Getty Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on November 20, 2023.
The Kansas City Chiefs (7-3) loss the Philadelphia Eagles (9-1) put a spotlight on the team’s lingering offensive issues this season.
For the third straight game, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Co. went scoreless in the second half. The Chiefs haven’t scored a touchdown in the third or fourth quarter of a game since Week 4. Against the Eagles, Mahomes completed just 55.8% of his passes for 177 yards – a new season low.
The two-time Super Bowl MVP averaged 4.1 yards per pass attempt, the lowest of his career by far. The Athletic’s Mike Sando still ranks Mahomes as the best quarterback in the NFL, but notes this year is truly “testing” his ceiling.
“The Chiefs have reached three Super Bowls, winning two, in Mahomes’ first five seasons as a starter. They have reached the AFC Championship Game every year and won nearly 80% of their games while fielding the top-ranked offense by EPA per play,” Sando wrote.
“They did all that while ranking only 27th in combined EPA on defense and special teams. No other quarterback has won that big, this early, without more help from the components he cannot control. This season is testing the idea that even the greatest quarterbacks require a baseline level of weaponry to dominate.”
The Chief’s receivers know they’re not getting it done. They lead the league with 26 dropped passes. With Travis Kelce, Mahomes’ No. 1 target, getting double and triple-teamed, “Somebody else has to step up, and somebody has to make plays,” Chiefs running back Jerick McKinnon told The Kansas City Star. “And right now, that’s what we’re searching for.”
Patrick Mahomes Is Looking to Turn Things Around Against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 12
The fact that Patrick Mahomes is on pace to finish the season with nearly 4,500 yards and 33 TDs despite his team leading the league in drops while also leading his team to a 7-3 record so far should have him atop the MVP discussion.
No other QB could pull that off.
The Chiefs are looking for a bounce-back win against the Las Vegas Raiders (5-6) on Sunday, November 26. Kansas City has won their past five consecutive matchups against Las Vegas, but defeating the newly invigorated team under interim head coach Antonio Pierce won’t be easy.
The Chiefs had two red-zone turnovers against the Eagles which is inexcusable. “Turnovers are so big in this game and we emphasize that,” Mahomes told reporters on November 22. “But I have to be better and we have to be better at eliminating negative plays… We’re playing a great team this week that plays hard, and they’re going to make us earn it. We have to go out there and show that we can do it.”
Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby will look to shut down Mahomes early and often. He’s tied for fifth in the league with sacks (10.5) and is a notorious trash-talker.
“I don’t like playing against him because I know what type of player he is and the mindset that he comes in with,” Mahomes said of Crosby.”I don’t talk a ton of trash. I just try to stay fired up and go out there and win. He’s the same way. He wants to win as much as anybody, and that’s why I have so much respect for him but at the end of the day we’re competing. That’s what competitors do.”
Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Believes the Offensive Issues are Fixable
GettyChiefs head coach Andy Reid on November 03, 2023 in Frankfurt, Germany.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid believes the offense has enough talent to get that spark back, however, they keep shooting themselves in the foot. And it’s not just dropped balls and turnovers.
SI’s Jordan Foote reported, “From a penalty standpoint, Kansas City ranks 12th in the league in most flags entering Week 12’s play. Of their 67 called infractions this year, 14 are for offensive holding. That’s tied with the Arizona Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens for the most in all of football. False starts have been an issue this year, too.”
Speaking to reporters earlier this week, “We can be better with the penalty part,” Reid said. “Better attacking the ball. Those are things we can work on and continue to work on. There’s no reason you can’t do in the second half what you do in the first half… All of these things have been kind of self-inflicted. We’ve got to take care of that. We just take care of our business there, and we’ll be okay.”