KC Chiefs Happy to Finally Get Second-Half Monkey off Their Backs

Kansas City is very glad to put its recent stretch of subpar second-half play in the rearview mirror.

The Kansas City Chiefs scored 17 points in the second half of Sunday's win over the Las Vegas Raiders, a total that seemed impossible in recent weeks. It was the first time in over a month that the offense put up any points in the final 30 minutes of play, stemming back to an Oct. 22 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers.

You read that right: Kansas City was shut out of the second half of three straight games. The Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles all stifled Andy Reid's attack, and the offense also couldn't stop getting in its own way. The Chiefs were ever-so-slightly more effective in frames three and four on Sunday than they were in the first two, which has been relatively unheard of lately.

After the game, Reid acknowledged that this serves as a confidence boost and a reminder that his team can indeed sustain success in games.

"Well, we went three second halves without scoring, so we needed a score," Reid said. "That was important. It was good the way we did it. Antonio Pierce has done a nice job, that's a tough situation. I really respect him as a coach and the job that he's done."

The splits in the first half versus the second half are pretty impressive. After gaining 163 net yards on six yards per play in the opening two quarters, the Chiefs logged 197 yards on 6.4 yards per play coming out of the locker room. The post-break stretch has been the team's worst — and the worst in the entire NFL — this season. While a "jump" to 31st in the league in second-half scoring output isn't impressive, all Kansas City can do is keep striving for improvement.

In the second half, quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed all but two of his pass attempts and recorded 162 yards and a touchdown. Multiple pass catchers stepped up, including wideout Rashee Rice (87 yards), tight ends Travis Kelce (29) and Noah Gray (18), as well as running back Isiah Pacheco (24). The Chiefs' stripped-down approach was working effectively, allowing for a comeback win and a double-digit final margin of victory. According to Mahomes, the visitors simply wanted it more and played like it. 

"Yeah, I think it’s all heart at the end of the day," Mahomes said. "In the second half, it goes down to who wants it more. You could have plays designed, but for the most part, you're off your script and you're kind of picking up plays here and there, and coach Reid put us in the best possible position and coach [Matt] Nagy. At the same time at the end of the day, you got to go out there and just want it, and I thought the guys did a great job with that today. Even when stuff wasn't pretty, they made stuff happen, and then when Coach put us in the right spots, our guys caught the football and I made the right decisions. In the second half of football games, it is about who wants it and how can you go out there and execute at a high enough level to win it."

As of Monday morning, the Chiefs' offense still grades favorably compared to those around the league. Holding the No. 7 unit by DVOA standards, the Mahomes-led group is also sixth in EPA per play and seventh in dropback success rate. During the aforementioned three-game sample, however, Kansas City was 26th in EPA per play and 24th in dropback success rate. A franchise known for its elite offensive production in recent years has built an identity as a defense-first club in 2023. That wasn't on anyone's bingo card entering this season.

Despite encountering some roadblocks and major potholes along the way, the Chiefs are attempting to find themselves as an offense. The other side of the ball never lost faith, stepping up whenever asked to and promptly giving the ball back to the best player in the sport. With that proverbial second-half monkey off the offense's back, defensive tackle Chris Jones thinks a corner may be getting turned.

"Listen man, over the years the offense has been so good, right?" Jones said. "We're so used to Pat throwing and scoring 30 points a game, Travis Kelce having 80-100 yards a game. We've been so spoiled with that as a team. And it might not have started the way we wanted it to start but as this offense continues to play, they're going to continue to get better. Young guys are going to continue to step up, and we're going to get back in that rhythm of Pat scoring 30 and we're just out there pass-rush crazy. We've always had belief in those guys — it's not a thing where we lose belief in the offense and think that our offense can't score, because they can clearly score at any moment in the game. It's just them finding their rhythm and getting it going." 

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