{"id":10975,"date":"2024-10-15T03:34:24","date_gmt":"2024-10-15T03:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=10975"},"modified":"2024-10-15T03:34:24","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T03:34:24","slug":"serious-problems-in-kansas-city-as-patrick-mahomes-has-been-confirmed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=10975","title":{"rendered":"Serious Problems in Kansas City as Patrick Mahomes has been confirmed\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Serious Problems in Kansas City Despite Patrick Mahomes\u2019 Magic as Chiefs Make Huge TE Decision After Travis Kelce\u2019s Struggles<\/p>\n

Looking at the Chiefs\u2019 5-0 start, you\u2019d think things are running smoothly, right? Well, not so fast. There\u2019s a little wrinkle in the fabric, and it\u2019s showing up in the stats. Despite Patrick Mahomes doing his thing, Kansas City\u2019s red-zone efficiency is becoming a concern. Sounds strange? But it\u2019s true.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Sure, they\u2019re ruling as one of only two teams with a perfect record after 5 games (the other being the Vikings). But against the Saints, those red-zone struggles nearly cost them\u2014something they\u2019ve struggled with this season and last. The Saints trailed closely behind until late in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs dominated both sides of the ball, yet they only managed a single touchdown alongside three field goals and a goal-line interception in their first five red-zone trips. In terms of touchdown efficiency, they went 2-for-7 in the red zone.<\/p>\n

The team was forced to let Harrison Butker kick a trio of chip shots to lead 16-7 before the break, and then had to rely on a late game-sealing TD run by Xavier Worthy to ice the win. Not just that, even Travis Kelce had to take a wildcat snap just to punch it in. Creative? Yes. Ideal? Not so much. See, the problem lies not in getting to the red zone. That\u2019s something Andy Reid\u2019s Chiefs are still top-tier at when it comes to driving into the red zone (ranking #6 in the league). But here\u2019s where the problem lies\u2014the efficiency. Even during last year\u2019s game against the Dolphins, the reigning Super Bowl champion struggled to finish in the hallowed red zone, finishing with four field goals instead.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re currently sitting 29th in red zone efficiency with 38.89% just above the Dallas Cowboys (37.50%), Miami Dolphins (36.36%), and the New England Patriots (35.71%), as per teamrankings.com. Topping the list are the Houston Texans at 75%. And for those curious, last year\u2019s Super Bowl contender, the San Francisco 49ers sit at 25th with a 44.44% red zone efficiency.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not like HC Andy Reid doesn\u2019t realize the shortcomings. \u201cThe thing is, you obviously want to score touchdowns and love Butker and he\u2019s doing a phenomenal job, but as you go here, you want to make sure you get in the end zone (and) score touchdowns,\u201d the coach had said last year, which unfortunately, still stands true.<\/p>\n

For Patrick Mahomes\u2019 team, this is quite a downfall, considering they were the second-best in the league with a 69.44% red zone scoring percentage, in the 2022 NFL season. On the contrary, the rest of the four (of five) years haven\u2019t been that promising\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What\u2019s more: In the lead-up to the Super Bowl 58 (LVIII), the team was dead last in red zone percentage among remaining playoff teams. Yikes. Well, there\u2019s always a \u2018this and that\u2019 argument. Here, it\u2019s the injuries\u2014something Mahomes might not totally agree with. Last year, the QB had said, \u201cI think it\u2019s just execution\u2026I always say it, but in the red zone everything gets so much more detailed and you have to execute at a higher level. Obviously, we were close, but we didn\u2019t get in there. So, when we\u2019re playing a game like this, we\u2019ve got to find a way to turn those field goals into touchdowns in order to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy also agreed. \u201cWe know we need touchdowns\u2026We definitely lock in and focus on not just the execution of the plays, but also schematically, what are we doing? How can we do our part to help the players out?<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re gonna take a nine-yard sack or a throwaway, you\u2019re gonna take the throwaway\u2026If something\u2019s not there, you wanna make sure you\u2019re being smart with the football\u2026The great teams have red zone drives, a lot of red zone drives with touchdowns and now that\u2019s tough to stop with this defense as well. It\u2019s great to have field goals, you want points. Defenses are changing schematically on what they\u2019re doing, and that\u2019s always a part of this, too. How are they adapting to what offenses are doing and what are offenses doing to counterattack that?\u201d<\/p>\n

And while the absence of guys like Isiah Pacheco and Rashee Rice does sting, defenses are locking in on Mahomes\u2019 limited options, making things even trickier<\/p>\n

Guess that\u2019s where Washington Post\u2019s Jason La Canfora\u2019s analysis really comes through when he said that since Jerick McKinnon left the Chiefs, their \u2018red-zone problems have been more profound\u2019. And it\u2019s true. The Chiefs haven\u2019t quite replaced what he brought in those red-zone situations. Hold on, because we have the numbers to back it up. They used to be the red-zone kings with him scoring touchdowns on 64.4% of their trips. Now? Not so much.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the Travis Kelce talk. Some are saying he\u2019s not as sharp as he used to be. And that, maybe, just maybe, it\u2019s time for Patrick Mahomes to start building a stronger connection with a new target.<\/p>\n

Is the Patrick Mahomes-Travis Kelce era nearing the twilight?<\/p>\n

\u201cIn five years from now, he\u2019s not gonna have Travis Kelce. So, he\u2019ll continue to have to develop chemistry and relationships with other guys.\u201d That\u2019s what Drew Brees said when asked how Patrick Mahomes can keep being the greatest. Fast forward to today, and the Chiefs just promoted Jody Fortson from the practice squad.<\/p>\n

I mean, sooner than later, we were bound to hear it. Trav\u2019s 35 now, and while he\u2019s still a force, the question is, how long can Mahomes lean on him? Especially when we consider that this season hasn\u2019t exactly been kind to Kelce so far.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be real\u2014Kelce struggled for targets and yardage in the first three games. Mahomes leaned more on Pacheco and Rice\u2014both sideline owing to injuries as of now. Frustration started showing, too. Remember that outburst against the Falcons? It was rough to watch. But then Kelce bounced back with solid performances against the Chargers and Saints, even if he\u2019s still waiting on his first touchdown of the season.<\/p>\n

Now, with Fortson on the active roster, it\u2019s got fans wondering\u2014are we nearing the end of the Kelce era? The guy has been a cornerstone of KC\u2019s offense, but there\u2019s no ignoring that he\u2019s not getting any younger. Kelce\u2019s numbers picked up recently, sure. Sixteen receptions, and 159 yards in two games\u2014that\u2019s more like the Kelce we know. But like they say, \u201cLeave the football before football leaves you.\u201d It\u2019s better to know when you\u2019re done than to keep pushing.<\/p>\n

So, if this is the last dance for Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce (together), wouldn\u2019t it be something if they capped it off with an unprecedented 3-peat? That\u2019d be one heck of a way to go out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Serious Problems in Kansas City Despite Patrick Mahomes\u2019 Magic as Chiefs Make Huge TE Decision After Travis Kelce\u2019s Struggles Looking at the Chiefs\u2019 5-0 start, you\u2019d think things … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10975"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10977,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10975\/revisions\/10977"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}