Chiefs News 12/10: The Chiefs are breaking Patrick Mahomes

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Week 14 QB Notebook: The Chiefs Are Breaking Patrick Mahomes | The Ringer

The Kansas City Chiefs are breaking Patrick Mahomes.

Patrick Mahomes leads the NFL in scrambles. He’s also on pace to set a career-high scramble rate—around 9 percent of his dropbacks this season are ending with a run. We saw Mahomes’s scramble rate approach that number in one other season: the Chiefs’ Super Bowl–winning 2023 campaign, when the offense was broken for much of the year and none of his receivers could catch the damn

ball. When Mahomes loses trust in the offense and the players around him, his scramble rate spikes. It’s a clear recession indicator for the Chiefs’ passing game.

Sunday night’s 20-10 loss to Houston was another scramble-heavy game for Mahomes, who was playing behind a depleted offensive line and throwing to receivers who had a severe case of the drops—and were going up against the NFL’s best defense. You can see why he felt the need to take the game into his own hands. The entire contest was one big indictment of the job Andy Reid and Brett Veach have done building around their superstar quarterback. And it was painfully apparent that the Chiefs offense was outgunned on third down, when the Texans defense knew that a pass was coming. The offensive line didn’t stand a chance against Houston’s pass rush, and the receivers struggled to find any open space against the secondary.

Can Chiefs still make the playoffs? Here’s what needs to happen for a K.C. postseason berth | CBS Sports

Chiefs must win out

Chiefs’ remaining schedule: vs. Chargers, at Titans, vs. Broncos, at Raiders
Breakdown: The biggest upside for the Chiefs down the stretch is that their two most difficult games are at home. The Chiefs have won three straight home games against the Chargers and nine straight home games against the Broncos. Not to mention, the Chiefs are 5-2 at home this year, so winning both games is certainly within the realm of possibility. If they don’t slip up against the Titans or Raiders, 10-7 is definitely realistic.

Chargers must finish 10-7 or worse

Chargers’ remaining schedule: at Chiefs, at Cowboys, vs. Texans, at Broncos
Breakdown: The Chargers (9-4) currently have the sixth-most difficult remaining strength of schedule in the NFL, so it would be completely possible for them to go 1-3 or worse down the stretch. Of the Chargers’ four remaining games, they HAVE to lose to the Chiefs and Broncos. The reason the Chiefs need those two specific losses is so that they can finish with the same division record (4-2) as the Chargers, which would create a tiebreaker situation that would benefit Kansas City. Of the two non-divisional games that L.A. has left, the Chiefs could still make the playoffs as long as the Chargers go 1-1 or 0-2 against the Cowboys and Texans. If that happens, the Chargers will finish 10-7 and they’ll be tied with the Chiefs at 4-2 in the division, but Kansas City will finish ahead of L.A. due to the common games tiebreaker.

2025 NFL QB Power Rankings Week 15: The MVP Candidate No One Talks About | FOX Sports

#8 Patrick Mahomes

Previously ranked: 6

Kansas City Chiefs

This is what it looks like when an offense is spiraling.

No one can figure out how to lift the other guy.

No one can figure out what, exactly, is the source of the issue. Because it’s … everything.

Mahomes had moments of brilliance against the Houston Texans, but his second interception was a truly awful decision (heaving toward a matchup where the cornerback had excellent position) and his first interception was, at the very least, an inadvisable throw (zipping it into a tight window where the cornerback also had good position).

But his third interception was one where everything needed to go right — but nothing did. Not only was Mahomes’ throw about six inches off target, but tight end Travis Kelce was late to get his hands out for the catch. He dropped the ball, and popped it up into the air for the Texans defense.

2026 NFL Draft order and updated needs for every team | NFL.com

14 Kansas City Chiefs

Strength of schedule: .530

Remaining SOS: .462 (T-20)

Week 15 opponent: vs. Chargers

Biggest needs: TE, CB, RB, DL, WR

Hollywood Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton are impending free agents, so I expect Andy Reid to seek another reliable playmaker early in the draft.

Five Quick Facts Following the Chiefs Week 14 Loss to Houston | Upon Further Review | The Mothership

3. Once again, as the case has been in all six of the Chiefs’ other losses this year, it all came down to a couple of plays.

The Chiefs rallied to tie the game after falling behind by 10 points in the first half, but after scoring on two of its first three possessions to open up the third quarter, Kansas City didn’t pick up a first down on its next four drives.

In fact, each of those possessions essentially ended with a turnover, as the Chiefs committed two interceptions and two failed fourth-down attempts across those four drives.

The Chiefs’ second series in that sequence, specifically is where the game turned. Kansas City elected to go for it on 4th-and-1 from its own 31-yard line with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, and the gamble failed. Houston took over with great field position that it didn’t waste, and the Texans never looked back.

Kansas City still had multiple chances to tie the game, however, and – in what was essentially a microcosm of the season overall – the Chiefs couldn’t seize those opportunities.

Patrick Mahomes is benchable during the fantasy football playoffs. We’re not joking | The Athletic

Case in point: Patrick Mahomes was resurgent in the early going, looking like a fantasy MVP. But managers might have gotten a preview of what lies ahead in the fantasy playoffs with a total clunker against the Texans in Week 14.

The Chiefs’ banged-up offensive line led to Mahomes posting a season-low 6.3 points against Houston. Moreover, Kansas City has unfavorable pass rush matchups in every fantasy playoff game, so Mahomes has low-floor potential throughout the playoffs. He’s probably a good start candidate for the Week 16 game against Tennessee, but in the other weeks, you may want to consider benching the former fantasy MVP. It sounds crazy, but for the playoffs you need to pull out all the stops.

Around the NFL

Sources – QB Philip Rivers unretiring to sign with Colts | ESPN

With starter Daniel Jones out for the season because of a torn right Achilles and backup Riley Leonard dealing with a knee injury, the Colts turned to Rivers as an emergency solution.

Indianapolis brought in Rivers, 44, for a workout Monday night, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Tuesday. Rivers threw the ball well, the source told Fowler.

Rivers is currently a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026. Per the Hall of Fame, Rivers signing to the Colts’ practice squad has no effect on his eligibility. However, if he signs to the Colts’ active roster his eligibility clock would reset, whether or not he takes a snap in a game, and he wouldn’t be eligible again until 2031.

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Looking at the Chiefs’ fourth-quarter collapse in loss to Texans

To the Chiefs’ credit, I thought head coach Andy Reid’s game plan was strong for three quarters. Was it perfect? Absolutely not. The Chiefs gained 12 yards over the first two possessions. But over the second and third quarters, the Chiefs found success. Here were four consecutive drives that occurred in that stretch:

12 plays, 72 yards, four first downs, missed field goal

Eight plays, 56 yards, two first downs, touchdown

Seven plays, 40 yards, two first downs, punt

Seven plays, 30 yards, one first down, field goal

If kicker Harrison Butker made a 43-yard field goal, the Chiefs would’ve averaged 2.2 points per drive while putting up 5.3 yards per play in the middle quarters. That’s a good rate considering the context.

Then the fourth quarter started, and the Chiefs fell apart. Before the game became a two-score margin late, the Chiefs had four drives: 13 plays for 19 yards with zero first downs. There were two turnovers and two unsuccessful fourth downs. It was ugly, and probably the worst quarter the Chiefs’ offense played in years.