Andy Reid could have his moment this weekend
The Kansas City Chiefs will take on Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football without their own superstar quarterback in the lineup, but this mismatch could lead to Andy Reid having a defining night as a head coach.
Andy Reid is widely regarded as one of the best coaches on the offensive side of the football, with the Kansas City Chiefs brilliance being his latest success. But until Reid wins a Super Bowl, there will always be questions about whether or not he can get over the hump and truly belong as one of the greats of his era.
Even today, it’s still fair to wonder if the Chiefs success is the result of Reid, or if the former Philadelphia Eagles head coach is being propped up more by Patrick Mahomes’ once-in-a-lifetime greatness that any scheme would be effective with a golden-armed genius running the show.
On Sunday, Reid gets a chance to beat the odds and show that he is truly one of the best head coaches in the modern game. If the Chiefs can upset the Green Bay Packers, especially with quarterback Aaron Rodgers rolling after a literally perfect QB Rating in Week 7, then Reid will have engineered a night that he can always point to as an answer to the critics.
The Packers are more than just Rodgers, of course. Not only will Reid have to put Matt Moore, a journeyman backup, in a position to put up more points than a Rodgers-led offense, but he’ll also have to cope with a much-improved Packers pass rush and a talented young secondary. The defense has helped the Packers bounce back in 2019, as they’ve started the season 6-1; they are right there with the cream of the crop in the NFL this season.
Moore and Reid will have plenty of help, though. Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce are legitimate superstar pass-catchers. LeSean McCoy has shown that he’s still one of the best running backs in the NFL. And Mecole Hardman and Demarcus Robinson should not be taken lightly as big-play threats who can take any given reception straight to the house.
Reid is at his best when he’s spreading the field horizontally, putting the ball in the hands of a quarterback who is willing and able to use a variety of pass-catchers. Although Moore has limitations as a quarterback, he’s one of the best veteran backups in the business and has built a reputation for being a game manager who can put the ball in a playmaker’s hands. Moore trusts his receivers, which is a part of his game that undoubtedly began in Carolina when he consistently fed the ball to Steve Smith Sr.
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In Kansas City, Moore has a handful of talented pass-catchers and a head coach who can scheme for them. The Packers are one of the best teams in the NFL and absolutely favored to win over a Mahomes-less Chiefs team, but the Chiefs showed in Week 7 that they won’t go down easily without their star quarterback.
There is no pressure on Andy Reid in Week 8. If the Chiefs lose, nobody is going to point the finger at anyone in Kansas City for falling to a legendary quarterback and a one-loss NFC powerhouse. But even though there’s no pressure, Reid has so much to gain, since the pressure is squarely on the Packers. If Reid can beat the odds with Moore, it’ll be a good indication to the rest of the NFL that he is indeed an astute schemer who isn’t propped up by his quarterbacks.