Patrick Mahomes Opens Up About Chiefs Offense's Struggles

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The Kansas City Chiefs entered the season with a big chip on their shoulders. They didn’t look competitive at all in their Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

They revamped their offensive line by drafting Josh Simmons and hoped that wide receiver Rashee Rice’s return would spark their attack. So far, that hasn’t been the case.

Entering their Week 12 game against the Indianapolis Colts, quarterback Patrick Mahomes opened up about the Chiefs’ offensive struggles.

“It’s just kind of the coverages that we’ve been getting. Teams are playing more man coverage against us, which gives more opportunities to throw the ball down the field. But until we prove we can hit those throws down the field, teams are gonna continue to play man coverage. Once we hit some of those throws, all of a sudden the defense opens up, and then you’re able to hit other throws as well,” Mahomes said.

Patrick Mahomes on the lack of intermediate passes in this year’s offense:

“Teams are playing more man coverage against us, which gives more opportunities to throw the ball down the field. But until we prove we can hit those throws down the field, teams are gonna continue to… pic.twitter.com/OwFYr9u150

— KC Sports Network (@KCSportsNetwork) November 19, 2025

That makes perfect sense. The Chiefs have found some success in intermediate routes with Travis Kelce, but they haven’t gotten much production from anybody else.

Marquise “Hollywood” Brown hasn’t been much of a factor, and JuJu Smith-Schuster’s role has been diminished. Also, Xavier Worthy has failed to take a leap in his second season, and it just feels like they’re trying to use him as a gadget player.

Mahomes was playing some of the best football of his career earlier in the season, but he has taken a step back over the past couple of weeks. Some of that had to do with Simmons being out, but the QB is not making the throws he used to make when he was younger.

Defenses may have finally caught up to the Chiefs. Even so, if NFL fans have learned one thing over the years, it would be to never count out Mahomes, regardless of how tough things might look.

NEXT: Stephen A. Smith Has Strong Belief About Chiefs’ Super Bowl Hopes