Patrick Mahomes Criticizes KC Chiefs’ Performance Despite Win Over Falcons

Similar to last season, Kansas City Chiefs‘ offense needs some help from the defense to win games. But unlike the 2023-24 campaign, quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ inconsistent play can’t be attributed to a lack of execution or talent around him.

Sunday night’s victory over the Atlanta Falcons was a perfect example of that. Mahomes completed 26 of 39 passes, but the two-time MVP winner only amassed 217 yards through the air with two touchdowns. His 87.2 passer rating was far from what people expected, and the eye test backs that up.

Following Kansas City’s win in Atlanta, head coach Andy Reid said his team has “a lot of work to do” moving forward. A big part of that is on the offensive end, which comes down to quarterback play.

Backed by a first-quarter turnover, Mahomes averaged just 0.12 EPA per play against the Falcons, which was a close match to his Week 2 figure (-0.19), but also well short of his Week 1 figure (0.42). This middle-of-the-road performance isn’t enough for the Chiefs to have sustained success.

Mahomes believes he needs to get back to basics, using his early interception as evidence, which will make him more effective in games and bring the Chiefs offense along with him.

“I think it’s just footwork,” Mahomes said. “I’ve got to get my fundamentals right. I think I’m relying on my arm a little too much on some of these throws. Even on the first throw of the game, I kind of snapped it — a little off — and I’m not hitting Rashee (Rice) down the seam there. I’ve got to get back to my fundamentals. These are things that I go through sometimes (but) usually not early in the season. Fortunately for me, I’m not playing my best football and we’re still getting wins. I’ve got to get better to make the offense better.”

Three weeks into his seventh stint as the Chiefs’ full-time starter, Mahomes has thrown four interceptions. Last season, he set a career-high in that department with 14 interceptions. Despite passing for over 4,000 yards and throwing 27 touchdowns on the year, this was seen as a down effort from the consensus best quarterback in football. With wide receiver Xavier Worthy joining him this year, many expected Mahomes to approach or reach the statistical heights he has in 2022. So far, that hasn’t been the case.

Mahomes will get the wins despite the impressive numbers, for sure, but a higher floor for him would be a better fit for Kansas City’s offense. Rice picked up where he left off as a rookie, even if the 29-year-old struggled a bit. He said immediately after his 12-catch, 110-yard performance that he likes to think his quarterback has room to grow.

“I love it because he’s the best point guard I’ve ever played with,” Rice said. “Anytime he feels like he’s not having a great game, I feel the same way. We just have to get back to practice so we can get better together.”

Read more: Four Lessons to Learn from Chiefs’ 22-17 Win over Falcons