Chiefs are staring at their longest offseason in a decade — and it could be just the reset they need
The Kansas City Chiefs dropped another game, losing 20-10 to the red-hot Houston Texans, putting their postseason hopes in legitimate peril for the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era. At 6-7, they're currently the 10th seed in the AFC playoff race with the Ravens, Colts and Texans in their immediate vicinity as competition for the seventh and final postseason spot. The Chiefs haven't missed the playoffs in over a decade, and have never failed to reach at least the AFC championship game with Mahomes as their starting quarterback.
Even though they have one of the elite offenses in the NFL this season, it's undeniable that the Chiefs have many flaws that need to be corrected in order to get back to sustaining their standard level of dominance.
Houston's defense has made many offenses look completely incompetent this season, but its strengths exacerbated some of the Chiefs' critical issues. There's only so much the Chiefs could have done with their backup offensive tackles in the game, but their wide receivers continued to show an inability to finish plays at the catch point. The Texans have one of the most talented secondaries in the league, but Mahomes gave his receivers chances on the ball, and sometimes those drops and failed contested catches turned into turnovers.
The Chiefs already know this, but to win more titles they're going to have to get players who can battle with the best defenses in the league. On nights like Sunday, it really does show how heavy Mahomes' workload is in this offense - especially when Rashee Rice has an off night.
The makeshift wide receiver room is one problem, and their complete and total complacency at running back the last few seasons has been just as troublesome. Again, the Chiefs had several offensive linemen out against an elite front, but they managed only 67 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Kareem Hunt and Isaiah Pacheco aren't dynamic enough to provide a boost when the offense is in need of a spark. They are completely reliant on what the offensive line can afford them, which wasn't much in this game. According to TruMedia, their 31.8% success rate on non-scramble rushing plays was their third-lowest mark of the season.
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It doesn't make sense for life to be this difficult when THAT GUY is your quarterback. The floor of KC's operation is basically at the ceiling. There has been some poor luck involved with losing so many close games this season, but the losses make it harder to ignore the obvious flaws on this team, unlike last year when the one-score game luck was flipped.
The Chiefs need firepower. Real deal, gamebreaking talent. Their braintrust has struggled immensely trying to find supporting talent and depth for Mahomes. Adequate is all you really need to compete with a player like that. However, that can't be the goal. Perhaps missing the playoffs is the medicine this team needs because it has coasted on the back of Mahomes and the game-planning of Steve Spagnuolo for too long.
The fact that the Chiefs are still top five in many offensive efficiency categories shows how important Mahomes is to the operation because they were largely outmatched going against the Texans' supercharged defense. Kansas City's own defense isn't blameless here either, as it's been up and down, but the focus has become how sloppy this team looks on offense. After all, the Chiefs did enough to hold the Texans to 20 points, including a field goal on their last drive of the game.
It's impossible to count the Chiefs totally out of the playoff hunt as they rank 10th in point differential this season with +63! But the fact is they're one more loss away from essentially being eliminated, and they need to run the table to even have a chance at slipping into the playoffs. It'll be entertaining to see if they can do it, but this should never be their reality in a world where Mahomes is healthy.