I had my first big take of the Kansas City Chiefs 2026 season.
This would formerly be known as Dirk's Big Thing on Amateur Hour. However, now that I'm a father of a two week old, this is more of a Dirk's Useless Thing Dangling Between His Legs.
I was thinking about how Patrick Mahomes' injury might change his game in 2026...
[buzzes in]
Me: Mahomes will look to run less this year (ohhh good answer, good answer)
Steve Harvey: "Top answer on the board! Would you like to pass or play?"
Me: What kinda dumbass question is that Steve? Who would ever pass? Why you even asking?
Which got me to thinking about Mahomes in 2025, when he ran more than he ever has before. The reasons for this are abundant:
- The Offensive Line was giving up pressure quicker than ever
- The Wide Receivers weren't getting open
- The offense wasn't scheming up open receivers enough
- The run game wasn't able to pick up the slack
Mahomes' solution to all of this was turning to the most dangerous weapon in the NFL -- his legs. We've all seen how lethal he can be when he decides to tuck and run. Just to name a few:
- Putting the team in FG range on a Super Bowl winning drive
- The highest leverage play in Chiefs Super Bowl history (4th down, while losing in OT)
- (Emotionally) thrusting a team to the Super Bowl before the halftime whistle blows
- Dooping some derp along the sidelines with 10 seconds left to secure another Super Bowl berth
But that's just it. He's always saved it for the biggest moments. The biggest plays of the biggest drives of the biggest games. It was always sitting in a little red box labeled "In Case of Emergency, Break Glass".
Suddenly, in 2025, we're seeing this on a 2nd and 6 in the 2nd quarter of a Week 2 game. Which got me thinking:
Did the Chiefs offense rely on his scrambling too much in 2025?
To be crystal clear, this is not me pinning fault on Mahomes. At all. He was justifiably desperate. The Chiefs were 0-2. The offense was floundering. The defense wasn't strong enough to pick up the slack. The team needed it and he knew it. So he did what he does best, he put the team on his back.
But could that have hindered the offense's ability to adapt and evolve? Why change things with this safety net catching your every fall?
After all, the strangest part of the Chiefs offense in 2026 were not the early season struggles. It was how ugly it looked once Rashee Rice returned and Xavier Worthy (seemingly) had time to recover from his injury in Week 1.
There was zero growth throughout the year. This from a team that has ALWAYS played its best football late in the season, in January, in the playoffs. One of the best offenses in NFL history had lost any and all sense of cohesion and rhythm.
All of which actually triggered the optimistic side of my brain:
Will relying less on Mahomes' scrambling early on in 2026 help the offense grow?
Let's call Mahomes' scrambling the Olive Garden unlimited breadsticks of the Chiefs offense. This is where Dad Bods go to thrive.
I know when I'm hitting Olive Garden with the boys on a Saturday night, I'm gonna crush some sticks. Everybody knows they are the best thing at The Gard.
But I'm not devouring five right when I sit down. The rest of the meal won't sit right. I'll eat one or two right away to get the stomach rolling. I'm dipping one in my soup. I'm mopping up the sauce of my Italian Trio with another couple.
I don't need those delicious scrambles of flour and garlic to be the base of the meal. I want them available when I need them most. Salad is bland? Soup is cold? Pasta overcooked? Gimme a stick.
Same with Mahomes' scrambling. Rice drops a pass? Sideways shotgun run nets 1 yard again? Andy dialing up mesh on 3rd and 4?
RUN MAHOMES, RUN!
So my first big take of 2026 is that Mahomes' hesitation to scramble early in the season will force both he, and the offense, to grow and evolve into a more effective offense than what we saw in 2025.
That is, until it's Mahomes Time in January once again.
His Dirkness
No comments:
Post a Comment