Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs
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Quarterback Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Kansas City Chiefs have entered unfamiliar territory heading into the final stretch of the season, and quarterback Patrick Mahomes believes it’s at least partially his fault.
The Chiefs dropped to 5-5 after last week’s loss to the Denver Broncos, causing the team to fall out of the playoff bracket entirely and far from contention in the AFC West. Mahomes told reporters this week that he needs to do better leading the offense, saying he has missed some plays that could have changed the team’s fortunes.
Patrick Mahomes: ‘I’m not Making the Throws’
Kansas City’s offense has stalled out at times this season, including the conclusion of last week’s 22-19 loss to the Broncos. Mahomes and the Chiefs went three-and-out on both of their final drives, allowing the Broncos to drive for two field goals that tied and then won the game.
Speaking to reporters this week, Mahomes said he needs to do a better job of finding open receivers. He pointed to a play on the game’s opening drive where he missed wide receiver Tyquan Thornton for what would have been a first down.
“Yeah, I’m just not making the throws,” Mahomes said, via SI.com. “It’s pretty much the biggest thing. Guys are getting open and giving me chances to make the plays down the field and I just gotta give them chances to make plays. And I mean, if you look at the one to Tyquan later in the game, it wasn’t necessarily the best-thrown ball, but it gave him a chance.”
Mahomes added that the Chiefs have plenty of firepower on offense, pointing to speedsters like receiver Xavier Worthy, and he needs to do a better job of trusting them and getting the ball out.
“And I think that’s something that I can learn from, with guys like Xavier early, is that it might not be the perfect pass that’s going to be a touchdown catch, like that, but if I can throw the ball and just give him a chance to make a play, he’ll make the play on it,” Mahomes said. “And then he can make the play and score a touchdown from there. So, being better there and giving guys chances usually works out.”
More Challenges for the Chiefs
The Chiefs have little time to regroup after falling out of the playoff bracket, facing the AFC-leading Indianapolis Colts this Sunday.
Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said it will be a challenge against one of the league’s most aggressive defenses, noting that the Chiefs need to do a better job getting the ball to their playmakers with intermediate passes.
Nagy also stressed that he has full faith in his players on offense.
“I will make it loud and clear: There’s no other people or players around that I would rather be around to go do this thing the right way,” Nagy said, via SI.com. “And we understand where we stand, and we got to do it. It’s like everybody said, you can’t talk; you got to do it. That’s our mindset. We can only go 1-0 this weekend, that’s it.”