The Kansas City Chiefs lost another game, 20-10, to the red-hot Houston Texans, putting their playoff hopes in jeopardy for the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era. With a current record of 6-7, they are the 10th seed in the AFC playoffs, with the Ravens, Colts and Texans vying for the seventh and final playoff spot. The Chiefs haven’t missed the playoffs in more than a decade and have never failed to reach at least the AFC Championship Game with Mahomes as the starting quarterback.
Although the Chiefs still have one of the NFL’s elite offenses this season, there is no denying that the Chiefs have many flaws that need to be corrected before they can return to maintaining their standard dominance.
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Houston’s defense has made many offenses look completely ineffective this season, but their dominance has exacerbated some of the Chiefs’ key issues. There’s only so much their backup offensive tackles can do in the game, but their wide receivers still show an inability to finish at the catch point. The Texans have one of the most talented secondary players in the league, but Mahomes gives his receivers opportunities, and sometimes those dropped balls and failed catches turn into turnovers.
The Chiefs already know this, but in order to win more championships, they have to have players who can truly compete against the league’s best defenses. On a night like last night, it really shows how heavy a workload Mahomes has on offense — especially when Rashee Rice is rested.
The makeshift wide receiver room is a problem, but so is their complete complacency at running back over the past few seasons. The Chiefs once again sent multiple offensive linemen against an elite front, but they managed just 67 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Kareem Hunt and Isaiah Pacheco aren’t dynamic enough to provide a boost when the offense needs a spark. They are completely reliant on what the offensive line can handle running back, and that’s not a lot in this game. According to TruMedia, their success rate on uncontested rushes was 31.8 percent, their third-lowest rate of the season.
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There’s no point in making life so difficult when that guy is your quarterback. Their bottom line has basically reached its ceiling. There’s certainly some bad luck in losing so many close games in one season, but these losses do make it harder to overlook the glaring flaws of this team, unlike last year’s one-point game where luck was flipped.
They need firepower. The real deal, game-breaking talent. The Chiefs brain trust has struggled to find supporting talent and depth for Mahomes because, truth be told, all you really need is enough need Compete with players like this. However, this cannot be the goal. Maybe missing the playoffs is the salve this team needs because they’ve been coasting for too long on the backs of Mahomes and Steve Spagnuolo’s game plan.
The fact that they still rank in the top five in many offensive efficiency categories shows how important Mahomes is to the overall operation, as they are largely at a disadvantage against the Texans’ superior defense. Kansas City’s own defense isn’t blameless here either, as it’s hit and miss, but the focus has become how sloppy this team looks on offense. After all, the Chiefs did enough to hold the Texans to within 20 points, including a field goal on their final possession of the game.
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It’s impossible to completely eliminate the Chiefs from playoff contention (they’re 10th this season with a +63 point differential!), but the reality is they’re one game away from essentially being eliminated, and they’ll need to make a run in the standings to have any chance of making the playoffs. It will be interesting to see if they can do this, but it should no way In a world where Mahomes is healthy, this is their reality. If their offseason is longer than usual, they’d better make sure that doesn’t continue.
