KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Kansas City Chiefs offensive line surrendered five sacks against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night, pushing the season total of sacks allowed to 10 and nine in the last two games.
Sep 19, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid along the sidelines during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. The Chiefs defeated the Eagles 26-16. Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
The sacks are a concern when considering quarterback Alex Smith has dropped back to pass 71 times in the last two weeks.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid addressed the offensive line when asked during Friday’s media conference call to assess the line’s play on Thursday night.
“Listen, we’re young there,” Reid said. “We’re getting better and we have to continue to work, keep working as a unit and getting to know each other.”
While losing starting left guard Jeff Allen, who left the game with a groin injury, certainly didn’t help, Reid pointed out the offensive line came up big when it mattered.
“I thought as the game went on, we progressively got better, which is important,” Reid said. “The last two weeks, they’ve really taken over the end of the game and really done a pretty good job of finishing things up.”
Reid said the offensive line has to continue to learn and complimented the unit’s ability to keep a level head.
“They don’t get frustrated to the point where they go into the tank,” Reid said. “They just keep working and working to get it right and good things have happened in the last couple of weeks.”
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Reid on how his defense played against the Eagles:
“I thought they played dominant football at times. You got to play that offense, they’re going to have a couple of big plays, that’s going to happen, they have way too much talent on that offense. And they have a great scheme. I guess the thing I was proudest the most about with the defense was so they make a big play you just got to say, ‘OK, they got one, but we’re coming back at you. We’re going to give you our best shot this play and let’s see how that works.’ And so that attitude, we were able to keep them out of the end zone for the most part. That attitude I think contributes to that.”
Reid on the importance of protecting the ball (Chiefs offense have yet to commit a turnover through three games):
“I keep it real simple. Turnovers and points on both sides of the ball are very important. So from a defensive standpoint, we want to create turnovers and takeaways and you want to limit points. And then offensively, you want to score points and eliminate turnovers. That’s been from the first meeting we had with the players and that’s what we’ve stressed. Touchdowns do matter from special teams, from offense and defense. You want everybody to be involved in that part of scoring.”
Notes: Reid said he had no injury updates because the players were just getting in … The key players from Thursday night to monitor are cornerback Brandon Flowers, who aggravated a knee injury, guard Jeff Allen (groin) and tight ends Anthony Fasano (ankle, inactive Thursday night) and Travis Kelce (knee, inactive Thursday night).
