Patrick Mahomes, the architect of miracles, the man who turns the fourth quarter into his personal canvas, is running for his team. Not as part of some masterstroke, but out of sheer necessity. Two weeks in, he isn’t just leading the Chiefs’ offense, he’s leading them in rushing with 13 carries for 123 yards at a blistering 9.5 yards per attempt, plus two touchdowns, forced to abandon the playbook and become a one-man rescue squad.
This reality isn’t lost on those watching closely. As NBC Sports’ Albert Breer pointed out, the sight of a scrambling Mahomes is a symptom of a larger issue: “I know Mahomes doesn’t want to run. Andy Reid doesn’t want him to run,” Breer noted. “I feel like when you see him run this much… it means they don’t have the answers right now.”
The answers aren’t there because of a shaky offensive line, a receiving corps finding its footing without Rashee Rice, and uncharacteristic mistakes from even the most reliable stars are piling up too fast. The result is an offense that feels out of sync, a symphony missing its rhythm section, leaving its conductor to try and play every instrument himself.
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“I think they’ll figure it out,” he said, “but this is going to be a process and how do you survive and keep your record where it needs to be over the next six or seven weeks? So you can get Rashee Rice back, so you can get Xavier Worthy healthy, so you can get [left tackle] Kingsley Suamataia the experience that he needs.”
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In the aftermath of a 17-20 loss that dropped the Chiefs to an unfamiliar 0-2, the man who built the dynasty stood up and took the heat.
Reid owns the loss, Mahomes stands guard
Head coach Andy Reid, the mastermind behind so much of the team’s success, didn’t point fingers at the missed blocks, the dropped passes, or the critical fourth-quarter interception. He pointed directly at himself, as did everyone. “I’ll take full responsibility for that game,” Reid stated, his tone leaving no room for debate.
“I probably stayed too aggressive on that — and that’s my responsibility.” His aggressive gamble—a failed fourth-and-1 run deep in their own territory—set up the Eagles’ game-winning field goal. Reid believed that to beat a team like Philadelphia, you couldn’t play it safe. “I think it’s important — against that crew — that you stay aggressive… Obviously, I thought the plays that were called were available, but it didn’t get done the way I wanted it to.”
His quarterback, ever the loyal lieutenant, stood firmly by his coach’s side. Mahomes, who has now lost three straight games for the first time in his career, defended the aggressive mindset. “You always second-guess it when it doesn’t work,” Mahomes admitted. “When it works, it’s a good thing and when it doesn’t work, it’s bad thing. But I’d rather be on the aggressive side of history than the non-aggressive side.” That trust between coach and quarterback is the bedrock of this team, but even bedrock can be tested. The test came in the form of a pass that has defined their partnership for years: a Mahomes dart to Travis Kelce in the end zone. This time, however, the magic fizzled.
The ball bounced off Kelce’s hands and into a waiting Eagles jersey, a 41-yard interception return that sucked the life out of Arrowhead. Mahomes, shouldering the burden as always, dissected the play with brutal honesty. “Whenever you’re in those tight quarters like that,” he explained, “you want to give it to them — especially a bigger guy — more on his body… it was just unfortunate that the ball bounced up in the air and went right to him.”
The stats paint a stark picture of this new, unsteady reality. The Chiefs’ offense, once a historic juggernaut averaging over 29.2 points a game, has been mired in mediocrity for two seasons, now sitting at just 21.8 points per game. The financial investment tells its own story: a top-heavy payroll focused on the offensive line and tight end, while the wide receiver room is among the cheapest in the league.
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The return on that investment has been inconsistent, leaving Mahomes to carry an unimaginable load. The man who once threw 50 touchdowns (2018) in a season is now forced to be the entire offense, both through the air and on the ground. For now, the Chiefs are a team in search of their identity, a superstar forced to freelance, and a legendary coach willing to fall on the sword.