In the aftermath of the Kansas City Chiefs decisive 30-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills, a sense of reality has crept into the game plan moving forward for Patrick Mahomes. A year ago, it took a bitter loss to get on track. Now is the time to buckle down and get back on course.
Let me be clear: the Carolina Panthers game next Sunday won’t be a cakewalk for the Kansas City Chiefs. With a slim ½ game lead in the AFC, the Chief’s margin for error is zero, thanks to their loss in Buffalo Sunday.
Over the next four weeks, the Chiefs will face the Panthers on the road, the Chargers and Raiders at home, and then travel to Cleveland, which begins a brutal timeline in their 2024 schedule. The Bills, who beat down the Chiefs on Sunday, are entering their most rigid portion of the schedule. Already dispatching the Chiefs, they are home against the San Francisco 49ers after their bye week and then play back-to-back road games at the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions.
So, the number one seed will be won or lost over the next four weeks.
For the Chiefs, their Super Bowl run begins now—no more excuses for the offense that continues to shoot themselves in the foot. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes must regain his swagger and gunslinging mentality that’s made him a legend.
Mahomes inability to throw the deep pass to Xavier Worthy is mind-numbing. It’s a simple re-set of mechanics and confidence. I know nitpicking Mahomes sounds crazy, but that’s where we are for this 9-1 team.
The Chiefs failed to knock out the Bills in the regular season for the second consecutive year. Last season, this forced them to play postseason games away from Arrowhead. It worked fine, but the urgency wasn’t on Sunday’s field of play.
Then again, the Bills had the killer instinct on Sunday, and the Chiefs didn’t. They kept waiting for Mahomes to make the big play, which didn’t happen when the game mattered the most.
So, how does Head Coach Andy Reid fix the offense woes?
First, he has a tackle problem. Kingsley Suamataia was a healthy scratch, and Wanya Morris isn’t good enough to play left tackle at the level Mahomes needs to be successful. Right Tackle Jawaan Taylor, for some reason, has regressed under the coaching of Andy Heck.
Reid might give Ethan Driskell a chance on Sunday to play left tackle against the Panthers. Can he be any worse?
Last year, Mahomes didn’t trust his receivers; this year, he can’t trust his tackles. If I were Reid, I would find it alarming that Mahomes is this uncomfortable in the pocket, finding enough time to complete his progressions. Why not shake things up?
The fact Mahomes missed Worthy for a walk-in bomb again, throwing to the sidelines rather than down the open space the rookie receiver created for that play, says a lot about where Mahomes is right now mechanically.
To his credit, Worthy had a great game. Had Mahomes had more time in other situations, the kid from Texas might have scored four touchdowns on the day. He was uncoverable all day, and Mahomes ignored him in the second half.
Add to that DeAndre Hopkins and Travis Kelce’s absences, and this offense has misfired in critical situations for the second week in a row.
So, how does this offense get better?
The return of Isiah Pacheco should help, but only if Reid is willing to run the ball with the return of his injured back and Kareem Hunt. Kansas City abandoned the run against the Bills on Sunday, which was a big mistake.
They could incorporate more screen passes and simultaneously put both backs on the field. If the tackles are a problem in pass protection, they can be used in the run game or out in space, negating the pressure up the middle by opposing defenses. Perhaps that will give them confidence in their pass blocking.
Regardless of how you view this loss, Kansas City was never going undefeated. Their prize is the Three-Peat Crown, which means it’s time to play Chiefs football again.
Reid is always calm and realistic with his team, and he will never panic, but he also has to create some urgency with his offense. He should go no-huddle, start incorporating more plays for Hopkins, keep Worthy engaged, and run the football.
If that happens, it should result in more points and take the pressure off the defense that struggled mightily Sunday in Buffalo. Giving up fourteen points in the final quarter is not good if you want to give your offense a chance.
Time will tell if the light comes on like it did a year ago, but one thing is certain: it’s GO TIME in Kansas City.
