as the perfect example. If the Chiefs picked up a few yards, the game was essentially over. The offense failed to convert, though, and the defense had to step up.

And if those short-yardage runs do help the Chiefs score more points, the benefits there are obvious. Points take pressure off the defense and, ultimately, win games.

Again, it would be naïve to expect Reid to completely change at this point in his career. His comments after Sunday's game, however, suggest that the coach might trust his offensive line, at least occasionally, in the future.

If he does, Kansas City might become that much harder to beat.