Ben SolakDec 9, 2025, 06:40 AM ETCloseBen Solak joined ESPN in 2024 as a national NFL analyst. He previously covered the NFL at The Ringer, Bleeding Green Nation and The Draft Network.
play0:51Schefter doesn’t expect big changes to Chiefs’ coaching staffAdam Schefter doesn’t expect the Chiefs will make any voluntary changes to their coaching staff this offseason.
play0:56Trevor Lawrence and Brian Thomas Jr. lead Jaguars’ winMichael DiRocco details Trevor Lawrence and Brian Thomas Jr. leading the Jaguars to a win against the Colts.
play1:20Stephania Bell: Blake Corum is no longer just an insurance policyStephania Bell breaks down how Blake Corum’s increased utilization in the Rams offense is translating into higher fantasy production.
play2:03Eisen blown away by Josh Allen in Bills’ comebackRich Eisen marvels at Josh Allen’s performance in the Bills’ win over the Bengals.
play1:36Jalen Hurts’ 5-turnover game helps Chargers outlast Eagles in OTThe Chargers win a wild one over the Eagles in overtime in a game that featured eight combined turnovers.
Woody: ‘Stick a fork in the Chiefs, they are done!’ (0:41)Damien Woody explains how the Chiefs’ season is essentially over after Sunday night’s loss to the Texans. (0:41)
Schefter doesn’t expect big changes to Chiefs’ coaching staffAdam Schefter doesn’t expect the Chiefs will make any voluntary changes to their coaching staff this offseason.
Adam Schefter doesn’t expect the Chiefs will make any voluntary changes to their coaching staff this offseason.
Trevor Lawrence and Brian Thomas Jr. lead Jaguars’ winMichael DiRocco details Trevor Lawrence and Brian Thomas Jr. leading the Jaguars to a win against the Colts.
Michael DiRocco details Trevor Lawrence and Brian Thomas Jr. leading the Jaguars to a win against the Colts.
Stephania Bell: Blake Corum is no longer just an insurance policyStephania Bell breaks down how Blake Corum’s increased utilization in the Rams offense is translating into higher fantasy production.
Stephania Bell breaks down how Blake Corum’s increased utilization in the Rams offense is translating into higher fantasy production.
Eisen blown away by Josh Allen in Bills’ comebackRich Eisen marvels at Josh Allen’s performance in the Bills’ win over the Bengals.
Jalen Hurts’ 5-turnover game helps Chargers outlast Eagles in OTThe Chargers win a wild one over the Eagles in overtime in a game that featured eight combined turnovers.
The Chargers win a wild one over the Eagles in overtime in a game that featured eight combined turnovers.
Second Take: The Jaguars are the team to watch in the AFC
According to Elias Sports Bureau, it’s the first time in their database (which goes back to 1978) that the same player had two turnovers on one down. It was beautiful to watch live. (And masterfully called by Joe Buck, who acted as if it was something he sees every week.)
Though this column will not have two turnovers in one paragraph, it will react measuredly to everyone’s overreactions, celebrate the exciting stuff that nobody is appreciating and highlight what you might have missed Sunday and Monday. There will be film. There will be stats (a whole section of them). And there will be fun.
Jump to a section: Big Thing: How to fix the Chiefs’ offense Second Take: Jaguars are a real contender Mailbag: Answering questions from … you Next Ben Stats: Wild Week 14 stats Monday Night Mayhem: Turnovers cost Eagles
Every week, this column will kick off with one wide look at a key game, player or trend from the previous slate of NFL action. What does it mean for the rest of the season? This week, we’re looking at the reeling Chiefs and how to get them back on track in 2026 and beyond.
With the loss, the Chiefs’ playoff streak is in serious jeopardy. After 10 straight postseason appearances, the Chiefs now have only a 16.4% chance to make the playoffs, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) projections. And they have a 53.8% chance to make the playoffs even if they win out.
It was already true then that the Chiefs had legitimate issues. When a team is 11-0 in one-score games, it is worse than the record indicates. It’s just challenging, both internally and externally, to calibrate those issues when that same team is attending its fifth Super Bowl in six seasons.
Similarly, when a team is 1-6 in one-score games, as the 2025 Chiefs are, it is better than the record indicates. The Chiefs are currently seventh in DVOA and second in FPI. The Chiefs probably will miss the playoffs, while clearly worse teams will make it. They’re far from the first team to experience this, and it is tough to feel too sorry for them. (See: five Super Bowls in six years.)
