Frustrations in Kansas City are at an all-time high after another tough Chiefs loss to the Las Vegas Raiders that moves the team to 9-6.
The team has dropped five of its last eight games after starting 6-1. What’s going wrong for the Chiefs?
Kansas City Chiefs Take Another Tough Loss at Home
The Chiefs started Christmas Day’s opener with one of the most inept offensive performances of the Patrick Mahomes era.
The Chiefs opened the game with back-to-back three-and-outs, the first time they had ever done that at home under Mahomes.
Over their first three drives, they gained -10 yards on 11 plays. They finally got on the board with an Isiah Pacheco trick-play touchdown but made two massive mistakes that put them in a big hole heading into the half.
The Raiders’ offense managed just a field goal in the first quarter, but their defense would show up in a big way. In what looked like some miscommunication on a handoff, Bilal Nichols picked up a Pacheco fumble and took it to the house.
Then Jack Jones picked off Mahomes on the next play for a pick-six. Just like that, the Raiders went from being down 7-3 to leading 17-7 in just seven seconds of game time.
The Chiefs’ offensive woes continued in the second half. Their opening possession lasted for nearly half the quarter as they moved just 48 yards over 13 plays. On 4th-and-5 from the Raiders’ 43-yard line, the Chiefs opted to go for it and failed.
The Chiefs’ offense struggled for the majority of the game, but Mahomes was able to find a way to give the team some hope in the fourth quarter.
On 3rd-and-goal from the Raiders’ seven-yard line, Mahomes escaped a sack before stepping up in the pocket and firing a pass to Justin Watson for a touchdown to make it 20-14 with 2:42 left.
Zamir White ran for a 15-yard gain, giving the Raiders the first down they needed to seal the game at the two-minute warning.
Shockingly, Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell completed zero passes in the game’s final three quarters, but the team was still able to come away with a win at Arrowhead.
MORE: Chiefs Playoff Scenarios and Chances — When Can They Clinch the AFC West?
This was also Mahomes’ first loss to a rookie QB. O’Connell completed 42.9% of his passes for just 62 yards in the win.
Mahomes finished with 235 yards, a touchdown, and an interception as he completed 61.4% of his passes.
Fans took to social media to criticize the team’s performance and Mahomes’ inefficiency.
“We’ve got to stop with this narrative that Mahomes is blameless and being let down by his team,” one user posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“For half a decade, Mahomes was entirely inevitable. No matter the matchup, the situation, or what it looked like.. no team felt comfortable seeing him at QB across from them. This year’s version of the Chiefs has completely broken him and that feeling.” another said.
Mahomes has certainly not looked like his usual self recently, but this game was riddled with mistakes, particularly the scoop-and-score and pick-six that occurred within seven seconds of each other.
ANOTHER DEFENSIVE TD FOR THE RAIDERS 🤯
That's 2 TDs in SEVEN seconds…
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/JslVMzv963
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 25, 2023
“All around frustrating. Chiefs hand the Raiders 14 points in a 7 second span, Butker misses practically a PAT before half, Chiefs get 1st & goal at the 9 and don’t score a point, couldn’t establish the run game, Mahomes was running for his life, receivers don’t get open and can’t catch. Play calling stinks & it doesn’t feel like anyone on the offense is having fun,” one fan posted.
With the loss, the Chiefs have officially lost their chance at claiming the No. 1 seed in the AFC but are still almost certain to claim a playoff spot.
The Raiders are behind several teams in the Wild Card race. The team would need to win out to have a shot and would need a combination of other results. They could still win the division if they win out and the Chiefs lose out.
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