What’s behind the early offensive struggles for Patrick Mahomes against the Patriots?
What’s behind the slow start on offense for the Kansas City Chiefs in these primetime games against the New England Patriots (and others)?
On Sunday night, the Kansas City Chiefs fell in overtime to the New England Patriots in a heartbreaking loss that ended their hopes for a Super Bowl. The frustrating thing about the game was that the Chiefs should have never been in the hole they were at halftime or later in the first place. While Patrick Mahomes’s performance in the fourth quarter was mesmerizing, it would have been nice if the Chiefs would have shown some spark well before then.
The funny thing is, this has happened to Mahomes and the Chiefs offense in other major games—including the last time the Chiefs played the Patriots in Week 6. On Sunday, the Chiefs entered halftime down 14-0 to the Pats. In October’s first meeting, the Pats held the Chiefs to three first-half field goals and entered halftime up 24-9. In both instances, the Chiefs roared back in the second half and sparked a thrilling ending.
Let’s take a closer look at the first few drives of this game to see how things came about.
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The first drive got off to a bad start when Tremon Smith came out of the end zone and only got to the 17-yard line. I know that Smith has the ability for the big play, but the New England Patriots special teams made sure that did not happen. This put quarterback Patrick Mahomes and company in a bad position from the start.
The Chiefs ran two run plays to start the game. The first one was a carry by running back Damien Williams that went for a modest gain, but the next carry was snuffed out by the Patriots defense and he was brought down a couple yards behind the line of scrimmage for a loss.
On 3rd-and-7, Mahomes overthrew wide receiver Sammy Watkins, but thanks to a holding call on the defense, the drive continued. The ensuing three plays were all pass plays and yet all three were all off the mark. In the end, Mahomes takes a sack that buries the offense back 14 yards. TSome of the errors appeared to be the nerves of the 23-year-old Mahomes as well as miscommunications between Mahomes and the target receiver. 5 plays for -6 total yards. Punt.
SECOND DRIVE:
After a clutch interception in the end zone by linebacker Reggie Ragland, the Chiefs started at the Kansas City 25 yard line. The first play Mahomes was immediately flushed outside of the pocket and missed a pass to tight end Travis Kelce that he routinely makes. The next play was a screen pass to Kelce that gained 9 yards leading to an achievable third and one, but the Chiefs were stuffed on a run to the left side by the Patriots, who forced another punt. Three plays for 9 yards. Punt.
THIRD DRIVE:
The third drive started off good due to a bomb from Mahomes to wide receiver Tyreek Hill, but after a costly sack on a third-down play, again another considerable loss for Mahomes, the Chiefs were forced to punt and miss out on a potential three points. Seven plays for 49 yards. Punt.
The Chiefs struggled in the opening half for a multiple of reasons. One, Mahomes was under fire from the ferocious front of the Patriots defense, and two, Mahomes and his receivers were not able to get on the same page throughout the first half. The biggest factor in the first half meltdown was the Chiefs offensive line was beaten at the line of scrimmage repeatedly, which led to a lack of success in the run game. In turn, it put Mahomes into multiple third and long situations.
Unfortunately, the Chiefs were never able to find a rhythm until they re-entered the locker room at halftime down 14 total points. While Mahomes put on a show in the fourth and the Chiefs had an opportunity to win, the first half frustrations were the same from when the Chiefs first played the Patriots in Week 6.
While the Chiefs have plenty of reason for hope in the future, they also have to figure out how to settle in much earlier into a game plan and get Mahomes into a groove that doesn’t rely on fourth-quarter heroics.