What’s wrong with the Chiefs? The national media has a number of theories
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chiefs’ 0-2 start reflects offensive issues, including limited weapons, analysts say.
- Mahomes lacks consistent receiving threats, forcing him to carry heavy workload.
- Rival teams like Bills and Ravens show offensive firepower Kansas City now lacks.
The Chiefs are 0-2 for the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era, but it’s not their first slow start to a season.
In 2021, the Chiefs opened with a 1-2 record, which included losses to the Chargers and Ravens. When the calendar turned to November, the Chiefs had a 3-4 record and pundits wondered if KC could turn it around.
The Chiefs did, winning nine of their final 10 regular-season games. They advanced to the AFC Championship Game but lost after coughing up a big lead to the Bengals.
This 0-2 start is troublesome but not the end of the world. What’s ailing the Chiefs? National pundits shared their thoughts. Here is a sample of what’s being said.
Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson wrote a column with the headline: “Chiefs need playoff-level Patrick Mahomes just to win, and his lack of support is hard to ignore now.”
This is an excerpt: “The problem is, there isn’t one sure fix coming. Getting (Rashee) Rice back will be huge, but he hasn’t played a regular-season game since Week 4 last season when he tore his ACL. (Xavier) Worthy has dangerous speed, but he hasn’t developed into a consistent threat yet, and everyone else beyond that can’t be counted on just yet. Travis Kelce is clearly at the end of his career with good plays becoming increasingly infrequent, and there are no easy buttons to press on this offense. It’s a boon for this Chiefs team that Mahomes is so damn good that they have a chance in almost any game as long as he suits up, but at some point they need to take a hard look in the mirror at where they stand organizationally.”
The Wall Street Journal’s Andrew Beaton wrote a story with this headline: “The NFL has caught up to the Kansas City Chiefs. Finally.”
This is part of what Beaton wrote: “(I)t’s never been clearer just how stiff Kansas City’s competition has become.
“The Buffalo Bills, led by last year’s MVP in quarterback Josh Allen, have scored 71 points through two weeks. Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens have posted 81, including 40 in their opening loss to Buffalo. Both teams score with ease the way the Chiefs used to do.
“Even within Kansas City’s own division, it’s grown more difficult. The Chargers and Denver Broncos both made the playoffs last season and are trending upward with talented young quarterbacks.”
Former NFL quarterback Chris Simms, who is an analyst for NBC Sports, talked about the Chiefs’ offense.
“It’s been tough. It doesn’t look great,” Simms said. “You heard Devin McCourty, Mahomes is the leading rusher for the second week in a row. Yes, he’s making mistakes too, but there’s not a lot of help out here right now. ...
“They can’t control the line of scrimmage. Look at this. There’s nowhere to go. They can’t run the football. That’s concerning here again, protection mistakes and then no separation from anybody downfield. ... There’s nobody you’re game planning or scared of on Kansas City right now, and Mahomes has too much on his plate.”
The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue was alarmed by the Chiefs’ pass rush.
This is part of what she wrote: “A noticeable lack of pressure from the Chiefs’ four-man rush raised a red flag for me in Week 1, and my concern only grew on Sunday. At times, it seemed like (Eagles quarterback Jalen) Hurts had an eternity to throw (and he didn’t even have to use his threat as a runner on some of his longer dropbacks). Hurts had more than 2.5 seconds to throw on 40% of his pass attempts, according to Next Gen Stats. To counter, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo had to design more blitz pressure to help out his base front — in fact, Hurts was blitzed on 64% of his dropbacks, the highest blitz rate the Chiefs have used since Spagnuolo took over as defensive coordinator in 2019.”
CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco says the Chiefs are a one-man show with Mahomes:
“They have problems, and we talked about it all day today. They don’t have any weapons. He’s doing it by himself, and the one weapon that he does have, Travis Kelce drops the ball in the end zone that should have been a touchdown, and the complexion of that game changes. They take the lead.
“So are they done? Absolutely not. Are they as dominant as they’ve been in the past? No chance.”
Sports Illustrated’s Gilberto Manzano said the Chiefs are no longer among the NFL’s elite.
This is a snippet from his story: “This doesn’t necessarily mean the Chiefs are no longer contenders because of the very concerning 0-2 start. But it’s safe to say they have become inferior competition for the undefeated Eagles.”
The NFL Network’s Eric Edholm said Kelce’s drop Sunday was indicative of the Chiefs’ troubles.
Here is part of Edholm’s story: “Travis Kelce was making a good impact on Sunday’s game, with four catches for 61 yards, when he dropped a well-placed pass from Patrick Mahomes at the Eagles’ goal line. It glanced off his hands and into those of the Eagles’ Andrew Mukuba, who would have scored had it not been for a terrific-effort tackle from Josh Simmons. It’s a play Mahomes and Kelce have run a thousand times, yet the future Hall of Fame tight end appeared to turn around a second late, unready for the pass.
“There were other missed connections, with Mahomes and Tyquan Thornton missing twice in the final minutes for what could have been big plays before finally connecting on a TD. The defense improved from its Week 1 showing, but the offensive struggles are a big reason why the Chiefs are 0-2 for the first time in the Mahomes era. The offense is just out of sorts, even if we must give the Eagles defense proper respect. Marquise Brown made a few big catches, and Thornton and Nikko Remigio made plays late, but there are just too few threats right now. Mahomes was brilliant scrambling early, but they had little else to fall back on.”
This story was originally published September 16, 2025 at 10:58 AM.
