Chiefs’ Andy Reid had a message for his offensive linemen. Here’s how they responded

Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid said he entered the halftime locker room knowing there was an issue with KC’s offense.

And this time, he was to blame.

“I didn’t call enough runs in the first half,” Reid said. “I told the offensive line that I was going to bank on them, and we need to get this thing started and get a little bit more balance in there in our attack.”

So how did that go for the Chiefs on Monday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

Pretty well, it turned out. KC’s run game spurred three touchdown drives — and also a second-half comeback — as the Chiefs secured their 30-24 overtime home victory over the Buccaneers.

“When you can run the ball like we did and just put the hammer down that second half,” Reid said, “that big offensive line did a great job.”

The numbers reflected Reid’s change in mindset as well.

KC had 12 carries for 28 yards in the first half before enforcing its will after the break. In the second half and overtime, the Chiefs had 23 carries for 96 yards, while also gaining six first downs by rush.

Reid also adjusted how the Chiefs ran as well. Early on, KC went more to its perimeter runs, like outside zone, while not attacking Tampa Bay directly.

That changed late, as Reid called more downhill runs after he told his O-line he would lean on them.

“They were game with it,” Reid said.

It took a complete effort to overwhelm Tampa Bay’s defensive line.

Left tackle Wanya Morris had his best game as a Chiefs player, earning top run-blocking honors, according to preliminary grades by Pro Football Focus.

Meanwhile, in the biggest moment, running back Kareem Hunt also received a considerable assist from backfield mate Carson Steele.

When the Chiefs faced fourth-and-1 from their own 46 while tied in the fourth quarter, Reid called “Power,” an at-you run play that had left guard Joe Thuney pulling into the hole for a lead block.

He was helped, though, by Steele, who cleared things to start by putting his head down to take on Buccaneers outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka on the outside.

Steele is 6 feet, 228 pounds. Tryon-Shoyinka, meanwhile, is 6-5, 259.

Didn’t matter. Steele bulldozed ahead and stunned Tryon-Shoyinka with a shoulder-to-shoulder blow, knocking him backward before he fell to the turf.

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Hunt gained three yards to pick up the first down.

“I just closed my eyes, kind of put my head down a little bit,” Steele told The Star with a laugh after the game. “No, honestly, you’ve got to get a little lower on those guys, because they’re coming in low, especially being a fourth-and-1-kind of play. So got to get low and keep on going.”

Steele admitted that a player needed some craziness to go right at someone like that charging off the edge.

“Just a little bit. But I’ve always had it back there. So I had to bring it out,” Steele said. “It was awesome.”

That tone was set repeatedly by the Chiefs’ offensive linemen and blockers. By overtime, Tampa Bay could do little to slow Hunt as he added carries for 5, 4 and 5 yards before plunging ahead for a 2-yard walkoff touchdown.

The play call there — like the fourth-and-1 — was “Power,” with the Chiefs looking to assert their dominance in the game’s most significant moment.

“To be able to have the O-line just keep pounding and pounding, it wears out people,” Steele said. “You kind of saw that as the game progressed.”

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes could sense the same on the field, saying, “Even those 6-, 5-yard carries, they take a toll on the defense.”

Steele saw the second-half success as having even bigger ramifications for the team.

“It’s almost like a statement game,” he said. “You take those guys one-on-one, stuff like that, and like I was saying before, it wears people down.”

Reid certainly noticed the efforts up front. He praised his offensive line for having a “big day” against the Buccaneers.

“I thought they just stepped up,” Reid said, “and played great football.”