When the fourth quarter between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles began on Sunday evening, the trappings were in place for another Chiefs miracle.
In 2024, in the regular season and playoffs, Patrick Mahomes led Kansas City on eight game-winning drives, six of which capped off a fourth-quarter comeback.
On Sunday, the Chiefs were in the red zone trailing the Eagles by only three points when the final frame began. But four plays into the quarter, a Mahomes pass was dropped by Travis Kelce near the endzone and intercepted by Philadelphia’s Andrew Mukuba, stalling any hopes of another magical finish.
The Eagles scored a touchdown on their following drive, and the 10-point deficit proved to be too much for Kansas City to overcome. The Chiefs fell to 0-2 in a 20-17 loss.
Kansas City’s 0-2 start is the team’s first since 2014, which means it’s also the first 0-2 start of Mahomes’s career. Dating back to the Super Bowl in February, Mahomes has now lost three straight games for the first time in his career — and the construction of the Chiefs’ roster seems to be the most obvious culprit.
In 2022, Kansas City averaged 29.2 points per game, the best in the NFL. In the last two seasons, however, the Chiefs have averaged 22.6 and 21.8 points per game, 15th-best in the league in both 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Over that time, Kansas City has significantly reduced its investment in its skill positions, while shelling out money for less-than-stellar play elsewhere.
The Chiefs are spending a little under $17 million on their receiver room this season, per Over The Cap, the sixth-lowest figure in the league. They’re spending $6.4 million on their running backs, which is also the sixth-lowest mark.
Meanwhile, Kansas City is spending big money at tight end ($27.6 million, first in the NFL) and offensive line ($72.2 million, second in the NFL), but the returns from those groups have been inconsistent at best.
Kelce is the third-highest-paid tight end in the league this season, per Spotrac, but his production has been lacking since the start of last year.
In 2024, Kelce finished with the fewest yards, yards per reception and touchdown totals of his career.
Kelce finished the game with four catches for 61 yards. He didn’t speak to reporters after the loss, though his teammates deflected some of the blame for his key mistake.
“We got the defense that we wanted. I threw it just a tad too early,” Mahomes said of his fourth-quarter interception.
He added: “If I can put it more on his body and not so far out in front, then [Kelce] can catch it and take the hit and get in the end zone.”
“I’ll take full responsibility for that game,” head coach Andy Reid said. “I probably stayed too aggressive. That’s my responsibility. It’s important against that crew that you stay aggressive. I could’ve probably dialed up some different things there. Against them, you’ve got to do that.”
The offensive line, meanwhile, hasn’t fully gelled after a makeover following the Super Bowl blowout at the hands of the Eagles.
Mahomes has been sacked twice in each of the first two games, and the running game has been stagnant outside of quarterback scrambles. Mahomes is the team’s leading rusher through two games, while all the running backs combined haven’t broken 100 yards.
It’s not like the Chiefs haven’t tried to build around Mahomes. They still have one of the most expensive offensive rosters in the NFL. And they’ve invested draft capital on that side of the ball, using their first rounder on offense in each of the last two seasons. (It’s also worth noting that receiver Rashee Rice missed most of last year and is suspended through Week 6 of this season.)
But ultimately Kansas City’s major investments haven’t paid dividends. The margins for success have become very thin. And the result is, even with one of the best quarterbacks of all time — a guy who once threw 50 touchdowns in a single season — a middling offense that’s over-reliant on Mahomes and averaging 19 points per game through two weeks.
Even if that so-so offense with a sprinkle of Mahomes magic has been good enough for two Super Bowl appearances and a championship the last two seasons, this year, it’s caused the Chiefs their worst start in over a decade.
“This isn’t how we wanted to start,” Mahomes said Sunday. “But how are we going to respond? I’m excited for the next few weeks to see who wants to be challenged and how we can get back and really get after it.
He added: “I know it sucks to hear for the fans, but I feel like we’re close. All we can do is continue to work.”