Sorely in need of a victory, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs got a win on Monday night and got back to .500.
However, their quest to right an ailing offense more prone to turnovers than points continues.
In Monday's 20-17 win over the New York Giants, the Chiefs had two more turnovers, upping their league-worst amount of giveaways to 19, as Mahomes threw an interception for a career-worst seventh game in a row.
These are not the high-flying Chiefs of yesteryear and these are not the best of times in Kansas City -- even after a win.
"Listen, everything's not beautiful right now, but we're fighting through that. And that happens in this game," Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said after the win. "Our guys battled, they didn't give up on each other, they kept working through what could've been a time where you just throw your hands up and go, 'Oh my god, things aren't working the way they're supposed to work.' Guys didn't do that. We'll build on that. Let's keep going, I mean they don't give these things away and I think that's important for people to understand."
In a matchup that on paper appeared poised for the Chiefs to get right, Kansas City mustered but 20 points and 368 yards of offense against the Giants' 23rd-ranked scoring defense.
Mahomes began the game going 8 for 8 and then struggled to the tune of 21 of 40 the rest of the way. On the evening, Mahomes was 29 of 48 for a touchdown, an interception, 275 yards and a 74.6 QB rating. It was a subpar showing for the former AP NFL Most Valuable Player everyone has grown accustomed to being magnificent, but it was an improvement from a Week 7 showing against the Titans in which he was 20 for 35 for 206 yards, no touchdowns, an interception and a 62.3 rating. That Monday was an improvement from the week prior underscores the current times for Mahomes and the K.C. offense.
"I think we're gonna snap out of it and find a way to start executing and when we do, we'll be a tough offense to stop," Mahomes said.
On Monday, the Chiefs had 10 offensive drives (excluding kneeling out the game) and produced two touchdowns and none in the second half. Those aforementioned league-high 19 turnovers are three more than Kansas City had all of last season.
"We'll get it there, we just gotta keep working," Reid said. "Making sure we evaluate and work. So that's what we do."
It's a credit to Reid and the experience of a team that's made it to two straight Super Bowls that there is no panic or finger-pointing.
Nonetheless, at points it appears the Chiefs aren't looking to change things, but merely that they're confident what they've been doing will eventually work out how it has the last three seasons. There is still an onus on style points or razzle dazzle and trick plays when simple runs up the gut are getting the job done.
Mahomes believes it's because of defenses adjusting. But, in turn, that would seem to lean to the Chiefs needing to adjust.
"I think we're the same as we've always been," Mahomes said. "We've caught some defenses that are playing over the top of us and we turn the ball over. We're still moving the ball and doing a lot of things great, but whenever you turn the ball over or get a penalty and get pushed back, that kinda ruins drives. But I think we've done a lot of great things, but it comes down to execution in this league."
Needing to bounce back in the worst way, the Chiefs' opening drive was a microcosm of what can be, perhaps what should be and, inevitably, what has been happening.
Mahomes led a methodical drive in which he completed his first eight passes. The Chiefs marched 70 yards on 11 plays. Then, Mahomes' first incompletion came on the first occasion in which the Chiefs got a bit cute with their play-calling as Mahomes lined out wide, Travis Kelce took a direct snap and then flipped it to Mahomes. Following the incompletion, a scrambling Mahomes jumped and fired off a pass that was pinballed around before it was intercepted. All that hard work undone just like that.
Just one drive in, Mahomes had thrown an interception for a seventh consecutive game, marking the first time he's done so in his high school, college or NFL career, per NFL Research.
But good fortune smiled back on the Chiefs when Daniel Jones threw an ill-advised pass right to Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay Jr. for an interception that set K.C. up at the Giants' 13-yard line.
Four plays later on third-and-goal from the 6, Mahomes connected with Tyreek Hill for the opening score of the game and no doubt a sigh of Chiefs relief. But it wasn't a foreshadowing of the game ahead, as the Chiefs found the end zone just once more and their offensive problems persisted.
"I think we're gonna snap out of it and find a way to start executing and when we do, we'll be a tough offense to stop," Mahomes said.
In the weeks ahead, the Chiefs will face the Packers, Raiders and Cowboys in games that no doubt have many salivating and hoping for shootouts. But right now, the Chiefs' largest focus is on ceasing to shoot themselves in the foot.
