The Loop

How good is the Chiefs offense? Their punter is now thanking Patrick Mahomes for 'letting' him punt

November 15, 2018

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs offense have been the best show going in the NFL this season. Yes, the New Orleans Saints and the L.A. Rams have legit arguments, but there's something about the Mahomes-Tyreek Hill-Kareem Hunt-Travis Kelce dynamic that feels and looks more electric than anybody else right now. In terms of total points on the year, no offense is better, and their 35.3 points per game is second only to the Saints. It's exciting, it's fun, it's exactly what the NFL needed this year after a few seasons of bad publicity.

The offensive explosion isn't all sunshine and rainbows for everybody though. Does anybody think about who it could be hurting? Defenses and defensive coordinators for starters, but the people most negatively affected by this points bonanza? Punters.

For fans, this is great! There is nothing worse than watching your team go three-and-out (believe me, I know, I'm a Giants fan), and as much as color analysts love to opine about "FIELD POSITION BATTLES," nobody wants to watch those. But these poor punters are going to be out of work soon if this keeps up. Just ask KC punter Dustin Colquitt, who is now thanking Mahomes for failing to convert first downs:

On Sunday at home against Arizona, the Chiefs offense began the game with four consecutive scoring drives, TD-FG-FG-TD. On the fifth drive, which began with 1:46 remaining in the half, they nearly rendered Colquitt completely useless before stalling at midfield (how dare they) with 26 seconds to go. On 4th & 11, it was finally Colquitt's time, and he booted a 52-yard beauty despite coming in ice cold. Hell of a job by him. Fortunately for Colquitt, he got four more tries, as the Chiefs struggled a bit in the second half but still beat the Cardinals 26-14. Even with all those, they still have the third-least amount of punts in the NFL with 28, behind only ... you guessed it, the Rams (25) and Saints (19). Are we witnessing the end of the punter as we know it? Thanks to teams like the Browns, Jets and Bills, not yet.

Screen Shot 2018-11-15 at 10.43.45 AM.png