Oct 5, 2014; Santa Clara, CA; Chiefs offense in the huddle during Week 5’s game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium. Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Statistics often tell a back story, such as the Chiefs currently converting 45 percent whenever facing a third-and-long with more than 6 yards to go.
The first question that should come to immediate mind is why are the Chiefs facing third-and-long to begin with?
Of course, the only true statistic that matters is found in the win-loss column where the Chiefs sit at 2-3 on the bye week.
But digging around with numbers can provide nuggets and here are 10 areas standing out:
0: The Chiefs starting wide receivers corps has combined for zero receiving touchdowns on the season. To put that lack of production in perspective, Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt has three touchdowns, including a receiving score, on the season.
2 ½: Defensive end Allen Bailey is making his presence felt taking over for Tyson Jackson, who left via free agency in March. Bailey’s 2 ½ sacks currently ranks third on the team and there’s still 11 games to go. Jackson had a career-high four sacks in 2013.
3: All-Pro strong safety Eric Berry has missed three straight games with a high ankle sprain, but the Chiefs are covered with Ron Parker, who has played well in Berry’s place.
4: The Chiefs have four starters on injured reserve: Inside linebackers Derrick Johnson (Achilles) and Joe Mays (wrist), guard/tackle Jeff Allen (elbow) and defensive end Mike DeVito (Achilles). The Chiefs designated Mays for return, and he’s eligible after Week 8.
13: Quarterback Alex Smith caught a breather in Week 5 without being sacked against the San Francisco 49ers, but his 13 times sacked on the season currently ties for fourth-most in the league.
20: Second-year tight end Travis Kelce leads the teams with 20 receptions, a year removed from microfracture knee surgery. Kelce also leads team in yards receiving (274) and receiving touchdowns (3).
50.7: The Chiefs have converted 34-of-67 third-down attempts (50.7 percent), a vast improvement from 2013 when the Chiefs finished the season converting a dismal 34.7 percent third-down attempts, which ranked 27th in the league.
53: Running back Jamaal Charles has 6,018 yards rushing for his career and needs 53 yards rushing to overtake Priest Holmes, who has 6,070 yards rushing, as the Chiefs’ all-time leading rusher.
296: With 11 punts on the season placed inside the 20-yards line, Dustin Colquitt has 296 career punts inside the 20, marking the most in Chiefs history and ranking 11th in NFL history.
381: That’s the yards rushing the Chiefs totaled in two wins, an impressive 190 yards per game average spearheaded by running back Jamaal Charles and Knile Davis. Conversely, the Chiefs totaled 290 yards rushing in the three losses, an average of 96.6 yards per game.
THE REST OF THE WAY
The Chiefs enter the portion of the schedule where there are winnable games – on paper, at least.
But the Chiefs currently sit two games behind AFC West leading San Diego Chargers (4-1 entering Sunday), giving Week 7’s road matchup in San Diego tremendous significance.
A loss in Week 7 would prove detrimental to postseason hopes when considering the Chiefs still have to play the Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals and a season finale against the Chargers.
The remaining schedule with current records entering Week 6:
Week 7: @ San Diego (4-1)
Week 8: vs. St. Louis (1-3)
Week 9: vs. New York Jets (1-4)
Week 10: @ Buffalo (3-2)
Week 11: vs. Seattle (3-1)
Week 12: @ Oakland (0-4)
Week 13: vs. Denver (3-1)
Week 14: @ Arizona (3-1)
Week 15: vs. Oakland
Week 16: @ Pittsburgh (3-2)
Week 17: vs. San Diego
