It’s been refreshing to see big plays in the Kansas City Chiefs‘ offense again. Each win of the team’s 3-0 start to the 2026 season has featured them, whether on the ground or through the air.
According to Football Data Scientist Sam Hoppen on Twitter, the Chiefs have been generating explosive plays at the fourth-highest rate in the NFL.
An explosive run is an attempt that gains 10 or more yards, while an explosive pass is a 20-yard gain through the air. The Chiefs rank fifth in explosive run and pass rates, combining to sit behind only the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers in terms of the league’s best at executing big plays this season.
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The Chiefs have hit on the explosive plays in many different ways, whether it was a fourth-and-one handoff to running back Kenneth Walker that scored from 60 yards out in Week 1 against the Denver Broncos or a play-action pass to tight end Travis Kelce that gained 48 in Week 3.
Walker has the third-most runs of 10 or more yards in the NFL, according to NFL Next Gen Stats; he sits behind only the Bills’ running back James Cook and the Detroit Lions‘ back Jahmyr Gibbs. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has also had a couple of runs over 10 yards.
Kelce has two monster gains on his 2026 highlight reel so far, but he is one of six Chiefs players to record a reception for 20 or more yards this year. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been spreading the rock this year, and the threat of a handoff has allowed more space for his pass catchers to work.
Hoppen also shares that the Chiefs’ defense ranks in the middle of the pack in allowing explosive plays. Kansas City‘s run defense has allowed explosive runs on 12% of handoffs, ranking 20th among NFL teams, but the pass defense has been more sound: Only 4% of the pass attempts the Chiefs have faced this year have gained 20 or more yards, good for the 10th-best rate in the league.
