Oakland Raiders: Ranking The AFC West By Position Group – Running Backs

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs had some success on the ground last season and have a pretty solid 1-2 punch in Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware in the backfield. Combined the pair rushed for 1,214 yards and four scores – with Ware and his 921 yards leading the way.

As a team, the Chiefs posted the league’s fifteenth ranked rushing game with 1,748 yards, scoring 15 touchdowns along the way.

One interesting stat – and one that could prove to be a hinderance to them – is that of Kansas City’s 15 rushing touchdowns, eight were scored by a quarterback and a wide receiver. Quarterback Alex Smith led the team with five rushing scores and wide receiver Tyreek Hill chipped in another three.

It seems like without their quarterback and wide receiver putting balls in the endzone, Kansas City may be able to move the chains on the ground, but isn’t going to be able to seal the deal.

Something else that will work against Kansas City’s ground game this year is the lack of punch from the offense. Having released Jeremy Maclin, the Chiefs’ passing game is going to suffer – putting more pressure on Ware and West to produce.

With the added pressure teams will likely put on Kansas City’s ground attack, the Chiefs just don’t have the talent to overcome it. With an offensive line that’s middle of the pack, at best, and nobody else behind Ware and West to help shoulder the load, the Chiefs running game may find itself stuck in the mud and getting nowhere.

Ware is going to be the biggest threat coming out of Kansas City’s backfield and if teams can shut him down, it’s not going to bode real well for the offense as a whole.