Patrick Mahomes shoulders blame after Chiefs' 22-19 loss to Broncos damages playoff hopes: 'Starts with me'
Kansas City needs help and a spark from Patrick Mahomes to return to the Super Bowl conversation
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2 min read
After Sunday's 22-19 loss to the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes came to grips with the possibility his team could miss the playoffs if they don't turn things around, quickly. The three-time Super Bowl champion has guided the Chiefs to seven straight division titles during his tenure, but now faces a crossroads in the AFC postseason conversation.
The Chiefs sit at 5-5 as Denver (9-2) leads the division and the Los Angeles Chargers (7-4) sit in second place.
"I think we're really talented and we've got a lot of great players, but it's about being more consistent. I think it starts with me," Mahomes said in his postgame press conference. "There's times where I'm firing and we're moving the ball down the field at ease. But there's times where we go in spurts where I miss a throw or a [pass] protection call. We haven't been consistent enough to win games. It starts with me."
Mahomes finished 29 of 45 for 276 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
During Kansas City's first possession, Mahomes badly missed an open Xavier Worthy on a deep ball, a microcosm of what's transpired much of the campaign.
"I've just got to make the throw," Mahomes said. "There's no other way around it. The play was designed for Travis (Kelce) -- and I think Travis is wide open -- but you have these alerts in your plays and how (safety Brandon Jones) was sitting with Xavier's speed, I knew he was going to have a chance down the field. I've just got to give him a chance. I miss that one."
The Chiefs went three-and-out on their final two possessions, including one that started with 4:10 to play with the score knotted at 19. Mahomes' first two snaps on the drive were incompletions to Kelce, while Kansas City's third-and-10 opportunity resulted in a sack.
Broncos quarterback Bo Nix led his team on the game-winning drive thereafter, culminating with a 35-yard field goal from Wil Lutz as time expired.
"It's going to be tough to get back in the division race," Mahomes said. "The goal is to get into the playoffs and try to make a run at it. We've got to learn from this one as much as possible, knowing we're going to get a great opponent (Colts) coming into Arrowhead next week. We're kind of at that point where we've got to find a way to win games."
