The Kansas City Chiefs had a solid first year under Head Coach Andy Ried as they went 11-5 on the year, but a 2-5 stretch run may show that this team could take a step back this year. Vegas has the Chiefs win total set at 8.5 (O +105… U -135). Let’s take a quick look at the Kansas City Chiefs, along with their 2014 Schedule.
Last year the Chiefs offense was ranked 6th in scoring, at 26.9 ppg, while also ranking 21st in total yards (337.3 ypg), 24th in passing (208.8 ypg) and 10th in rushing (128.5 ypg). Alex smith was brought in last year to run Andy Reid’s offense and he did as expected, as KC averaged nearly 27 ppg, while also cutting down on the mistakes. The Chiefs did add some depth to the QB spot with the drafting of Aaron Murray from Georgia. Not sure how big a year Smith will have as they Chiefs lost Dexter McCluster and they didn’t really upgrade the position. Jamaal Charles is back to spearhead the running game and he also got some help with the Chiefs took Oregon RB De’Anthony Thomas in the 4th round. O problem spot for the Chiefs offense may be the decline of the OL and that wasn’t really addressed in the offseason. Overall this offense will be steady and one that makes few mistakes, but I don’t really expect them to put up nearly 27 ppg like they did last year. This looks like a 22 or 23 ppg offense at best.
Defensively the Chiefs ranked 5th in points allowed (19.1 ppg), 24th in yards allowed (367.8 ypg), 25th vs the pass (247.6 ypg) and 22nd vs the run (120.2 ypg). Not a spectacular defense at all but they did upgrade in the offseason. KC used their firt pick in the draft to grab DE Dee Foard from Auburn and then with their next pick they took DB Phillip Gaines from Rice. Those two may not help all that much till next year, but they have added some depth to this defense. The Chiefs still have Eric Berry and Husain Abdullah manning the safety spots, while Tamba Hali is back at LB, but there is a concern with Justin Houston, who did not show up for OTA’s due to contract negotiations that just aren’t going his way. They had a great first half of the year last year, but that was vs second rate offenses. They really struggled down the stretch vs the good offenses they faced. The Chiefs will field an average defense at best this year and it could be worse if Houston holds out.
The Chiefs got off to a 9-0 start last year, but really faced a very soft schedule in those 9 games. They went just 2-5 down the stretch when the schedule got tougher. This year they face the 7 th toughest schedule in the league and with the offense taking a step back and the defense being average at best it will be very hard for this team to post more than 8 wins this year. I will actually call for them to finish 3rd in the AFC West with at best an 8-8 record.
2014 Kansas City Chiefs Schedule
Sept. 7 Tennessee Titans, 1
Sept. 14 at Denver Broncos, 4:25
Sept. 21 at Miami Dolphins, 4:25
Sept. 29 New England Patriots (Mon), 8:30
Oct. 5 at San Francisco 49ers, 4:25
Oct. 12 BYE
Oct. 19 at San Diego Chargers, 4:05
Oct. 26 St. Louis Rams, 1
Nov. 2 New York Jets, 1
Nov. 9 at Buffalo Bills, 1
Nov. 16 Seattle Seahawks, 1
Nov. 20 at Oakland Raiders (Thu), 8:25
Nov. 30 Denver Broncos, 8:30*
Dec. 7 at Arizona Cardinals, 4:05
Dec. 14 Oakland Raiders, 1
Dec. 21 at Pittsburgh Steelers, 1
Dec. 28 San Diego Chargers, 1
Info Gathered From CBS Sports & Fox Sports
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