His statistics were down across the board. The Chiefs lost six games, including five in an eight-week stretch midway through the season. He had several very visible sideline blowups, his pent-up anger directed at teammates and officials alike.
‘I would say it’s just challenging in the fact that I had to deal with a lot of adversity, not having the success that I’ve had in the past,’ Mahomes explained.
Knock on wood, I haven’t had to deal with the injuries I have had before, but at the same time, being able to not win all the games and go out there and have big stats and all that kind of stuff has been different.’
Indeed, this has been a much different season for the Chiefs, even if the result has largely been the same: They will be playing in their sixth consecutive AFC championship game when they face the Ravens on Sunday in Baltimore.
Rather, they ended up as the No. 3 seed, forcing the Chiefs to win last Sunday in Buffalo just to get the opportunity to play on the road again this week.
Only once before in six years as the starter did Mahomes lose five times in the regular season, but the Chiefs lost that many in a two-month span this season. And they weren’t just losses but head-scratching, frustration-inducing defeats.
There was the loss in Denver that started it all, when the Chiefs turned the ball over five times. The one to Philadelphia, when Marquez Valdes-Scantling dropped a go-ahead TD pass in the final minutes. The one in Green Bay, when officials didn’t throw a flag for pass interference that could have set up Kansas City for a go-ahead score. And the loss to the Bills, when Kadarius Toney’s offensive offside penalty wiped out an audacious go-ahead touchdown throw.
The Chiefs’ best offensive output during that midseason swoon was 346 yards against Buffalo. By comparison, the Chiefs only had three games with fewer yards all of last season, when they went on to beat Philadelphia in the Super Bowl.