It’s impossible to get to everything here. I have Jawaan Taylor complaints, defensive tackle frustrations and CB snap count questions. But on the topic of the Chiefs’ offense, two huge issues have glared for years. And the Chiefs won’t dig their way out of this hole without fixing them.
The Chiefs have been first or second in pass rate over expectation every single season since 2018 (they are second to the Cardinals this season). Throwing the ball more often when you have the best quarterback is not a bad idea, and the Chiefs do not need to completely change their ways. But they have gone to the water’s edge and must take a few steps back.
One reason the Chiefs’ pass rate is so high is because they rely on run-pass options more than any team. Finding good data on RPOs is challenging. They’re hard to chart and teams run them differently. But when we look at throws that are out within 1.5 seconds of the snap — ultra-quick throws — we are generally catching one-read decisions that are meant to hit close to the line of scrimmage. These passes are really extensions of the running game.
Schefter doesn’t expect big changes to Chiefs’ coaching staff
This is not worthy of a defense’s respect. The Chiefs cannot force safeties closer to the line of scrimmage or lure heavier defensive personnel onto the field. They run at a bare minimum to support the passing game and get the bare minimum from their running game as a result.
I would love for the Chiefs to add an offensive coach from outside of the Reid tree this offseason. Go get one of Ben Johnson’s myriad assistants in Chicago. Follow the Dan Campbell arc and hire some position coaches from the college ranks. Infuse this running game with new ideas.
And of course, the key for Buffalo is running back James Cook III. Even when the Chiefs invested early at running back with Clyde Edwards-Helaire, they did so in large part because of his potential impact as a pass catcher. If the reports are true that general manager Brett Veach could have had Jets running back Breece Hall for a third-round pick at the deadline this year and passed, that was a serious misstep.
If the Chiefs’ draft capital has not gone into ancillary players around the running game, then where has it gone?
In the past four drafts, the Chiefs have spent a first-round pick (Worthy), two seconds (Skyy Moore and Rice) and a fourth (Jalen Royals) on wide receivers. They also traded a 2023 third-rounder for Kadarius Toney and a 2025 fifth-rounder for DeAndre Hopkins. In free agency, the only big move the past few offseasons has been signing Hollywood Brown, and Tyquan Thornton and Smith-Schuster filled out the bottom of the roster.
Rice is for sure a hit. Since entering the league, he has 2.7 yards per route run (seventh among frequently targeted receivers) as a high-volume underneath player; his 8.1 yards after catch per reception leads all receivers. He’s not a complete player, as he doesn’t have a legitimate downfield element to his game, but he is a useful one, especially in the current construct of the Chiefs’ RPO-heavy, quick-game offense.
But in the modern NFL, teams can’t just have one guy. Offenses need at least two. Sign Davante Adams to run with Nacua. Extend both Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase. Trade for A.J. Brown and draft DeVonta Smith. Draft both Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams. With the exorbitant passing volume in today’s NFL, it takes more than one quality receiver to sustain the pass-catching load.
The Chiefs don’t have that caliber of star. Kelce was once that player but hasn’t been such a pass catcher for years now. Worthy had productive games when Rice was down but isn’t a high-volume player. He lacks the size and consistency to win balls downfield and must have offense manufactured for him. Rice isn’t really a true WR1, as he doesn’t make a consistent impact at all three levels of the field.
A deep, WR1-less room is possible in that scenario, but only if you build for different skill sets. Receivers can win in such myriad ways — long speed, quickness, physicality, route running, catch radius, general savviness, jump-ball ability — that over-indexing one particular playstyle creates a one-dimensional passing attack.
Hill’s absence also glared in their RPO game, as his angle-breaking quickness turned many quick passes into solid gains. The Chiefs went all-out in pursuit of his replacement. They drafted Moore, then traded for Toney, then signed Brown, then drafted Worthy. Four players known for speed who are sub-6-feet and 200 pounds.
Even the Chiefs’ big receivers aren’t big. Rice was 6-foot-1 and 204 pounds at the combine. Royals is 6-foot and 205 pounds. Thornton is the tallest receiver on the depth chart at 6-2 … and he weighs 185 pounds.
This brings us to the second route the Chiefs could take for offensive innovation. The Bills, who have also struggled mightily to get wide receiver talent in the building, became an under-center running team that featured their tight ends. Meanwhile, the Bengals have remained a shotgun running team that doesn’t rely much on RPOs. They are the producers of the second path: have truly elite wide receiver talent.
ESPN’s “First Take” is known for, well, providing the first take on things — the instant reactions. Second Take is not a place for instant reactions but rather where I’ll let the dust settle before taking perhaps a bit of a contrarian view.