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Travis Kelce threw his helmet in a tantrum. Andy Reid scolded his star tight end on the sideline. Instead of countless shots of Taylor Swift from CBS, we got continuous reactions from Patrick Mahomes looking frustrated and angry.
The Chiefs were expected to roll the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas. We saw something entirely different. The Chiefs looked painfully average in a stunning 20-14 loss. You can lose to the Bills, Eagles or even the Packers or Broncos on the road. But the Raiders? At home? And when you thought Mahomes would just reach in his magic bag and bring the Chiefs back, he couldn’t.
This is the most vulnerable the Chiefs have been in the Mahomes era. They’ve lost three of four and are 3-5 since a 6-1 start. There were plenty of social media obituaries for the 2023 Chiefs written as people assembled their kids’ Christmas gifts. The Chiefs were dead, buried, then exhumed just to be buried another time.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) had another quiet day in another loss, this one KC’s third straight at Arrowhead. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
Let’s be careful about crossing off the Chiefs this season.
It appears bleak now, and everyone can see the issues. There’s no continuity or explosiveness in the offense. They got just 14 points against an average at best Raiders defense. When Mahomes needed to bring the Chiefs back, he couldn’t. That’s because his receivers aren’t very good, aside from perhaps Rashee Rice. And Rice is a rookie.
Even Kelce is looking less dominant at age 34. He has gone eight games without reaching 100 yards, and five straight games without a touchdown. Mahomes has done more yelling this season than in the rest of his NFL seasons combined, and it’s not hard to figure out why. The Chiefs have six losses. The last time they lost that many games was 2017, with Alex Smith starting at quarterback ahead of first-round rookie Mahomes. It’s simply not a great Chiefs team.
And all of that said, they still have Reid and…
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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-power-rankings-chiefs-need-some-work-but-heres-why-you-shouldnt-count-out-patrick-mahomes-052716175.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2023-12-26 05:27:16
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