Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had one of the worst statistical games of his career in Sunday’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks, then admitted after the game that he and the team simply weren’t prepared enough.
The Seahawks dominated on both sides of the ball in the 20-3 victory, handing the Chiefs their first loss of the season. Mahomes struggled without top receivers Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton, hitting several career lows in the loss.
Patrick Mahomes Admits Chiefs Had Their ‘Tail Kicked’
Speaking to reporters after the game, Mahomes admitted that the Seahawks were the better-prepared team. He shared blame for the performance, saying his team now needed to respond to the loss.
“If you don’t come ready to play, you can get your tail kicked in this league—we have a young team, it’ll be how we respond from this,” Mahomes said.
While Mahomes spread out the blame, his head coach took it on himself.
“Listen, all three phases we struggled, so we’ve got to do better, and that’s my responsibility,” Andy Reid said after the game. “So I take full responsibility for this. We’ve got to play better as a team.”
Mahomes completed 19-of-33 passes for 165 yards with one interception. The running game struggled as well, with league-leading rusher Kenneth Walker III taking 14 carries for 36 yards in his first return to Seattle since earning Super Bowl MVP honors last season.
ESPN’s Nate Taylor noted that Walker’s performance was especially surprising given how the Seahawks were more committed to preventing big plays in the passing game.
“The Seahawks, who spent most of the game playing two deep safeties, never let Walker have a rush in which he gained at least 10 yards. Walker finished with just 36 yards on 14 carries,” Taylor wrote.
Patrick Mahomes Suffered Career-Worst Performance
As ESPN Insights noted after the game, it was a career low point for Mahomes across several offensive statistics.
“One to forget for Kansas City!” the account noted. “The Chiefs had their joint-fewest points (3), fewest Red zone drives (0), and 2nd-fewest yards (213) in any of the 153 games started by Patrick Mahomes, regular season or playoffs. Mahomes was pressured on 19 of 36 dropbacks (53%), the 4th-highest pressure rate in a game in his career, regular season or playoffs.”
The Chiefs fell to 5-1 with the loss, dropping them into a tie with the Buffalo Bills for the best record in the conference. The Chiefs still hold a half-game lead over the Denver Broncos in the AFC West, but the loss means that next week’s matchup between the rivals will be for control of the division.
Patrick Mahomes Puts Chiefs on Notice After Career-Worst Performance