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That's two straight weeks where I come out of a game feeling pretty good about the coaching job by Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid. The Chiefs were blown out in Week 1 against the Titans and Andy Reid took much of the responsibility for that. In Week 2 and 3, however, Reid has come out with decisions that have helped the Chiefs.
Reid had a few nice moments in the Chiefs 34-15 win over the Dolphins on Sunday.
Replacing Jamaal Charles with Knile Davis (rushing) and Joe McKnight (passing). Using Davis was a given -- he's the backup. But McKnight had hardly played in the preseason and hadn't taken a regular season snap in over a year. Instead he caught six passes and two touchdowns. McKnight looked like the natural replacement for Jamaal in the passing game. The Chiefs were able to match him up on linebackers throughout the day. A great decision by the Chiefs coach.
Sticking to the running game. Knile Davis carried the ball 32 (!!) times in this game. Jamaal hasn't had that many carries in almost two years to the day (33 against the Saints in 2012 Week 3). The Chiefs got a lead in the game and Reid did not get away from the running game. Whenever he does get away from the running game in situations like that, we get upset and complain. So it's worth pointing out when he did it right. By the way, the last time Smith had that few passes (25 or less) the Chiefs scored 45 and 56 points.
Going for it on 4th-and-1. It was the first play of the second quarter. The Chiefs had the ball at the Dolphins 47-yard line with one yard to go. They did go for it and picked up the first down. The Chiefs ended up punting on the drive but it was still the right call for Reid.
Playing Travis Kelce more. Play to your strengths -- two tight end sets with Travis Kelce are the Chiefs strengths. Kelce played 65 percent of the snaps on Sunday.
Bonus: The Chiefs played so well on offense the Dolphins are questioning their defensive coordinator.
Beyond that, I was happy with the overall play calling and execution in the game given everything I knew. This is how I felt after last week's game, too. I guess this is what agent Ralph Cindrich meant when he said this to me yesterday:
@ArrowheadPride Pretty much a career of pretty good coaching jobs.
— Ralph Cindrich (@RalphCindrich) September 22, 2014