Offense led Chiefs back to Super Bowl

There was a time on Christmas, long before the Kansas City Chiefs could even think they would play in the Super Bowl again, when the team was in total disarray during the game against the Las Vegas Raiders as time ran out.

That moment changed the course of the entire season for Kansas City.

After that loss to the Raiders, his fifth in eight games, Chiefs coach Andy Reid realized his offense had become too complex, so he simplified everything.

They haven’t lost since then.

While it can’t compare to the offense that took the Chiefs to three Super Bowls in four years, at least it has become efficient.

“When you look at that game where we struggled, it makes you look back and think, ‘What can we do differently?'” Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said.

The decision to simplify everything goes against common sense.

Shouldn’t a more complex offense be more difficult to defend?

It also seemed to go against the instincts of Reid and Patrick Mahomes, who enjoy designing creative plays.

“A complex crime is difficult for young people,” Mahomes admitted.

Former quarterback Alex Smith used to warn his teammates that he was “a stunner” so they could pay attention while he explained a complete play to them.

“There is so much verbiage in the playbook and so much dialogue. It’s super complicated,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach acknowledged.

But going back to Christmas, one of the problems the Chiefs had against the Raiders came when they tried to put plays into the game, leaving them with just seconds on the clock.

Keeping things simple, the Chiefs got to the line of scrimmage in the playoffs with 15 or 20 seconds left, giving Mahomes time to monitor the opposing defense or even change plays entirely.

The result was consecutive victories to secure the American Conference Western Division title and reach the playoffs as third.

“I don’t like losing any games, so I feel like every loss is tough,” Mahomes said, “but we always had everything we wanted in front of us. Nobody lowered their heads. “And now we’re going to the Super Bowl and, like I said, we’re not done yet.”