This is alien to Patrick Mahomes. This is alien to Andy Reid’s dynasty team. The Kansas City Chiefs are on the verge of being eliminated from the NFL playoffs. And it could happen as early as this weekend.
Kansas City have made it to five of the last six Super Bowls, including three in a row. They have reached seven straight AFC Conference Championship Games and have been to the playoffs for 10 consecutive seasons while winning nine AFC West titles in a row, a run that just came to an end with the Denver Broncos too far ahead.
But they sit 6-7 on the year, third in their division and staring at the prospect of their season coming to an end in the coming days.
Ways the Chiefs can be eliminated from playoff contention in Week 15:
- Chiefs loss to Chargers, Jaguars win over Jets, Bills win over Patriots and Texans win over Cardinals
- Chiefs loss to Chargers, Jaguars win over Jets, Bills win over Patriots and Colts win over Seahawks
- Chiefs loss to Chargers, Bills win over Patriots, Colts win over Seahawks and Texans win over Cardinals
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The Chiefs are coming off an ugly 20-10 defeat to the Houston Texans at Arrowhead, during which Mahomes was intercepted three times in one of his worst games of the season while seeing both Travis Kelce and Rashee Rice drop catchable balls at defining moments in the game.
It has been a familiar tale of a stagnant offense that has been creeping dangerously towards outright collapse for some time, not even Steve Spagnuolo’s defense able to salvage his side’s shortcomings on the other side of the ball anymore.
“We are in unprecedented territory, a place we haven’t been since I’ve been here,” said Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“All these guys that have won championships, it hasn’t always been pretty, but it will really test what kind of character we have. I don’t know what the percentages are – I know they’re not high – but it would be special to get into the playoffs.”
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Between victories over the then-flying Indianapolis Colts and the unusually stifled Detroit Lions, there had been sporadic flickers of Chiefs inevitability that they would somehow carve a route to the postseason. But not once have they been able to capitalise by way of a consistent run.
Kansas City’s passing attack still ranks fourth in yards per game in the league, while being seventh in dropback EPA, with Mahomes third in passing yards among quarterbacks. But far too often has Mahomes been left to try and conjure magic on his own.
“We got Pat Mahomes, right? Let’s be honest here, we always have a chance,” said defensive lineman Chris Jones this week.
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But they have been a picture of mediocrity for much of the campaign, no longer able to rely on the one-score steals on which they lived last season.
They now face a Los Angeles Chargers team ignited by Monday’s dramatic overtime victory against the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles at SoFi Stadium. Jim Harbaugh’s team are 9-4 and closing in on a return to the playoffs.
“You want to be playing memorable football in December and January, and meaningful games,” said Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. “Those are the type of games that you need to win, against opponents we have a ton of respect for and are very good.”
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