KC Chiefs Have Left Zero Margin for Error for Their Hall of Fame Talents

The Chiefs need to admit the offense has an unfixable problem, and it's up to their three future first-ballot Hall-of-Famers to overcome it if they want to win back-to-back Super Bowls.

After falling to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football, it's time for the Kansas City Chiefs to admit something. Their offense has an unfixable problem, and it's on their three future first-ballot Hall-of-Famers to overcome it if they want to win consecutive Super Bowls.

The wide receivers are an abject disaster. Kansas City is afraid to say it, but we'll call a spade a spade: they are a significant issue. Rashee Rice has had moments of flash, but most of it has come on manufactured touches. He still needs to prove to be a consistent threat in a dropback passing attack. He might get there, but from what we've seen through 12 games, that's not the case. Every other receiver has had his ups and downs. Most of them have been hard to watch every week, as they either struggle to catch or make other mental errors when on the field. While the Chiefs have tried to be patient with the wideout room through the first 13 weeks of the season, it's on the three most important offensive pieces to take complete control and mainly rely on each other.

Starting at the top, Andy Reid's track record would back him up as a historical play-designer and play-caller. He may have to take it up a notch this year if that's even possible. With the issues at wide receiver, Reid will have to scheme up as many easy completions downfield as possible. We've seen the Chiefs scale back the passing attack during the last few weeks with many screens and quick-hitters. Eventually, defenses will catch up to that and start squeezing the line of scrimmage. Kansas City will need a counterpunch, and it's up to the offensive genius to create favorable looks, especially when it matters in the playoffs.

The offensive cast having as many issues as it does leaves Patrick Mahomes in an interesting spot. Even with past Chiefs defenses that were less reliable than the ones they currently field, Mahomes probably has less room for error than he ever has. A missed throw or wrong decision is more difficult to overcome with the current support he's getting. The interception from Sunday night is a good example. While the turnover wasn't all his fault, trusting a receiver who has been unreliable all season to make a play in that spot is tricky. It was also first down, so it wasn't a "got to have it" play. The Chiefs would have had second down if the ball was incomplete or Mahomes handed off to Isiah Pacheco. After that unfortunate interception, the Chiefs went down eight and couldn't recover.

The last Hall-of-Famer in the Chiefs organization is Travis Kelce. There is a lot of discussion surrounding his demise. It's wild when you think about it. He still leads all tight ends in receiving yards and is doing it at age 34 as the only consistent option on offense. Though Kelce doesn't look nearly as athletic as he did in years past, he's found other ways to get open and win while being the sole focus of the defense when the Chiefs drop back to pass. His play in the postseason may determine the outcome of Kansas City's season. If he performs at the near-perfect level he's been at in the prior playoff runs, the Chiefs could lean on him for those three or four games. However, that's significant pressure to put on him, which makes his margin for error slim.

With all that the Chiefs' pillars have accomplished in their respective careers, winning Super Bowl LVIII would arguably be the most demanding and outstanding achievement to this point.

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