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Chiefs’ disastrous Super Bowl exposed the run game as the offense’s fatal flaw

When Patrick Mahomes and the passing game struggled vs the Eagles, the Chiefs run game was nowhere to be seen.

The Kansas City Chiefs were completely and utterly dominated by the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX. The game was even more of a blowout than the 40-22 final score indicated. The Eagles came in with a legendary running back in Saquon Barkley, but when the Chiefs’ defense put the clamps on him, the Eagles’ passing game was able to counterpunch and still put points on the board. However, when the Eagles put the clamps on K.C.’s legendary quarterback, the Chiefs’ running game was nowhere to be found.

The Chiefs will never be a run-first offense as long as Patrick Mahomes is the quarterback and Andy Reid is the play-caller. However, the Chiefs put way too much of the load on Mahomes’ shoulders this past season. In fact, you can argue that as Mahomes’ time in K.C. has progressed, they have relied on him more and more to make up for deficiencies elsewhere in the offense.

Unfortunately, that means that if Mahomes has a bad day or comes across a team with a great plan to stop him, the Chiefs don’t have anyone else to lean on.

Despite the struggles Mahomes was clearly having against the Eagles in the Super Bowl, the Chiefs only handed the ball off to a running back on seven occasions. Mahomes was rattled, the pass rush was eating him alive, and the Chiefs still didn’t trust their running game enough to call more than just a token rush here and there.

You can blame Andy Reid and the play-calling to an extent. The Chiefs certainly could have called more runs, but when you’ve built an offensive line that prioritizes pass blocking over run blocking and have been trying to fill the running back position with cheap, bargain bin options, it’s understandable that you aren’t going to want to lean on that part of your game.

The Chiefs need a greater investment in the run game

It’s time for that to change. The Chiefs’ dynasty status may still be intact, but if they want to extend the dynasty any further, they still need to look at how they can improve this roster going forward. The most high-profile question this offseason is what Travis Kelce is going to do, but there are even bigger decisions that Brett Veach must make and some of those decisions will have to be made soon.

There will be plenty of talk this off-season about what to do with the offensive line. Do they try to re-sign Trey Smith? Do they keep Joe Thuney at his price tag? Are they fed up with the returns they’ve gotten on the investment they made in Jawaan Taylor? Will they commit major resources to finding a long-term answer at left tackle, or will they give Kingsley Suamataia or D.J. Humphries another shot?

These are all valid questions and there will be time and posts that dive into that more, but I certainly think that finding a line that can run block AND pass block should be part of that discussion.

However, the point I want to emphasize the most is that it’s time for the Chiefs to make a more significant investment in the running back position. I get that some fans are still scarred by K.C. using a late first-round pick on Clyde Edwards-Helaire and how that turned out, but that doesn’t mean you just use seventh-round picks and aging free agents at the position for the rest of the Mahomes era. They need a talented lead running back to help carry some of the load of the offense.

Don’t let the past inform the present

Some fans may be quick to point out that they’ve won three Super Bowls without a lead running back that they invested heavily in. Damien Williams was their lead back in their first Super Bowl win with Mahomes and then Isiah Pacheco has been the featured back for their previous two wins. However, the numbers show that Kansas City had a lot less faith in the running back position this year. Just last season the Chiefs running backs averaged 23 carries for 91.5 yards per game in the postseason. This year those numbers were down to 14 carries for 54 yards per game.

Was that drop because Andy Reid just was off his game? Was Pacheco not 100% after coming back from injury so they just got by with Kareem Hunt as their lead guy by default? Honestly, it doesn’t even really matter.

Hunt is too old to be the future and Pacheco is now entering the final year of his contract. Paying a second-contract running back isn’t usually a good business decision, especially one that runs as violently as Pacheco does and has some injury concerns. So even if you think Pacheco should have a shot to be the feature back again next season, KC should still draft his replacement in April.

A good year to grab a RB

This running back class in the 2025 NFL Draft is loaded with talent. The Chiefs won’t have to spend their first-round pick on a running back to get one that would instantly have the most upside on their roster. That’s not a knock on Pacheco—he plays with great effort and energy—but his vision isn’t fantastic. If your run blocking isn’t elite, you are going to need to have a back that has the vision to find the openings that are there. That’s why Hunt looked like an upgrade when he had fresh legs right after being signed. He has that vision. However, as the season wore on, the carries and Hunt’s age caught up with him.

I’m confident that Kansas City can find a back in this draft that at worst would be the likely successor to Pacheco after being in the system for a year and at best could come in and be an instant upgrade from day one. That’s why starting next week, I’m going to start a series of draft profiles called “Finding the next Chiefs Running Back in the 2025 NFL Draft”. I’ll preview at least a dozen backs in this draft class over the next month or two, so you can find the one you like best for KC. Price Carter had an intriguing option going to KC in the third round of his latest mock draft.

So what do you think Chiefs fans? Do you agree that the lack of a reliable running game played a significant role in KC’s Super Bowl debacle? Do you think that was all on the play calling or do you agree that KC needs to upgrade the run game this offseason? Does the idea of investing a day two draft pick on a running back worry you? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments below.