It’s 2020, and Andy Reid is still terrific after the bye week

Now that the Kansas City Chiefs’ bye week is behind us, it’s time for your yearly reminder that Andy Reid has an excellent record after the bye. In his 22-year coaching career, Reid is 24-5 following a week off (we included postseason weeks off in our tabulation). That’s 83%.

Three of Reid’s five post-bye losses actually occurred with the Chiefs — but his record here is still 8-3 (73%).

Let’s remember all of Reid’s post-bye games since he arrived in Kansas City:

2013: Broncos 27, Chiefs 17

The previously-undefeated (9-0) Chiefs were handed their first loss of the season, as Peyton Manning threw for more than 300 yards and a touchdown — and Montee Ball ran for two scores. This was the fourth of seven straight Broncos wins against the Chiefs.

2014: Chiefs 23, Chargers 20

Cairo Santos hit a 48-yarder — leaving 21 seconds on the clock — and safety Kurt Coleman picked off Philip Rivers to seal the game. The Chiefs improved to 3-3 and the Chargers dropped to 5-2 as the Chiefs snapped their five-game winning streak.

2015: Chiefs 29, Broncos 13

This was the game in which Peyton Manning broke the career passing yards record — and also threw four interceptions, forcing the Broncos to put Brock Osweiler in the game. Charcandrick West was the Chiefs’ rushing leader with 92 yards and a touchdown. By the way... the Broncos haven’t beaten the Chiefs ever since then.

2016: Chiefs 26, Raiders 10

Spencer Ware ran for 131 yards and a touchdown, but the star of the game was Dontari Poe, who scored on Hungry Pig Right. The play went into the record books as a rush — but it looked more like a screen pass from Alex Smith.

2016: Steelers 18. Chiefs 16

This was a postseason slugfest where neither team scored a touchdown until Spencer Ware ran for a 1-yard score with just 2:47 remaining. The Chiefs went for two to force a tie, converting with a Smith pass to Demetrius Harris. But Eric Fisher was called for holding on the play. On the retry, Smith’s pass to Jeremy Maclin fell incomplete.

2017: New York Giants 12, Chiefs 9 (OT)

In one of the ugliest football games of all time, the 1-8 Giants defeated a 6-3 Chiefs team. Travis Kelce threw an interception. It was the second of four consecutive losses that eventually led to reports that Andy Reid had given play-calling duties to Matt Nagy. More recent take: the Giants’ defense that kept the Chiefs out of the end zone was led by current Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

2018: Chiefs 40, Raiders 33

This was the Chiefs’ first game after releasing running back Kareem Hunt. Patrick Mahomes threw for 295 yards and four touchdowns — and without Hunt, was also the team’s leading rusher. Mahomes had nine carries for 52 yards.

2018: Chiefs 27, Colts 13

As the snow fell at Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs ran out to a 24-7 halftime lead without a single touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes. Damien Williams ran for 129 yards and a touchdown. Mahomes and Darrel Williams each had one, too. Even Tyreek Hill got in the act, scoring on a 36-yard run as the Chiefs cruised to their first home playoff win since 1993.

2019: Chiefs 40, Raiders 9

This rout began when Tyrann Mathieu intercepted Deerk Carr on the Raiders’ opening drive, setting up the Chiefs’ first touchdown. Juan Thornhill had a 46-yard pick-six. Another Chiefs touchdown came after the Raiders couldn’t convert a fourth-and-1 at the Chiefs’ 40-yard line. And all of that was just in the first half. Trailing 38-3, The Raiders finally scored a touchdown with 39 seconds remaining — but Tanoh Kpassagnon blocked the extra point, which Charvarius Ward returned for a two-point defensive score.

2019: Chiefs 51, Texans 31

For 19 minutes and six seconds, it looked like the bye week magic was wearing off. The Texans had run up a 24-0 lead on blown coverages and special-teams miscues. But then Mecole Hardman returned a kickoff 58 yards. Daniel Sorensen sniffed out a fake punt, giving the Chiefs the ball at the Texans’ 33-yard line — and then forced (and recovered) a fumble on a Texans kickoff return. The rest was all Patrick Mahomes. After going 4-10 to start the game, he was nearly perfect the rest of the way — completing 19 of 25 for 277 yards and five touchdowns for a passer rating of 151.2, leading a 51-7 scoring run that advanced the Chiefs to the AFC championship.

2019: Chiefs 31, 49ers 21

This was another game where Reid’s post-bye magic appeared to be wearing thin. In Super Bowl LIV, the team faced a 20-10 deficit after three quarters; the San Francisco defense had done an excellent job of limiting the effectiveness of the Kansas City offense. But halfway through the fourth quarter, the game turned when Mahomes asked, “Is there time to run Wasp?” The now-famous 2-3 Jet Chip Wasp converted a third-and-15 with a 44-yard pass to Tyreek Hill. The play sparked a 21-0 scoring run in just 6:35 of playing time, handing the Chiefs their first championship in 50 years.

2020: Chiefs ??, Raiders ??

The Chiefs take their 8-1 record to Las Vegas to face the 6-3 Raiders. The Chiefs need the win to grasp firm control of the AFC West race and stay in the hunt for 2020’s single postseason bye. And yeah... remind the Raiders that there is a price to be paid for taking a victory lap around Arrowhead Stadium.