Kansas City Chiefs Official Team Website | Chiefs.com

Let’s take a closer look at the offense in the Chiefs loss to the Titans on Sunday. One of the big storylines throughout training camp and the preseason was the success the Chiefs were having with their tight ends, particularly the combination of Anthony Fasano and Travis Kelce.Kelce had proven to be a big threat down the field for the Chiefs, hauling in two touchdown passes of more than 40 yards in the preseason. In those four games, Kelce had a combined 11 receptions for 193 yards and two touchdowns. Against the Titans last Sunday, the combination of Kelce and Fasano together yielded 105 yards in 17 plays, good for 6.17 yards per play average. Kelce found himself on the field just once as the lone tight end. Meanwhile, quarterback Alex Smith completed 4 of 10 passes for 52 yards and two interceptions in this grouping. Moving forward, coach Reid said he likes what he’s seeing from Kelce and will continue to work him into this offense as he sees his first real regular season action after missing almost all of his rookie season with a knee injury. “He’s young, but he’s capable of more than 18 plays,” Reid said. “I’ve just got to make sure I call those plays.” When asked what Kelce needs to do to earn more time on the field, Reid kept it simple. “Keep doing what he’s doing,” Reid said. “Keep learning. He’s a good football player, and so we’ve got to continue to work him in there.”The Chiefs ran with three wide receivers, one tight end and one running back for the majority of the game. It’s often described as “11 personnel,” and the Chiefs ran it 31 times against the Titans for 103 yards. With the Chiefs trailing for most of the game, 21 of the 31 plays in this personnel group came in the second half. This three-receiver group is normally used for picking up chunks of yardage in the passing game. Therefore, it made sense for the Chiefs to lean on this group in the second half. The Chiefs were in the shotgun formation 54 percent of the time against the Titans. Also, according to Pro Football Focus, 24.4 percent of the Chiefs plays against the Titans were on play-action, where Smith completed 6 of 10 passes for 90 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Altogether, the performance on Sunday wasn’t up to the standards the Chiefs coaches and players have set for themselves, and coach Reid took responsibility and said it’s time to get better and move forward. “We’ve got to get our execution right, particularly on the offensive side and I’ve got to make sure again that I put these guys in the right positions to do that,” Reid said. “And we’ll get that done. We need to get back to the drawing board here and make sure the players see the game tape, go out and have a good practice, and we learn from our mistakes and move on.”

Kansas City Chiefs Official Team Website | Chiefs.com

Chiefs vs. Titans: By the Numbers

Here’s a closer look at a few specific numbers from the Chiefs loss to the Titans last Sunday