After serving a four game suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy (apparently for taking a diuretic), Kansas City Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe will be back in action against the Cleveland Browns this weekend.
Bowe was suspended back on November 17th and we haven't heard a peep out of him since.
How did the Chiefs do without Bowe? I've put some stats together for you to check out, after the jump.
| With Bowe | Without Bowe | Difference | |
| Avg. completions/game | 18 | 19 | +1 |
| Avg. completion % | 57.30% | 52.20% | -4.9% |
| Avg. passing yards/game | 167 | 179 | +12 |
| Avg. QB rating | 81.2 | 56.2 | -25 |
| W-L | 2-7 | 1-3 | -1 |
| Avg. points/game | 15.6 | 16 | +0.4 |
As you can see, the diference between the Chiefs' offense with Bowe and without Bowe isn't that much. The most significant drop was in the QB rating, which dropped a very significant amount.
Other than that, there wasn't much difference in points per game, completions or yards.
Who stepped up on Bowe's absence? Here are the top Chief receivers over the last four games:
- WR Chris Chambers (29 targets, 17 catches, 250 yards)
- WR Bobby Wade (29 targets, 14 receptions, 107 yards)
- RB Jamaal Charles (19 targets, 13 catches, 103 yards)
- WR Lance Long (17 targets, 8 catches, 74 yards)
- WR Mark Bradley (15 targets, 4 catches, 57 yards)
- TE Leonard Pope (13 targets, 9 catches, 86 yards)
Chambers is clearly the cream of the crop here. Another note is that Jamaal Charles now leads the team in receptions with 34 - one behind Dwayne Bowe's 33. Bowe still leads by a wide margin in receiving yards with 466.
Thoughts on Bowe coming back? Will it make much difference?