As the Kansas City Chiefs prepare for their Week 14 matchup with the Houston Texans, offensive coordinator Matt Nagy carries a clear sense of urgency — and a firm understanding that his unit hasn’t played
to its standard.
Much of the struggle begins up front. Kansas City has allowed 10 sacks in the three games since its bye, with injuries forcing constant shuffling along the offensive line. Nagy described each week as a collaborative effort among himself, head coach Andy Reid and offensive line coach Andy Heck to assemble the best available group.
“There’s a little bit of a process between Coach Reid and Coach Heck [about] where the guys are,” Nagy told reporters about the potential changes to the offensive line. “We all talk through that — and we end up making a decision on how that goes with the guys.”
That process now requires even more flexibility. Trey Smith and Jawaan Taylor have not practiced this week, while rookie left tackle Josh Simmons was recently placed on Reserve/Injured. That leaves backups like Jaylon Moore and Wanya Morris in line for significant roles. Nagy believes these players can hold their own if they lean on their fundamentals.
“Wherever it is, we want those guys to go out and do everything they can to trust their fundamentals and technique,” Nagy asserted. “Obviously, we’re seeing a great pass rush — that’s not telling anybody anything they don’t know. We’ve got to be able to, in any way possible, give our guys the best advantage when they play.”
Stability up front feeds into the next piece: Patrick Mahomes’ decision-making. Nagy said the Chiefs entered the season intending to be more aggressive, but the real growth has come from Mahomes recognizing when to take underneath options — and thus avoid negative plays.
“Mentally this year, we talked about more aggressiveness from all of us,” Nagy noted. “I think he’s done a great job with that. The next step is the mental side — and the process of, ‘If it’s not there, check it down.’ He had three of those last week — that’s growth.”
Nagy added that Mahomes’ leadership and competitiveness continue to anchor the team.
“He’s always the most competitive human being I’ve ever been around,” Nagy said of his quarterback. “In a game like last week, we [got] that touchdown at the end — and he was ready to go down there and win the game. That’s just who he is.
“I like where he’s at. Mindset-wise — for us as a team and as an offense internally — we’re looking forward to this weekend. He’s a leader who’s going to lead us. That’s one of his greatest strengths.”
The running game has also become more important. After back-to-back weeks with more than 100 rushing yards, Nagy said the team wants to keep building on its success under center — while balancing those concepts with its RPO game.
“Under-center runs have been good for us,” Nagy observed. “We need to make sure we don’t get away from them and match things up to protect ourselves schematically. You get into cold-weather games, a little bit of the elements and the run game tends to jump up a little bit. I don’t think that’s a hidden fact. There are a million different schemes you can do — dot runs, under-center — [so] it’s about doing what we do well, pairing it up, and not taking away what we do in the RPO world.”
Still, the issue Nagy kept returning to was the one that has plagued Kansas City all season: penalties. The Chiefs continue to move the ball, but self-inflicted mistakes have repeatedly stalled drives.
At 6-6 — and currently outside the playoff picture — the Chiefs can’t afford to keep sabotaging themselves. Nagy boiled the message down to its simplest form.
“I would just say the biggest thing is when we don’t have penalties on offense, we’re pretty good,” Nagy said. “So, whatever it is, stop with the penalties. The ones that are controllable, stop them. If they’re not controllable, keep doing what you’re doing — and we’ll deal with it.”
