Fact or Fiction: The Chiefs’ Offensive Issues Were Overblown

Kansas City is back in the Super Bowl after looking awfully shaky on offense during the regular season.

Many football fans who are tired of seeing Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and TV shots of Taylor Swift were let down by the Baltimore Ravens.

Turns out, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens weren’t ready to dethrone the Kansas City Chiefs, despite looking far more formidable during the regular season. Experience matters, which is why the Chiefs are heading to another Super Bowl after defeating Baltimore in Sunday’s AFC title game.

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What else can the Ravens do to return to the Super Bowl? They already had a dominant defense and a quarterback who will likely earn his second career MVP in the coming weeks. There’s a stud running back in Tennessee who could help out next season.

It’s time for another edition of “Fact or Fiction”—and we have plenty to discuss about the coaching carousel.

Kelce had 11 receptions for 116 receiving yards on Sunday, his most in either category since Week 6 :: Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports

The Chiefs’ regular season offensive issues were overblown

Manzano’s view: Fiction

No, our eyes weren’t deceiving us all year about the Chiefs’ offense. Mahomes still lacks playmakers, but the Chiefs, as they always do, made adjustments with their coaching and personnel. Rookie wide receiver Rashee Rice has been more of a focal point in the offense, and Kelce has stepped up in the playoffs after his first season with fewer than 1,000 receiving yards since 2015. But the Chiefs are also familiar with the intensity of the playoffs and took advantage of the lack of experience from the Ravens, who appeared tense throughout and committed four personal foul penalties (eight total) while Kansas City was flagged just three times. Experience and execution matters this time of year—two areas Mahomes, Kelce and coach Andy Reid have excelled in the past six years.

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Ravens should sign RB Derrick Henry

Manzano’s view: Fact

The Ravens made it work most of the season with an unheralded cast of running backs, but it cost them at the worst moment, as Baltimore only gained 81 rushing yards in the 17–10 AFC title game loss against Kansas City. Jackson had a team-high 54 rushing yards, with running back Gus Edwards being the second-leading rusher with 20 yards. Edwards is more of a goal-line running back, and Justice Hill and a 28-year-old Dalvin Cook won’t strike much fear into opposing defenses.

Derrick Henry, a pending free agent of the Tennessee Titans, is also up there in age, but the 30-year-old had another 1,000-yard rushing season in 2023. The Ravens should still draft a running back, but Jackson, Henry and an incoming rookie would do much better than the effort the Ravens made against the Chiefs, who entered Sunday allowing 129 rushing yards per game.

Morris previously served as an interim head coach, assistant head coach, defensive coordinator, defensive backs coach and wide receivers coach for the Falcons between 2015-2020 :: Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports

Falcons will regret not hiring Bill Belichick

Manzano’s view: Fiction

The Falcons got it right with the hiring of Raheem Morris, who checked many boxes as an experienced former head coach who went on to have plenty of success as a defensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams. Yes, Morris did struggle as a first-time head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because he lacked experience at the time, but he got the job in part due to his infectious upbeat personality. He also had (and still does have) the ability to create a productive, enjoyable working environment; similar to what Dan Campbell has done in Detroit and Antonio Pierce with the Raiders.

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The 47-year-old Morris is now well seasoned with a Super Bowl ring and several ringing endorsements from Rams coach Sean McVay and several star defenders that crossed paths with Morris in Los Angeles, including Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey. For a while, it seemed Morris would be forced to wait again for next year’s coaching carousel because he had to compete with big names such as Bill Belichick, Jim Harbaugh and Mike Vrabel. Also, teams tend to favor coaches with offensive backgrounds.

But this new trend of leaders who can oversee all three phases of a football operation worked in Morris’s favor. And, obviously, it’s hard to say no to someone as personable as Morris—or the polar opposite of Belichick. That’s not a slight at Belichick, but his methods appear to be outdated and he’s coming off a few rough years in New England.

Chargers got it right by going all in for Jim Harbaugh

Manzano’s view: Fact

This was an easy verdict because of Jim Harbaugh’s track record of turning programs into winners, from the University of San Diego to Stanford to the 49ers and most recently at Michigan. As his older brother, John, said, “he’s the best team builder” in football. The Chargers haven’t done much winning in the past decade and have struggled building a consistent football team. I don’t know if the Chargers will win instantly with Harbaugh, but he has Justin Herbert, and Harbaugh knows how to develop disciplined, smart and physical players, which could end the franchise’s reputation of blowing late leads.

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Plenty of credit to the Spanos family for reeling in Harbaugh. They put all their chips into one candidate—possibly the best one available, even with Mike Vrabel, Pete Carroll and Belichick out there—made a lucrative offer and likely met many demands when it comes to the power structure of football operations. They got their guy in Harbaugh. Welcome to the national spotlight, Chargers.

Seahawks should hire Ravens DC Mike Macdonald

Manzano’s view: Fact

The Seahawks likely fired Carroll because they wanted a new head coach who could keep up with innovative offensive minds (Kyle Shanahan, McVay) in the NFC West. It would be a significant get if Seattle lands Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, but what about a coach who could neutralize the offensive schemes of Shanahan and McVay? Instead of trying to outscore the teams in the division, the Seahawks could go all in for Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, whose scheme stifled the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins in the regular season (Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel was a disciple of Shanahan’s).

Macdonald, however, struggled against McVay’s Rams in the regular season and his top-ranked defense couldn’t contain Mahomes, Kelce and the rest of the Chiefs’ offense in the AFC title game. But Macdonald has made many star quarterbacks look ordinary this season, and he would definitely be worth the wait for the Seahawks. Seattle reportedly has interest in interviewing Baltimore’s defensive wizard. Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, however, remains the favorite to land the job, according to multiple reports.