Through just two weeks of the regular season, the Kansas City Chiefs have laid down a serious statement to the entire NFL: you absolutely have to respect their run game this year. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes saw it clear as day, realizing the Indianapolis Colts had already gotten the message after Kansas City absolutely gashed the Denver Broncos for 220 rushing yards in the season opener. Mahomes broke it down in his Wednesday press conference, talking about how the Colts’ defense was totally keyed in on shutting down the ground attack and star running back Kenneth Walker.
Defenses Guessing and Giving Up Big Plays
“You could even see the differences between Weeks 1 and 2,” Mahomes said, describing the shift in defensive strategy. “The Colts saw how committed we were to the run game and how well it worked. You could tell they were putting assets into stopping the run, so whenever you’re doing the play fakes and linebackers are in the line of scrimmage, it opens up guys over the top of them.” Think about it: when linebackers are crashing the line, desperate to stop Walker, that’s exactly what you want if you’re an offense with a wizard like Mahomes. Head Coach Andy Reid even chimed in, noting Mahomes “did a good job of getting the ball out on time,” and pointed to the first three completions of the game as prime examples of quick, decisive throws, two of them perfectly set up by under-center play-action. Mahomes spotted it early, firing to wide-open targets because defenses were selling out on the run, totally aware of the threat of a handoff to Walker.
The Perfect Balance Is Destroying Opponents
This isn’t just luck, it’s a strategic masterpiece. Mahomes explained, “It’s got to be a great balance that we have to have of being able to run it, run it, run it, then play-action at the right time.” He gave a shout-out to Coach Bieniemy and Coach Reid for their genius play-calling, saying they “did a great job of calling the perfect play action, the perfect movement plays at the perfect time, so that I had guys open for me to throw.” In the Sunday night game, a wild 35% of Kansas City’s pass plays were play-action. That’s a huge number, higher than all but two games they played last year. And guess what happened in those two 2025 games where they ran play-action more than 35%? They won convincingly: 30-17 against the Detroit Lions and 22-9 over the New York Giants. Mahomes summed it up perfectly: “It just puts the defenses in a predicament. Just knowing they have to kind of choose if they want to come up and stop the run or if they want to try and stop the explosive plays from happening. That’s what you want: you want defenses guessing; you want defenses having to make decisions they don’t want to make.”
It all boils down to the sheer willingness to give the ball to Kenneth Walker, who is currently the league’s leading rusher in both yards and attempts through these first two weeks. Mahomes said, “As an offense, I think we’ve done a great job of that these first few weeks. If they’re going to stay back, run the football; if they’re going to come up, then play action, throw it over the top of them.” That’s the blueprint, folks. The Chiefs are going to keep running it, and keep hitting those explosive plays off play-action. Get ready for more of this all season long!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Arrowhead Pride.
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