Matt Nagy gives verdict on why Chiefs offense is struggling

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The question that never seems to go away is what’s wrong with the Chiefs’ offense.

They’re currently fourth in the NFL regarding yards-per-game and third in passing yards-per-game, though that’s done little to silence many critics.

Scoring a mere nine points against the Denver Broncos last weekend has only given those naysayers more ammunition to criticize their play when in possession.

In that defeat to Denver, the Chiefs converted just three of their 10 third down attempts and averaged 4.8 yards-per-play in what was a forgettable performance.

Facing the high-flying Dolphins in Frankfurt on Sunday, the Kansas City secondary held Tyreek Hill to only eight catches for 62 yards.

Mahomes Trusts Chiefs receivers

While no one is suggesting the Chiefs have been bad offensively to this stage of the season, being merely good seems quite underwhelming given what this team have shown us in years past.

When you consider that Patrick Mahomes threw for over 5,000 yards a season ago without Tyreek and how unstoppable the offense has looked since he became their starter, it’s reasonable to wonder, in 2023, what’s wrong?

There have been suggestions that the Chiefs pivot doesn’t trust his receiving group, which is why he’s been leaning heavily on his partner in crime, Travis Kelce.

According to Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, though, Mahomes has all the confidence in the world in his receivers.

“There is trust, and I think for every receiver, it’s a little different based on the routes they run, and it’s growing,” Nagy said. “We know that they know that, Patrick understands that. It’s just working towards getting the most trust possible with those guys.”

“Every one of those guys, Patrick, has trust in, and they have trust in Patrick. It’s just different levels, and then we as a staff have to figure out where those levels are and how to put it into the game plan.”

Chiefs Problems are “Fixable”

For as much as outsiders are beginning to question the offensive capability of the Chiefs outside of Mahomes and Kelce, the team seems confident things will turn around.

On his podcast “New Heights” with Travis Kelce and his brother Jason, the Chiefs tight end said the team’s issues offensively are “fixable”.

Nagy echoed those sentiments as well when asked about what to do going forward.

“It’s very fixable,” Nagy said. “There’s not panic – it’s there for us to understand. A few things, when you look back a few weeks ago, we put a pretty good game together.”

Given the age of most of the Chiefs receivers and their NFL experience, it could be argued that they need more time, but it’s also true that this team isn’t in a wait-and-see scenario but in a win-it-all mentality.

On the other hand, the Chiefs’ receiving woes at the moment could be a case of too many cooks in the kitchen.

Justin Watson, Rashee Rice and Skyy Moore are among those who have a lot of similar qualities, which isn’t bad to have those individual attributes but can make it easier for opposing defenses to stop you.

Their receiving numbers on Sunday against the Dolphins are unlikely to silence the critics as Noah Gray led the team with three catches for 34 yards.