Getty Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (left) and quarterback Patrick Mahomes (right).
A lot is going wrong for the Kansas City Chiefs with just two games remaining in the regular season. But former Chiefs player Dante Hall, who was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor earlier this year, has some helpful advice for quarterback Patrick Mahomes that could help him right the ship offensively.
“Patrick Mahomes, I love you, you’re my favorite quarterback. But I think you need to fall in love with the mundane,” Hall said while on Good Morning Football on December 27. “Yes, for five years we’ve been used to the big plays to Tyreek (Hill), to (Travis) Kelce, and all of that. It’s time to be checkdown Tom Brady. Fall in love with the swing route, the checkdowns. These plays have been there for the taking, and that’s pretty much what we need to get back to, right?”
But that’s not the only advice he had for Mahomes. When asked by co-panelist and NFL insider Peter Schrager for his thoughts on Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce’s recent sideline outbursts, Hall was very blunt and put Kansas City’s star players on blast.
“It’s like my little kids running around here on Christmas Day. We got you a Christmas tree filled with presents, and you’re acting like spoiled little brats.
“These guys know I love them. So, as a friend, as a brother, I had to call you out. This is not a good look. I’m watching the game with my kids, my daughter loves Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, and you’re acting like that? C’mon, guys! Be better, and I think the team will be better.”
Though Mahomes has failed to consistently rely on his checkdowns to move the chains, the Chiefs coaching staff has made a concerted effort to get the ball out of his hands quickly and near the line of scrimmage.
Against the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day, 21 of Mahomes’s 27 completions were within five yards of the line of scrimmage, per Next Gen Stats. 17 of those completions came at or behind the line of scrimmage.
NFLKansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes’s Week 16 passing chart, per Next Gen Stats.
Many of those completions were designed screen passes to get the ball in the hands of players such as Kelce and Rashee Rice, who are two of the best in the NFL after the catch.
In the end, that strategy didn’t help Kansas City put enough points on the board to beat its division rival. But if the defending Super Bowl champions can clean up their turnover issue, then that same strategy can be more effective moving forward.
Dante Hall Has 2 More Pieces of Advice
Along with his advice for Mahomes, Hall also aimed at Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, who Hall speculates is at the forefront of Kansas City’s offensive issues.
“When Eric Bieniemy was [with the Chiefs], we didn’t have this lack of discipline, we didn’t have guys not lining up, we didn’t have guys dropping a league-leading 25 passes, we didn’t have none of this,” Hall said. “So, is it Nagy? Is it Bieniemy? I don’t know. But I would like to start there — it starts at the top, right? You’re the offensive coordinator, you — besides JuJu Smith-Schuster leaving — are the only change in this Super Bowl-winning offense, so it must be you. Get these guys in order.”
Hall’s last bit of advice was to the team as a whole and how they present themselves on game day.
“Body language is everything. When you are screaming and yelling at your players, that permeates negativity,” Hall continued. “What you have had in [the first five years with Mahomes] — that poker face — we know we’re gonna win this in the end, that permeates positivity. Get back to being positive and not so [grunts] on the sideline with your guys.”
Chiefs Face Bengals in Week 17
The Chiefs (9-6) round out 2023 with a matchup against the conference-rival Cincinnati Bengals (8-7) at Arrowhead Stadium. That game will take place on Sunday, December 31 at 3:25 p.m. Central time and can be watched on CBS and ABC.