KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The epitaph for the 2014 Kansas City Chiefs is as embarrassing as it is revealing about why they came up short of the playoffs. The 9-7 Chiefs went all season without getting a touchdown from a wide receiver.
Think about that for a moment. In a league in which the rules are designed for wide receivers to get big plays and touchdowns, the Chiefs failed to get many of one and any of the other.
That, in sum, was the root of their problem. They beat the San Diego Chargers 19-7 on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium but their season is finished because their offense limped through with minimal help from the wide receivers.
It didn’t have to be this way, of course. The Chiefs could have made themselves better last offseason by getting the signature of free agent Emmanuel Sanders on a contract before he left their offices. They could have drafted a wide receiver like Kelvin Benjamin or Jordan Matthews.
But they ignored a positional need last offseason, their most glaring. They returned with largely the same cast of receivers as 2013 and paid the ultimate price in football terms. They came up a game short of the playoffs in a season in which a 10-6 record would have put them in the postseason.
Hopefully, that pain will spur the Chiefs into making sure this doesn’t happen to them again. But even if they invest free-agent dollars, as well as premium draft picks into wide receivers next season, it’s too late to help them for 2014.
If they had signed Sanders or drafted Benjamin or Matthews, it’s likely the Chiefs this week would be preparing for a playoff game rather than cleaning out lockers and wishing they had won any of the six games they coughed up.
The Chiefs wasted an opportunity here. Even without big plays and touchdowns from their wide receivers, they were 7-3 and tied for first place in the AFC West in the middle of November.
But it’s difficult and perhaps even impossible to make that kind of thing last over a full season. The Chiefs certainly couldn’t. They lost winnable games down the stretch against Oakland, Arizona and Pittsburgh, so they needed help from both Cleveland and Jacksonville on the season’s final day to make the playoffs.
That help, of course, didn’t come and the Chiefs are left to ponder, what if?
“You could look at any of our losses and say a play here, a play there and that would have guaranteed us a spot in the playoffs,’’ tackle Ryan Harris said.
“It just adds to the disappointment. This is such a talented group. This is the NFL. You’ve got to win big games and the not-so-big games and we let one too many get away from us.’’
The Chiefs aren’t finished this season because of their defense, which allowed fewer points than all but two other teams.
It’s not because of their running game, which was good enough to put them in the league’s top half.
It’s because they didn’t get enough help from their wide receivers.
It happened one last time on Sunday. Dwayne Bowe fumbled as he was on his way into the end zone and though it didn’t cost the Chiefs -- tight end Travis Kelce recovered for a touchdown -- it was a symbol of what killed their season.
“That’s a part of history,’’ Bowe said. “It’s a weird stat but it’s history and I’m a part of it.’’
The Chiefs need to make sure they don’t repeat that history in 2015 or ever again.
