Getty Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Another week, another abysmal performance by the Kansas City Chiefs offense, this one occurring during a 20-14 loss to the division-rival Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day. But this time quarterback Patrick Mahomes explained what he thinks will happen in the playoffs if the Chiefs can’t figure things out offensively.
“If we clean it up, we’ll be able to score points,” Mahomes said during his postgame press conference. “It’s just, we’ve got to clean it up. We [have] two games left. You have to do it. If we don’t, we’ll be going home (in the playoffs). I think if we clean it up, we can beat anybody. I truly believe that. But we’ve got to prove that we can do it.”
Mahomes is right. If Kansas City can’t consistently move the ball and score points on offense, then the Chiefs will likely have their first-ever first-round playoff exit of Mahomes’s career.
Last year, the Chiefs had already found their footing offensively by this time during the season. But after 16 regular season games, Kansas City’s offense has yet to show any signs of consistency this season, which is troubling when considering only two weeks are remaining in the regular season.
If the Chiefs haven’t figured things out on offense by now, they likely won’t at any point this season. They are who they are, and that’s not going to change until some personnel changes take place next offseason.
Raiders Spoil Chiefs’ Christmas
The Chiefs’ record drops to 9-6 after the loss to the now 7-8 Raiders.
Mahomes struggled against Las Vegas; Kansas City’s star QB completed 27-of-44 pass attempts for 235 yards and 1 touchdown, but he also had a pick-six, was sacked 4 times, and had to run the ball 10 times due to having no open receivers downfield on Christmas Day.
The Chiefs’ leading receiver in Week 16 was rookie Rashee Rice, who had a team-high 12 targets and caught 6 of them for 57 yards. Receiver Justin Watson caught Mahomes’s lone touchdown late in the fourth quarter and finished the day with 4 catches for 38 yards. The team’s leading rusher was Isiah Pacheco, who ran the ball 11 times for 26 yards, scored 1 touchdown, and had a costly fumble on an errant handoff to Mahomes in Kansas City’s territory that resulted in a scoop-and-score for the Raiders’ defense.
Kansas City’s defense was much of the same against the Raiders; the unit allowed Raiders rookie QB Aidan O’Connell to complete just 9 passes for 62 yards. But Las Vegas’ backup running back Zamir White ran the ball 22 times for 145 yards, which negated any lack of passing game the team had, especially in the second half when the Raiders had the lead and were trying to drain the clock out. The Chiefs’ defense didn’t force any turnovers and sacked O’Connell 2 times.
Twitter/X Reacts to Chiefs’ Loss to Raiders
Users on X, formerly Twitter, reacted to Kansas City’s loss to Las Vegas in Week 16.
“Worst showing I’ve seen by a Chiefs team since 2012,” one user wrote. “They looked lost, almost like they haven’t played, or practiced football in months. Absolutely disappointed in the effort out there today……and this after dropping over a G for tickets to next week’s game….maybe they win……ridiculous.”
“Quite possibly the worst performance I’ve seen since that Titans loss in 21’. Can’t imagine we come up competitive in the playoffs, and it’s not a guarantee we finish better than 11-6,” another user wrote. “This is devastating… all season long they continue to make the same mistakes. Something needs to change in KC. WR coach, WR room, OC, GM, whatever it is — something needs to f**king change. It’s sickening. Merry f**king Christmas.”