KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Win or lose, the Kansas City Chiefs start each new week with a team meeting.
Coach Andy Reid runs down his thoughts on the previous game and some notes on the upcoming opponent.
After a Week 3 loss at Indianapolis, Reid singled out and challenged the offensive line after the Chiefs averaged only 2.5 yards per rush and Patrick Mahomes spent most of the game running from pressure against a four-man rush.
“I was proud of the offensive line for the job that they did,” coach Andy Reid said. “They had a certain mindset about them, and they came out and presented that for four quarters.”
Tampa Bay defensive end Shaq Barrett made waves during the week, saying Kansas City’s offensive line was much different than the patchwork unit the Buccaneers toyed with during a Super Bowl LV romp two years ago.
“I think we have a lot of favorable matchups,” Barrett said. “I think we really have an opportunity to dominate the game. I think we’ve got an opportunity to really impose our will as pass-rushers, as edge rushers in this game. We can really have a coming out party.”
The Bucs sacked Mahomes three times, but Barrett wasn’t credited with pressure as the Chiefs racked up 417 yards of total offense in a 41-31 romp.
Behind a motivated offensive line, Kansas City managed 189 yards on the ground, the most Tampa Bay has allowed since giving up 242 against Baltimore on Dec. 16, 2018 — a span of 60 games.
“They accepted the challenge,” Mahomes said. “They made our team roll today. That’s a great defense, a great defensive line. I think they heard the talking. They heard the talking not only from them (the Bucs) but from everybody about how they didn’t play well last week. They accepted that challenge and, when they dominate like that, it makes my job a lot easier.”
Same for running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who said Reid’s call to action for the offensive line created a sense of urgency for the entire offense.
“We all know everything starts with the big guys up front,” said Edwards-Helaire, who had 92 yards on 19 carries and scored two touchdowns. “That was something that Coach Reid started the week off this week kind of challenging those guys. We all know how it unfolds once he challenges those guys. It’s obvious that he’s challenging all of us, so we did what we needed to do.”
