The Kansas City Chiefs experienced an unfamiliar reality during the 2024-25 season, finishing with a disappointing 6-11 record and missing the playoffs for the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era.
The franchise that had dominated the AFC for years suddenly found itself struggling to execute fundamental offensive concepts that had once been staples of their success.
As the organization regroups for the 2025 campaign, head coach Andy Reid and his staff have identified a critical weakness that plagued their offense throughout the previous year.
The solution they are implementing involves significant changes to personnel, technique, and strategic approach that could determine whether the Chiefs return to championship contention or continue to struggle.
The Shocking Truth Behind Kansas City’s Offensive Collapse (And Why 2024 Was Just the Beginning)
The Chiefs’ offensive struggles went far deeper than simple execution errors or bad luck. While the team utilized play-action passing on 178 snaps, ranking seventh most in the entire league, the results were alarmingly poor. Kansas City managed just 977 passing yards from those attempts, placing them 20th in the NFL, while surrendering nine sacks and generating only three touchdowns.
The root cause of this inefficiency became clear to the coaching staff as they reviewed film throughout the season. Opposing defenses had stopped respecting Kansas City’s running game entirely, which rendered the play-action concept nearly useless. When linebackers and safeties refuse to bite on the fake handoff, the entire strategic advantage disappears.
If you watch the level two defenders, the linebackers and or a safety coming up in the box, if we’re selling a play-action and those guys are dropping [into coverage], they’re not honoring the run game. There’s something that they’re seeing and not respecting. noted Andy Reid, revealing how thoroughly opponents had figured out their approach.
The second-level defenders were consistently dropping into coverage rather than stepping forward to stop the run, exposing a fundamental flaw in how the Chiefs were setting up their play-action game. This realization became the foundation for everything that would follow in the offseason.
What Patrick Mahomes Changed This Offseason
Patrick Mahomes has spent considerable time during training camp working on something that might seem basic but could prove transformative for the Chiefs’ offense.
The star quarterback, who completed 370 passes for 679 yards while enduring 45 sacks in 2025, has dedicated significant practice repetitions to operating under center rather than from the shotgun formation that has become increasingly common in modern NFL offenses.
This adjustment serves multiple purposes in the Chiefs’ revamped offensive scheme. Working under center allows for more authentic play-action fakes and creates better angles for the running game. It also forces defenses to respect the threat of a handoff in ways that shotgun formations simply cannot replicate, regardless of how well the fake is executed.
Beyond just positioning, Mahomes has refined his ball-handling technique to better sell the fake handoff to defenders. The subtle improvements in how he conceals the football and mimics the motion of a genuine handoff could make the difference between a linebacker taking that crucial extra step forward or dropping into coverage.
These technical refinements represent the kind of detailed work that separates championship-caliber offenses from those that merely look good on paper.
The Kenneth Walker III Factor: Why Defenses Should Be Terrified
The Chiefs’ most significant offseason acquisition came in the form of running back Kenneth Walker III, whose arrival addresses the fundamental problem that plagued Kansas City’s play-action game.
Walker brings a legitimate rushing threat that opposing defenses cannot afford to ignore, forcing linebackers and safeties to honor the run game in ways they simply did not have to in 2025. His 236 rushing attempts demonstrate the kind of workload capacity that can establish offensive identity.
Walker’s skill set extends well beyond traditional rushing abilities. His proficiency as a receiver out of the backfield, evidenced by 32 receptions for 285 yards, adds another dimension that defensive coordinators must account for in their game planning. Additionally, his competence in pass protection means he can remain on the field in obvious passing situations, preventing defenses from keying on specific personnel packages.
The expectation within the organization is that Walker will operate more frequently from formations with Mahomes under center, creating the authentic run threat that makes play-action effective.
When defenses must respect the possibility of Walker taking a handoff, those second-level defenders will be forced to step forward, opening up the intermediate and deep passing lanes that had been clogged throughout the previous season. This ripple effect could transform the entire offensive ecosystem.
Inside Andy Reid’s Secret Play-Action Blueprint for 2025
Reid and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy have constructed a comprehensive blueprint for revitalizing the play-action passing attack that goes beyond simply adding personnel.
The scheme incorporates varied fake handoff techniques designed to create confusion among defensive players who had grown too comfortable reading Kansas City’s tendencies.
Preseason work has revealed a notable emphasis on deep passing attempts of twenty yards or more off play-action fakes. Mahomes has been connecting with primary targets including Travis Kelce, who hauled in 89 receptions for 1,026 yards, Tyquan Thornton, and Xavier Worthy, who contributed 61 catches for 819 yards, on these vertical routes, suggesting that the coaching staff believes they can exploit defenses that have grown accustomed to sitting on shorter routes.
The strategic philosophy centers on forcing defenses into impossible choices. If linebackers and safeties commit to stopping Walker and the running game, the deep passing lanes will be available.
If they continue to drop into coverage as they did throughout 2024-25, Walker should find rushing lanes that simply did not exist for the previous backfield. This calculated approach represents Reid’s decades of offensive expertise being applied to solve a specific, identifiable problem.
The One Adjustment That Could Make the Chiefs Unstoppable Again
The cumulative effect of these changes points toward a single, overarching adjustment that could restore Kansas City to championship contention. By establishing a credible rushing attack that forces defenses to respect the run, every other element of the offense becomes exponentially more effective. The play-action game opens up, the deep passing attack becomes viable, and Mahomes regains the time and space he needs to operate.
The 2024-25 season represented Reid’s first losing campaign with the Chiefs since taking over in 2013, ending streaks of nine consecutive division titles and seven straight AFC Championship Game appearances. The injury to Mahomes during Week 15 against the Los Angeles Chargers certainly contributed to the collapse, but the offensive issues had been evident long before that devastating moment.
As the 2025-26 season approaches, the organization believes these systematic changes address the root causes rather than merely treating symptoms. The combination of Walker’s abilities, Mahomes’ technical refinements, and Reid’s schematic adjustments creates a foundation for offensive success that was simply absent during the previous year.
Whether these solutions prove sufficient to return the Chiefs to their accustomed place atop the AFC remains to be seen, but the approach demonstrates a clear understanding of what went wrong and a coherent plan for fixing it.
