Getty Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes II walks off the field after losing to the Denver Broncos for the first time in his career.
The Kansas City Chiefs finally lost to the Denver Broncos on October 29 for the first time since 2015, and it was an ugly performance for Patrick Mahomes II and the offense.
Of course, the morning began with a bad omen after The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported that the reigning NFL MVP was battling the flu. “He is not feeling great, but he will play,” she informed, and play he did.
That decision resulted in one of Mahomes’ worst career performances — if not the worst — with two interceptions, one fumble lost and a 59.2 passer rating according to ESPN. The poor outing also prompted a question on the future, and how the Chiefs can keep this loss from turning into “a domino effect.”
“It won’t be,” Mahomes answered bluntly before walking off the podium.
The last question for Mahomes tonight…
@SteveWallsKC: “How do you make sure this isn’t a domino effect and you keep going?”
#Chiefs Patrick Mahomes: “It won’t be.”
The confident response may sound like empty words coming from another athlete, but the Chiefs QB has the track record to back it up. When Mahomes makes a promise to the Kingdom, he generally keeps it — and you could feel the conviction behind this Broncos promise.
Chiefs Have Rallied Around Bad Losses in Years Past
It’s not the first time that Kansas City has suffered an embarrassing defeat. Fans quickly pointed to the 2022 Indianapolis Colts loss on social media — one of the catalysts that sparked a Super Bowl run a year ago.
It happens every year.
The good news is that about 50% of the time it ends in a Super Bowl appearance. #Chiefs
The Chiefs fell to the Colts in Week 3 of the 2022 campaign by a score of 20-17. It was their first loss of the season at the time, and the Matt Ryan-led Indy team was a massive underdog heading into the matchup.
Although this Broncos hiccup will go down as KC’s second loss of the 2023 campaign, it’s their first with superstars Travis Kelce and Chris Jones on the field — the Chiefs’ two most important players behind Mahomes.
To be fair, it took IV fluids for the latter to even suit up in Week 8, and star linebacker Nick Bolton was also missing with his wrist injury. But as Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid stated after the game, that’s no excuse.
Upsets happen every week in the NFL. The key, as Mahomes promised, is to never let it happen twice in a row.
Kansas City will get their chance to bounce back against the Miami Dolphins in Germany on November 5. Both teams will journey overseas with 6-2 records.
Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes Details Flu Symptoms vs. Broncos
The KC media asked Mahomes about his reported illness after the game.
“Yeah, I just started feeling bad last night,” the superstar signal-caller replied, “but I bounced back pretty well in the morning. Just trying to do whatever I can to go out there and play my best football.”
Later, Mahomes noted that it was “just stomach stuff” that was bothering him. “It is what it is,” he added with a shrug.
In terms of the result, the QB admitted that the Broncos had a “great gameplan” that they were able to execute involving “similar zone-type coverages” as Week 6 — while the Chiefs failed to get the job done on offense.
“Knowing that teams are gonna replicate [the Broncos defensive plan], and they’re going to do their different versions of it, [we’ll] try and find answers for that,” he voiced later on. “That’s the biggest thing… I’m sure other teams in the league are going to watch that, and we have to prove we have answers for that [defensive look].”
Mahomes also confirmed that there was never any chance he would not play in Week 8.