Last year, the Kansas City Chiefs knocked off the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35, in the Super Bowl. Eric Bieniemy was the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator at that time, but he moved to the Washington Commanders in the offseason.
Kansas City’s offense has had its struggles this year, and many have wondered how much of it is because Bieniemy is no longer there.
Ask the Eagles if they miss their coordinators from last year, as both Shane Steichen (Indianapolis) and Jonathan Gannon (Arizona) took head coaching jobs last season.
Eric Bieniemy Became Commanders’ OC
Bieniemy has been passed up for several coaching jobs in the past few years. One of the biggest speculations as to why he hasn’t received an HC job yet is because there were questions about how much he did for Kansas City’s offense.
Throughout his career, head coach Andy Reid has been known to be an offensive guru. Thus, people considered him to be calling the shots on offense.
With that in mind, the thought was that Bieniemy needed to go be an offensive coordinator elsewhere to truly show how great of a coach he is. As a result, he became Washington’s OC this past offseason.
Quarterback Sam Howell was able to get off to a fast start, but as the season went on, the Commanders struggled. Washington was 24th overall in total offense (312.8 yards per game), with the rushing game being especially bad (26th, 93.6 yards per game).
It was an up-and-down season for the Commanders, and thus, you haven’t heard Bieniemy’s name in conversations for a head coaching job this year.
But while his leaving didn’t necessarily take Washington to a different spot offensively, what were the results in Kansas City without him?
Chiefs’ Offense Was Wildly Inconsistent in 2023
For the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era, the Chiefs are a defensive team. Throughout the 2023 season, the offense was widely inconsistent and had mental mistakes and breakdowns that cost them games.
Kansas City had 44 drops this year, which led the NFL. That included wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling dropping a go-ahead touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football.
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In addition to the drops, penalties and mental mistakes were also brutal for KC’s offense. The Chiefs would have great drives followed by devastating penalties that would ruin them. Never was that more evident than during the regular season against the Buffalo Bills.
Late in the game, Mahomes hit Travis Kelce downfield, and he lateraled the ball to Kadarius Toney for what appeared to be the game-winning touchdown. However, Toney was lined up offsides, forcing the flag to be thrown, and the Chiefs would end up losing that game.
Kansas City Now Clicking on Offense
Through two playoff games, KC’s offense has been great. The team has been efficient, taking points when they can get them, and more importantly, limiting mistakes.
So despite their struggles throughout the year, Kansas City finds itself in a familiar spot on Sunday — the AFC Championship Game.
Could the team have found more success in the regular season with Bieniemy? Maybe, but I’m not sure you will find many Chiefs fans who aren’t the most confident in the offense now that it’s finally rolling.
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