A Look at the Kansas City Chiefs

Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, Matt Nagy and Co. haven't been dominant in two games like a defending champion team should be. Arrowhead Report's Jordan Foote explains why.

In other years, the Bears going to play Kansas City to face an offense coordinated by their old head coach might have added to the drama of the matchup.

The Bears have won three games since firing Matt Nagy in January of 2021. No one in Chicago is worried about their former coach when their own quarterback seems unhappy with the offense he is operating continues to struggle.

It almost seems Nagy and Mitchell Trubisky are still here and it's Year 2 in the offense again, 2019 when the Bears disappointed everyone after their double-doink defeat. Except this is much worse. 

The Bears have struggled in so many ways that the quarterback's inability to play freely seems only one on a long list of issues. And on Sunday they have to play a game in Kansas City. 

It's a daunting task but the Chiefs have had problems, too. It's just that their problems are things the Bears would love to be worrying about. 

Here's a Q and A look behind enemy lines at the 2023 Kansas City Chiefs with Jordan Foote of FanNation's Arrowhead Report.

Q: The Chiefs have scored the same number of points as the Bears. Is Matt Nagy really running the offense as offensive coordinator or Andy Reid? 

A: That's the age-old question, as it even dates back to Eric Bieniemy being the Chiefs' offensive coordinator as well. Now, it's pretty apparent that Reid still gets 51% (or more) of the vote and he's calling the shots with folks like Nagy and even Patrick Mahomes giving him input over the course of the game. Nagy has been effective in his role, although being a Chiefs offensive coordinator is somewhat similar to being more of a high-end assistant in another role.

Q: Starting 1-1 and not looking sharp on offense isn't like the Chiefs. What's missing?

A: The Chiefs' biggest offseason loss, given the circumstances of their start to the season, was wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster. Kansas City's receiver group has struggled immensely to begin the year and while Smith-Schuster hasn't been good in New England, Reid and company would have undoubtedly welcomed him back had the price been right in the offseason.

Q: What's wrong with Patrick Mahomes? His completion percentage is at a career low.

A: A lot of it does have to do with the receiver group. Outside of that, the next culprit likely becomes Travis Kelce being out for one game and still working his way back for the next one. Beyond that, it's the poor offensive tackle play Kansas City has endured through two weeks. Mahomes's numbers should creep back up as soon as this week, but he deserves a bit of the blame for holding on to the ball for too long as well.

Q: How is it Kansas City's defense has been able to carry the team in two games even without Chris Jones available in Week 1?

A: Continuity and depth. Steve Spagnuolo's unit is chock-full of young and hungry talents on defense, and it's showing. Additionally, the rookies from 2022 now know what to expect and understand the system at a high level in year No. 2. Finally, Spagnuolo himself is going away from some of his lifelong tendencies and is putting together perhaps the greatest coaching job of his career.

Q: Why isn't special teams coordinator Dave Toub a head coach? He was beloved in Chicago and  is in KC.

A: Toub seems very comfortable with his role in Kansas City but at 61, he's absolutely still young enough to take on a head coaching job elsewhere. He's hinted in the recent past that he'd like to scratch that itch in the future and with his special teams unit back on the rise and the "assistant head coach" title with the Chiefs carrying some weight, maybe he lands an interview in the spring somewhere.

Bonus Question

Can Travis Kelce get us Taylor Swift tickets?

That's a Travis Kelce question. It seems like he might be the one with an inside track for securing some tickets.

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