KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - With the Kansas City Chiefs in the midst of their second stretch of consecutive losses this season, quarterback Patrick Mahomes provided a critical self-assessment of his play.
Mahomes, who completed 29 of his 45 passing attempts with a touchdown and an interception in Sunday’s loss to the Denver Broncos, shouldered the blame for the offense’s failures.
In particular, the two-time NFL MVP said he has to be better on deep passing attempts, citing an overthrow of wide receiver Xavier Worthy on the Chiefs’ second offensive play which erased a would-be 61-yard touchdown pass.
“I’m just not making the throws, that’s pretty much the biggest thing,” Mahomes said of the incompletion to Worthy and another to Tyquan Thornton that followed on third down of the first Chiefs drive. “Guys are getting open and giving me chances to make the plays down the field. I’ve just gotta give them a chance to make plays.”
Mahomes pointed to a 61-yard gain to Thornton on third-and-7 in the third quarter as evidence that he doesn’t need to be perfect when throwing it deep.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes delved into the struggles of the Chiefs offense and what needs to change for Kansas City to make the playoffs.
“It wasn’t necessarily the best thrown ball but it gave him a chance,” said Mahomes. “That’s something I can learn from for guys like Xavier. It might not be the perfect pass that’s going to be a touchdown, but if I can just give him a chance he’ll make the play on it and then he can make the play and score the touchdown from there.”
Mahomes continued: “Those deep passes don’t have to be perfect. We always want to make the perfect throw, but if (Worthy) wins like that you can flatten his angle, you can throw that ball with more air under it and he can adjust... If you look at the best deep-ball throwers in the history of the league, they weren’t always these perfectly thrown balls but they were giving guys chances of making plays.”
The 30-year-old quarterback also shared exactly what frustrated him most about the loss -- which carried a similar through line to the other four losses of Kansas City’s season.
“For me, it’s getting the ball with four minutes left and then not getting points, or a first down, or really anything,” Mahomes said.
Kansas City went three-and-out on its final drive following a pair of incomplete passes to tight end Travis Kelce and a third-down sack, giving the ball back to Broncos quarterback Bo Nix.
“Being in those moments before and knowing how important it is to get some momentum in your team by at least moving the ball a little bit and changing the field position,” said Mahomes. “Not being able to do that was big. That was the most disappointing part for me because even though I didn’t feel like we played to our best level -- our best standard -- there was still an opportunity to win the football game and we weren’t able to do that.”
With Kansas City leading by a field goal on its penultimate drive of Sunday’s loss, the Chiefs went three-and-out in a series that featured three passes. When the topic of more hand-offs or fewer run-pass options was broached, Mahomes said he thinks the right decision is being made more often than not. Still, the eighth-year Chiefs starter said Kansas City could run the ball more.
“I feel like I’ve been doing a good job of (the RPOs),” he said. “There’s times where I should hand it, and there’s times where I should throw the ball more.
“More than anything it’s giving guys chances, either catching the ball or running the ball even if the perfect look is not there. There’s times where I might have thrown it and we’ve gotten 5 or 6 yards and that’s a positive play, but you can hand the ball off and keep defenses honest as well.”
Despite the unusual late-game failures, Mahomes insisted there remains a belief in the locker room that the talent inside the building is enough to win at the familiar level of years past.
“It’s about going out there and proving it now,” Mahomes said as the Chiefs sit on a 5-5 record and face the bleakest playoff outlook of his eight seasons as a starter. “Talking with the guys throughout the building this week, I think guys are excited for the opportunity to go out there and prove that.”
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) celebrate a touchdown with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) celebrates a touchdown against the Denver Broncos during an NFL football game, Monday, Nov. 16, 2025 in Denver. (AP Photo/Bart Young)(Bart Young | AP)
In fact, through 10 games the Chiefs have a better points per game and points allowed per game than they did a year ago to this point. Offensively, Mahomes’ unit is better than a year prior in expected points added per play. And the Chiefs have a better turnover margin than a year prior.
Now, it’s just about executing in the biggest moments.
“You can’t just keep talking about it,” said Mahomes, “you’ve gotta go out there and do it and it starts with me and has to feed through the entire team.”
The high-and-low season that Mahomes described continues Sunday at 12 p.m. CT against the AFC South-leading Indianapolis Colts.
“We’re playing against a really good football team. It’s a great opportunity,” Mahomes said. “Obviously, we’re 5-5 and not where we want to be at, but we get to write the rest of this season’s story and it starts this week with the Colts at Arrowhead and I’m excited to go out there and do it.”
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