Offensive Rankings-Part 2

Feb 25, 2008, 3:18:02 AM by Bob Gretz - FAQ

Just how bad was the Chiefs offense in 2007?

It was historically bad.

While finishing 31st in our eight-category statistical ranking of the 32 NFL offenses was ugly enough, last year’s unit established or was close to establishing new marks for poor offensive performance in the team’s record books.

RUNNING GAME: the Chiefs averaged just 78 yards per game, the 32nd and worst running attack in the league.

It was also the worst rushing performance in the history of the franchise.

Those 1,248 yards was worse than the 1,254 yards the Chiefs had in the running game in the 1983 season. In the strike season of ‘82, the Chiefs had 943 yards, or 104.8 yards per game.

Here’s another perspective on how bad the running game became: in the previous 47 seasons of Texans-Chiefs football, the offense averaged 128.6 yards rushing in 708 regular season games. In other words, the Chiefs have always been able to run the ball.

Not the ‘07 Chiefs, who averaged 50 yards less than the average of every team that came before them since 1960.

Now that’s bad.

TOTAL YARDS: In the ‘07 season, the Chiefs totaled 4,429 yards in offense. That’s an average of 276.8 yards per game. Only San Francisco was worse, averaging 237.3 yards per game. The Niners had one of the worst offensive seasons in NFL history.

It was the lowest total offensive yardage for the Chiefs in 15 years, since they had just 4,324 yards in the 1992 season.

PASS PROTECTION: the Chiefs allowed 55 sacks in 618 passing plays, or a quarterback biting the dust every 11 times the offense dropped back to throw the ball.

That’s the worst pass protection Chiefs quarterbacks have experienced since 1992, when Dave Krieg went down once every 9.6 passing plays on a team that made the playoffs.

Those 55 sacks were the most the Chiefs had allowed since 1980, when they gave up a club record 57 sacks or one every 8 passing plays.

The absolute worst pass protection in Chiefs history came in the 1982 strike-shortened season. In just nine games, the Chiefs allowed 40 sacks, or one every 7.6 passing plays.

SCORING: the Chiefs had just 23 offensive touchdowns during the 2007 season. That’s the fewest offensive scores since the 1974 team had 21 touchdowns in 14 games. That bad season was a repeat of the ‘73 season that also had 21 offensive scores. Those were the two worst scoring teams in Chiefs history.

The ‘07 Chiefs did establish a new club record for fewest points in a full season, with 226 total points. That broke the old record of 231 points set in ‘73.

THIRD DOWN: the Chiefs converted on third down 34.1 percent of the time (79 of 232 third down plays.) That was 28th in the league and well behind the league leaders in Indianapolis, where the Colts moved the chains 49.3 percent of the time. Last season was the worst third down performance by the Chiefs offense since the 1998 season, when they hit on 31.8 percent.

Related:
GRETZ: Offensive Rankings-Part 1

The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs.

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A former beat reporter who covered the Pittsburgh Steelers during their glory years, Gretz covered the Chiefs for the Kansas City Star for nine years. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Board of Selectors. He has been the senior columnist for the Chiefs web site since its inception.