Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy owned up to the team’s shortcomings against the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day. The Chiefs scored 14 points in what is becoming a troubling trend with two weeks left in the regular season.
The Chiefs have lost three of their last four games. They failed to score 20 points in all three of those losses. That’s not going to win many games in January.
According to Pete Sweeney with Arrowhead Pride, Nagy was asked how the offense could improve. Nagy said the offense needs to do better on early downs:
I do believe that things can get much better and be more productive — not having 21 third and fourth downs in the games. Being better on first and second down, so how do you get to that point?
“Well, we know what we think we can do between the players, the coaches. Everyone gets together, and there’s no pointing fingers to anybody but ourselves, and that’s where it starts. Bad teams, they do that. They point fingers at everybody but themselves.
We actually do the opposite, and it starts with Coach (Andy) Reid, and it just goes to the leaders on the team. And when you do that, then you get another opportunity, it makes it that much sweeter when you do win, and you do get to that point — that you saw in the end, you stuck together.”
The Chiefs also need to do a better job converting third downs when they have them. The Chiefs converted just five of their 16 third down plays against the Raiders.
The Kansas City Chiefs have hit their low point
Nagy said the Chiefs loss to the Raiders was the team’s low point, and they need to accept the blame and use that as motivation:
“It was. You can’t run from that. That was not a good performance by any of us on offense — coaches and players. We have to accept that. I think we have, and you got to use that. Now, what are you going to do about it?”
Nagy needs to do something this week against the Cincinnati Bengals. The offensively anemic Pittsburgh Steelers found a way to put up 34 points for the first time all season on a banged-up Bengals defense with backup Mason Rudolph starting at quarterback in Week 16. The Chiefs have to put up more than 20 on the Bengals.
If they don’t, the calls from fans and pundits to can Nagy before the playoffs start will only get louder.
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