Chiefs coach Andy Reid reveals what other coaches have been unable to do over the past two seasons.

In Week 1’s win against the Baltimore Ravens, Reid used wide receiver motion to open up opportunities in both the passing game and the run game. Offenses often use ‘cheat motion’ pre-snap to help identify whether the defense is in zone or man-to-man. In the Chiefs case, they copied the Miami Dolphins technique from 2023, as Ted Nguyen details in his most recent film study for The Athletic.

“The Dolphins cheat motion was the big trend last season and will continue to be this season. Here, the Chiefs had Rashee Rice cheat motion outside of a bunch formation to disguise their concept and get slightly better leverage…ensuring that Rice had free access inside,” Nguyen wrote.’
As Nguyen mentions, the Chiefs motioned Rashee Rice outside on multiple occasions. While the Ravens cornerbacks made the necessary adjustments, they often gave Rice far too much room and a free release to the inside, which provided Mahomes with an easy out for one of his top targets.

It showed, as Rice had seven catches for 103 yards against the Ravens on Thursday. Rice likely won’t be suspended anytime soon, so don’t be surprised if Kansas City employs a similar strategy to get the second-year receiver a cushion off the line of scrimmage (and headway on an inside route) against the Bengals this week.

While Rice put up gaudy numbers, so too did rookie Xavier Worthy, who moved all around the Chiefs formation. Worthy caught a touchdown and scored on the ground, as well. Reid has a plethora of weapons to work with this season, and Hollywood Brown should return next week as well.