The Kansas City Chiefs won their second Super Bowl in as many years, and their quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, earned his third Super Bowl MVP. With such success, you’d imagine the team wouldn’t have too many areas to work on, but Mahomes & Co. are never satisfied, which is part of why they have been unstoppable for so many years.
Their offense was far from perfect during the regular season, with their receivers having the most drops (28) and the highest drop rate (12%) in the league. While targeting wide receivers 10 or more yards downfield, Mahomes had the worst touchdown to interception ratio (1-6) targeting wide receivers.
The QB averaged a career-low 7.7 yards per pass attempt targeting wide receivers, which landed him 20th in the NFL. They had 11 fumbles lost and 17 interceptions.
The offensive line had their issues as well, with a 36.4% quarterback pressure rate that fell in the bottom half of all teams at No. 20.
The Chiefs finished a very respectable 11-6, winning the division and getting the No. 3 seed. The team is chasing history, going for its third championship in three years, so when the expectations are that high, the standard is as well.
“You’ve got to come in with that same mentality you had the year before — even a higher intensity,” Mahomes said during a press conference. “And even though we won the Super Bowl last year, we felt like we didn’t play our best football — especially offensively. So, it’s our goal to be better that way. And come in with that mentality every single day.”
Mahomes did acknowledge that the season ended as they wanted, but the team is clear that some areas need to see improvement from 2023. He said the returning players on offense remember the frustration of those struggles and will use that to pinpoint what to improve on.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously the end result was awesome, but I think a lot of us still have a weird feeling in our mouth because we really didn’t play football the way we wanted to play all year long,” Mahomes said. “It wasn’t fun. Every single week, trying to just continue to get better and better and results not paying off the way you want them to — it wasn’t a lot of fun.”
Mahomes finished with 4,183 passing yards and 27 touchdowns, his lowest in both categories since 2019, as well as 14 interceptions, a career high. Considering Mahomes statistically had a “down” year, the offense had its list of issues and the Chiefs still won it all. If they are able to make the adjustments needed, they will be even more dangerous in the AFC.
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Author: Shanna McCarriston
July 16, 2024 | 6:40 pm
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