Chiefs need HC Andy Reid’s post-bye week superpower more than ever before in Week 11 vs. Broncos
Andy Reid’s post-bye week superpower is the key to getting things back on track against the Denver Broncos in Week 11.
The Kansas City Chiefs exit the bye week with little room for error. The playoffs are on the line for the team, as they currently hold a 5-4 record and the No. 8 seed in the AFC. Without a vast improvement following the bye week, they could realistically miss the playoffs entirely.
They’ve lost to three AFC teams so far in the 2025 NFL season: the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1, the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 5, and the Buffalo Bills in Week 9. Seven of their eight remaining games are against AFC opponents, including four against AFC West rivals and four against teams currently in the AFC playoff picture.
While it feels like the urgency is reaching critical levels for Kansas City, Andy Reid remains even-keeled. He insists that they’ll continue to take things one game and one week at a time, with the same focus, energy, and urgency as they would any other week.
“In this league, I mean, every game’s important,” Reid said. “And so, you’ve got to stay focused on that. And it doesn’t matter what your projections say or what’s happened before; you learn from your past and take care of what’s going on today. We’ll get the players back tomorrow, and then we’re all in on Denver. So that’s kind of where we’re at. Is there an urgency? There should be an urgency every week. That’s how this league is. There’s too much parity in this league not to have urgency every week.”
Thankfully, Coach Reid has a bit of a superpower for getting his teams right and ready to perform after the bye week.
Andy Reid has a history of success after the bye week, and the Chiefs desperately need it to continue
In the past, Coach Reid has maintained there’s no real rhyme or reason to his team’s success after the bye week. The reality is that it’s easy to see the process that leads to success. For players, it’s a matter of balancing time between rest, recovery, and study. For the coaches, it’s a strong evaluation of the scheme and what has led to successful results before the bye week. That blend has left Coach Reid’s teams in good shape, with an 84.62 winning percentage following the bye week.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid’s record after the regular-season bye week
- Philadelphia Eagles: 13-1
- Kansas City Chiefs: 9-3
- Total: 22-4
Asked about what the team learned about itself during the self-evaluation that took place in the bye week, Chiefs HC Andy Reid kept things close to the vest.
“Yeah, I can’t give you all that, but I would tell you that we did go back and look at some of the things we can do better, or some of the things we’ve done well,” Reid said. “We had a lot of good things coming up to this past week, and then there were some things there that we can definitely learn from during the last game against the Bills. So, but again, that’s why we spend the time working on that stuff. But I’m not going to put it out there, for sure.”
While Reid won’t go there because of gamesmanship, it’s not hard to see the areas where they could have done better — and how to fix them. The run game, for instance, could use a heavier dose of under-center runs. Part of the bye week evaluation is looking at that data, coming to that conclusion, and course-correcting for the remainder of the season. If they can begin implementing changes based on some of the things they’ve identified, they’ll be in good shape as they head to Denver in Week 11.