Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs provide unique challenge for Raiders

The Chiefs’ offense was expected to take a step back after trading dynamic wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins in the offseason.

That is what everyone assumed, anyway.

Fact: At 32.3 points per game, the 3-1 Chiefs are averaging the second-most points in the NFL.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

“They have great coaches, great players,” Raiders quarterback Derek Carr said. “Since I’ve been here, they’ve had really good football teams. So this is just a new team, new year.”

And, not surprisingly, in first place in the AFC West. Again.

“They’ve obviously played a couple games where they’ve been able to get off to a good start and really put some pressure on to keep up,” Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said.

McDaniels isn’t surprised, having gone against quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce and coach Andy Reid in some epic battles when he was the offensive coordinator of the Patriots.

“The quarterback is a special player, and they got a lot of good football players,” McDaniels said. “Andy does a great job. There’s never a moment where you can relax.”

No doubt Hill is a special player. And no doubt, the Chiefs have to structure their offense a bit differently now that he’s gone. But Reid has shown time and again that he has a knack for fitting an offense to reflect his talent.

He does it from a scheme standpoint. An alignment standpoint. And a play-calling standpoint.

From the conventional to the tricky, Reid extracts everything from his personnel. His ability to keep a defense guessing is legendary.

“What has always impressed me about them is how well they execute those things,” McDaniels said. “Everybody kind of giggles and laughs when you see him throw an underhand pass to a fullback on a shovel pass, or Kelce lines up at quarterback in the red zone and then runs the ball in, or runs an option, or shovel pass, whatever it is. And people kind of get a kick out of that. What’s always impressed me is how precise they are and how detailed they are when they do those things.”

So while Kelce has 26 catches for 322 yards, it’s no surprise that JuJu Smith-Schuster has 19 catches for 224 yards, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling has 13 receptions for 168 yards. Or that Clyde Edwards-Helaire has 41 carries for 208 yards and Isiah Pacheco 28 carries for 140 yards.

Or, finally, that Mahomes has completed 97 of 146 passes for 1,106 yards and 11 touchdowns.

They do it conventionally. And they do it in ways some coaches can only shake their heads in admiration.

“Andy has always been somebody that you, as an offensive coach, watch their things and you say, ‘Can we steal that from them? Or would we call that?” McDaniels said. “And some things are no, you don’t feel comfortable enough. They got a great system, they have a great staff, they’ve come up with a lot of really unique, creative ideas.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.