Chiefs OC Matt Nagy isn’t naive or oblivious to what fans have been asking more of for years now
Andy Reid, Matt Nagy, and the Chiefs offense need to run more under center plays.
For years, fans have been asking the Kansas City Chiefs to run more plays from under center, rather than the shotgun. This means having quarterback Patrick Mahomes right behind the center with his hands under the center’s butt, waiting to be directly handed the snap. Chiefs OC Matt Nagy has called these types of plays a few times this year, but he needs to be doing it more.
Nagy acknowledges the results of under-center plays
“Under center runs have been good for us,” Nagy said on Thursday. “So, making sure that we don’t get away from that, match some things up with it to protect us schematically, and you’re getting now to where everybody says you’re getting into cold weather games, a little bit of the elements, the run game tends to jump up a little bit, so I don’t think that’s a hidden fact.
“But, whatever we do now, there are a million different schemes that you can do from dot runs – under center runs, it’s doing what we do well, pairing it up. But also not taking away what we do in the RPO world. So just balancing both of that and the running game.”
Going under center now and then helps keep the defense on its toes. When you are constantly running plays from the shotgun, it’s a lot easier for the defense to game-plan and guess whether you’re about to run or pass.
Patrick Mahomes’ stats in shotgun vs. under center in 2025 (with penalty plays, via Sports Info Solutions)
Shotgun stats:
- 388 dropbacks
- 218/336
- 2,477 yards
- 16 TD 6 INT
- 19 sacks
- 34.3% pressure rate
- 0.15 EPA/dropback
Non-shotgun stats:
- 15/25
- 148 yards
- 2 TD 0 INT
- 1 sack
- 37.9% pressure rate
- 0.14 EPA/dropback
From under center, it’s much easier to execute effective play action and downhill runs, which can catch defenses off guard. While shotgun offers advantages for longer-developing plays, adding more under-center looks can diversify the Chiefs’ attack and keep defenses guessing, a move OC Matt Nagy recognizes as necessary.
The Chiefs used to be one of the best and craziest offenses in the country. They were once the offense that everyone in the AFC built their defense to stop. They just aren’t that anymore, and haven’t been for some time. Doing something they don’t often do, more often, would be ideal to shake things up.
If Kansas City is going to make the postseason, it is going to have to stop being so predictable. They need to win every game from here on out and get help from other teams. Improving your offense and not making it so easy to stop would be a start.
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