On the heels of three victories in a row with 27 or more points scored, the Kansas City Chiefs' offense came back down to earth on Sunday against the Denver Broncos. A 16-point output in Week 10 was enough for a win to keep the team's undefeated record intact, although it took a blocked field goal to secure that miraculous result.
Luckily for Kansas City, Denver didn't score a single point in the second half and just two field goals for the home team put them over the top. The final margin could've been even wider had quarterback Patrick Mahomes hit a pair of throws the team has grown to expect from him over the years.
In the fourth quarter alone, Mahomes left as many as 11 potential points on the board via misses intended for wide receiver Xavier Worthy and tight end Travis Kelce. He knows it and while there's no easy excuse for those sequences not ending in touchdowns, the two-time NFL MVP thinks he can connect next time around.
“It’s a little bit of missed throws, little bit of me not seeing the coverage exactly the way I should," Mahomes said. "I thought on the one to Trav, the linebacker probably – which he probably should’ve – got a little more depth. I threw it a little higher than I wanted to even though he didn’t get depth. If I can just fire it in there and get him a touchdown there. The one to Worthy, it was a scramble play. I just left it high when I kind of was off balance, saw him open and threw it. I’ve made those throws before. It’s just about going back, executing and making them next week or whenever that is this season.”
On the club's penultimate offensive possession, Mahomes had Worthy deep down the field for a would-be score but led him out of bounds with an inaccurate throw. That drive ended in a punt from midfield. The next time the Chiefs had the ball, they got down to the two-yard line in a goal-to-go situation but Mahomes sailed a pass well over the head of Kelce through the back of the end zone. Kansas City still got its go-ahead field goal, although seven points would've been much better than three.
Despite the misses, Mahomes played a solid game. Going 28-for-42 passing, he amassed 266 yards and ran for another 19. Even with his poor pocket presence and a changing offensive tackle situation during the game, he was good for a 0.12 EPA/play mark that just barely trails his season average of 0.148. It wasn't Mahomes's best outing of the season but with how the year started, it was also far from his worst.
The Chiefs got the win, and they'll take that regardless of how the destination is reached. Mahomes will as well, and he's earned the benefit of the doubt a million times over. He won't always miss throws like he did on Sunday, which could mean less nail-biting for Kansas City down the stretch.
