Andy Reid's Ingenuity Helping the Kansas City Chiefs Cope with Injuries

The Kansas City Chiefs were without their most important offensive player Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, but head coach Andy Reid made sure it didn’t matter. An already thin Chiefs offensive line was down two starters, but Reid made sure it didn’t matter.

A team that didn’t have a lot going for them offensively Sunday versus the Dolphins still managed to score 34 points on the road to get their first win of the year. The players executed, but Reid deserves a lot of credit for his ingenuous game plan and play-calling.

For starters, Reid didn’t abandon the run without running back Jamaal Charles. In fact, Reid leaned more heavily on the run than he normally does.

Running back Knile Davis filled in for Charles and had 32 carries for 132 yards and a touchdown. It’s the third time Davis has eclipsed 20 carries and the second time in two weeks. In contrast, Charles has done that just four times in the last two seasons. Davis actually has more games with 22 or more carries than Charles.

Part of that is because Charles is so good in the passing game and Davis isn’t, but running the ball is also one of the many ways a team can hide an offensive line that isn’t very good in passing situations. The Chiefs also ran the ball effectively thanks to Reid’s creative planning and great execution.

GameRewind

Notable was Davis’ 21-yard touchdown run to open up the scoring for the Chiefs. Although Davis struggled in pass protection, fumbled twice and dropped the only pass that came his way, he did run the ball well. The Chiefs’ much-maligned offensive line did a great job of giving Davis space to operate.

Reid lined Davis up as a fullback with wide receiver A.J. Jenkins lining up as the running back. It’s an odd alignment for any team, and it fooled the Dolphins. Quarterback Alex Smith faked the toss to Jenkins, which got Miami’s defense flowing in that direction, but it was a trap.

GameRewind

Eric Fisher pulled around to kick out the defensive end and that gave Davis a huge running lane because the linebacker was out of position. That left Davis one-on-one with cornerback Will Davis in the open field, and after a quick juke, the Chiefs running back only had to worry about a safety. Touchdown Chiefs.

GameRewind

The Chiefs had to execute, and Miami’s mistakes surely helped, but Reid was able to force the issue with an odd alignment. Reid put stress on the defense to diagnose a quick-hitting running play they hadn’t seen on tape, and they were obviously not prepared for it.

At times, Reid’s play calls were ingenuous. On tight end Travis Kelce’s 20-yard touchdown catch, Reid called the perfect play, and Smith made the easy toss for the touchdown.

Against the three-man rush, the Dolphins dropped into zone coverage underneath with the 268-pound defensive end Olivier Vernon on flat coverage. Coving Kelce with a linebacker or a safety is tough enough—a defensive end has almost no chance.

GameRewind

Vernon has only dropped into coverage about once per game in the past but did so eight times against the New England Patriots in Week 1 per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). The Chiefs figured the Dolphins would do the same thing to Kelce that limited Rob Gronkowski to just four receptions on 11 targets, and they were right. Reid dialed up the right play at the right time to exploit a clear mismatch.

On running back Joe McKnight’s first touchdown, Reid again used a formation to stress Miami’s defense. Either Reid made the perfect call against the linebacker blitz, or Smith made a great check at the line, but the Chiefs were prepared either way.

With trips to the left, there was a huge hole in the center of Miami’s defense when it decided to bring a blitz up the middle. The Dolphins clearly expected the Chiefs to keep McKnight in to pass protect, which would make sense as they would need to match numbers against what looks like six rushers.

GameRewind

Reid flipped the tables on the Dolphins by having McKnight run a simple angle route for the touchdown. Because of the blitz and the trips to the left, only defensive end Cameron Wake could pick up the coverage.  It was another easy throw by Smith for a touchdown thanks to Reid.

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Smith attempted one pass over 10 yards and he didn’t complete it. Smith missed an open receiver and took a safety instead. The pass protection was often poor. Davis fumbled twice and wasn’t good in pass protection. The wide receivers were an afterthought.

Every single flaw in Kansas City’s offense was present, but it scored 34 points and won the game. Reid was able to scheme around his team’s flaws and still exploit the Dolphins in Miami. Reid apparently thinks he can do even more to help with some of the offensive struggles.

“We were in long-yardage situations and you talk about these third-and-forevers and asking guys to take seven-step drops and throw the ball,” Reid said of some of the sacks his team allowed against the Dolphins via Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star. “So we’ve got to be a little smarter with the play-calling in a couple of situations.”

The Chiefs still converted nine of their 16 third-down attempts and scored a touchdown on all three trips to the red zone. Their other touchdown came from 21 yards away. The Chiefs may not have piled up passing yardage, but they got it done when and where it matters.

It now appears that Week 1 was more of a fluke than a trend for the Chiefs. While they may have struggles, the Chiefs aren’t going to be pushovers in 2014.  

It’s safe to say that running the ball, playing good defense and Reid’s opportunistic play-calling in key situations guided the Chiefs to victory Sunday. If they are going to win many more games this season with or without Charles or an offensive line that can pass protect, Reid’s offensive mind is going to be one of the keys.