The Kansas City Chiefs have had an up-and-down season in 2025. After a 0-2 start, they went on a 5-1 run to improve to 5-3. However, a loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 9 and a loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 11 coming out of the bye week put the Chiefs back to .500 and out of playoff contention.
With the offense struggling a bit, head coach Andy Reid was asked about Kansas City’s commitment to the run. While he talked about quarterback Patrick Mahomes in his answer, some fans took Reid’s response as a dig at the All-Pro signal-caller. The uproar caused former Chiefs offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz to chime in and come to Reid and Mahomes’ defense.
Former Chiefs Tackle Mitchell Schwartz Comes to Andy Reid’s Defense
The Chiefs averaged 30.8 points per game during their 4-1 run from Week 4 to Week 8. That’s why many were puzzled when the average dropped ten points in the past two games against the Bills and Broncos.
Kansas City has slowly seen its playmakers return as the season has progressed; however, it appears the team has hit a wall. While they might have had a couple of challenging games, Kansas City has fared well overall this season in PFSN’s Offense Impact rating, ranking fifth in the NFL with a score of 86.3.
Following the Chiefs’ 21-19 loss to the Broncos in Week 11, Reid was asked about the team’s commitment to the run game. He responded, “We’re calling quite a few of the RPOs. Yesterday, they were giving us opportunities to throw the football, so we utilized the opportunities there, and those things ended up being as good as a run; we’re getting four plus yards, and you go with it.”
Andy Reid on the commitment to the run game:
“The runs are being called; it’s just sometimes they get turned into passes in today’s world.” pic.twitter.com/wUlJ2q1fEd
— KC Sports Network (@KCSportsNetwork) November 17, 2025
Reid continued, “But the runs are being called; it’s just sometimes they get turned into passes in today’s world, you know, that’s how it goes. But we are getting them in, and we have some hard runs where you just get up, line up, and go. Probably could call more of those.”
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While he makes a fair point, given that RPOs and the passing game have become heavily utilized in today’s game, especially for the Chiefs, considering how talented Mahomes is, some fans felt he was subtly blaming the QB for the lack of a run game.
That’s when Schwartz stepped in on Reid’s behalf, backing him up by commenting, “If you guys think this is a dig at Pat, you’re just wrong and don’t know anything about football. Pat threw seven RPO reads, completed all seven, and the shortest was for three yards, and six of the seven were for five plus and/or gained the first down.”
He continued, “That’s WAY better than seven handoffs in terms of efficiency and yardage. All he’s saying is that he calls more runs than the stats say (13 for Kareem), it’s just some get thrown. Historically, the throws are very efficient because they only throw if the look is there. Y’all need to chill, this is in no way a dig at Pat.”
If you guys think this is a dig at Pat you’re just wrong and don’t know anything about football. Pat threw 7 RPO reads, completed all 7, the shortest was for 3 yards and 6 of the 7 were for 5+ and/or gained the first down. That’s WAY better than 7 handoffs in terms of efficiency…
— Mitchell Schwartz (@MitchSchwartz71) November 18, 2025
While the Chiefs aren’t as intimidating as they were in the past few seasons, they still have several impressive pieces, with a playoff appearance attainable in 2025. Catching the red-hot Broncos for the division might be out of the question, but Kansas City still has some time to figure things out before the situation becomes dire.
