Serious Problems in Kansas City as Patrick Mahomes has been confirmed to be …

Serious Problems in Kansas City Despite Patrick Mahomes’ Magic as Chiefs Make Huge TE Decision After Travis Kelce’s Struggles

Looking at the Chiefs’ 5-0 start, you’d think things are running smoothly, right? Well, not so fast. There’s a little wrinkle in the fabric, and it’s showing up in the stats. Despite Patrick Mahomes doing his thing, Kansas City’s red-zone efficiency is becoming a concern. Sounds strange? But it’s true.

Sure, they’re ruling as one of only two teams with a perfect record after 5 games (the other being the Vikings). But against the Saints, those red-zone struggles nearly cost them—something they’ve struggled with this season and last. The Saints trailed closely behind until late in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs dominated both sides of the ball, yet they only managed a single touchdown alongside three field goals and a goal-line interception in their first five red-zone trips. In terms of touchdown efficiency, they went 2-for-7 in the red zone.

The team was forced to let Harrison Butker kick a trio of chip shots to lead 16-7 before the break, and then had to rely on a late game-sealing TD run by Xavier Worthy to ice the win. Not just that, even Travis Kelce had to take a wildcat snap just to punch it in. Creative? Yes. Ideal? Not so much. See, the problem lies not in getting to the red zone. That’s something Andy Reid’s Chiefs are still top-tier at when it comes to driving into the red zone (ranking #6 in the league). But here’s where the problem lies—the efficiency. Even during last year’s game against the Dolphins, the reigning Super Bowl champion struggled to finish in the hallowed red zone, finishing with four field goals instead.

They’re currently sitting 29th in red zone efficiency with 38.89% just above the Dallas Cowboys (37.50%), Miami Dolphins (36.36%), and the New England Patriots (35.71%), as per teamrankings.com. Topping the list are the Houston Texans at 75%. And for those curious, last year’s Super Bowl contender, the San Francisco 49ers sit at 25th with a 44.44% red zone efficiency.

And it’s not like HC Andy Reid doesn’t realize the shortcomings. “The thing is, you obviously want to score touchdowns and love Butker and he’s doing a phenomenal job, but as you go here, you want to make sure you get in the end zone (and) score touchdowns,” the coach had said last year, which unfortunately, still stands true.

For Patrick Mahomes’ team, this is quite a downfall, considering they were the second-best in the league with a 69.44% red zone scoring percentage, in the 2022 NFL season. On the contrary, the rest of the four (of five) years haven’t been that promising…

2023: 54.1% (17th in the NFL)
2021: 60.29% (14th)
2020: 61.02% (14th)
2019: 54% (20th)
What’s more: In the lead-up to the Super Bowl 58 (LVIII), the team was dead last in red zone percentage among remaining playoff teams. Yikes. Well, there’s always a ‘this and that’ argument. Here, it’s the injuries—something Mahomes might not totally agree with. Last year, the QB had said, “I think it’s just execution…I always say it, but in the red zone everything gets so much more detailed and you have to execute at a higher level. Obviously, we were close, but we didn’t get in there. So, when we’re playing a game like this, we’ve got to find a way to turn those field goals into touchdowns in order to win.”

And Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy also agreed. “We know we need touchdowns…We definitely lock in and focus on not just the execution of the plays, but also schematically, what are we doing? How can we do our part to help the players out?