The Kansas City Chiefs‘ receiving corps has been a major topic of discussion all season long, and for the most part, it has been for all of the wrong reasons, and quarterback Patrick Mahomes is having the worst season of his career as a result.
Rasheed Rice is the only Chiefs wide receiver who has been impactful in 2023, catching 68 passes for 754 yards and seven touchdowns. Otherwise, Kansas City has been largely bereft of legitimate receiving talent this year, which has resulted in a whole lot of dropped passes. As a matter of fact, the Chiefs lead the NFL in that category.
Mahomes spoke about the drops this week, saying that it’s something the team has to live with.
“You will never be able to eliminate it completely,” Mahomes said, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “All you can do is work at it, and the guys know that I’m going to keep firing the ball. That’s just who I am. I’m gonna keep firing the ball to the open guy and letting them go out there and try to make plays.”
The two-time MVP went 27-for-37 with 305 yards, two touchdowns and a couple of interceptions in his team’s Week 15 win over the New England Patriots. One of the picks came in the first half, when a perfectly thrown football bounced off the hands of Kadarius Toney and into the arms of Patriots linebacker Jahlani Tavai.
There were also other instances throughout the game, but Mahomes still believes in his receivers.
“Obviously, it happened a little bit there at the end of the game,” he said. “I think it’s just, the guys have got to have the confidence to know that I’m gonna keep throwing it back to them and they’ve got to make the plays happen. It’s part of football. Obviously, been too big of a part this year for us, but I trust the guys. I know how hard they’re working at it. They’re going to go out there and be the best players they can be.”
On the season overall, Patrick Mahomes has thrown for 3,703 yards, 25 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while completing 67.4 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 93.2.
The Chiefs improved to 9-5 with their win over the Patriots and will take on the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day. They will then battle the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers to wrap up the regular season.
Want the latest NFL analysis, breaking news, and insider information? Click here. Interested in reading storylines and analysis about the NBA? Check out our partner NBA Analysis Network.
