State of the Chiefs Passing Game After Week 3
The Chiefs passing game has continued to improve with a big game against the Bears
The Chiefs’ passing game continues to get better the further that we get into the season. The return of Travis Kelce against the Jaguars helped but Kelce continuing to get healthier week to week should continue to take the offense to a higher level. The fact that the Chiefs played the Bears certainly helped but continued success on third down is taking this offense to a new level. If you missed last week’s article you can find it here.
The focus this week will be much like the game against the Jaguars. The Chiefs continued success on third down improved from week to week and will continue to be tracked throughout the year. I will not be looking into the snaps after Mahomes left as the game was out of hand and it is not demonstrative of play throughout the rest of the season.
Patrick Mahomes
Mahomes played even better throughout the game against the Bears. He made throws that not many players can ever make and he kept his team moving most of the afternoon. The key statistic that makes this offense hum is how often they can convert on third down. In week 2 they completed 92% of the passes on third down but only converted a little less than 42% of the time. The biggest reason for that discrepancy is that the Chiefs faced five 3rd downs of at least 14 yards with four of more than eighteen yards.
Looking at week three the Chiefs generally stayed ahead of the sticks or close to it. On the day, they only had four third downs that were seven or eight yards, converting on three of them. Overall on the day while Mahomes was in the Chiefs went six for eight on completions and conversions. The sole shorter 3rd down conversion being an incompletion to Rashee Rice that was broken up.