KANSAS CITY, Mo. — You could listen to just about any NFL analyst about the ongoing struggles of the Kansas City Chiefs offense and they’ll give you a different perspective.
Kurt Warner, the Hall of Fame quarterback and analyst for NFL Network, offered a simple analysis Monday night via his X (formerly Twitter) account after the Chiefs’ upset loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, a game in which their offense committed back-to-back giveaways that resulted in easy touchdowns for their archrival. Warner said the unit had one of its worst performances in the Patrick Mahomes era, which began six years ago. The offense, Warner wrote, was bad everywhere.
On Tuesday’s episode of “The Athletic Football Show,” Nate Tice, a former NFL offensive quality control assistant and former college quarterback, voiced harsh criticism of Mahomes’ teammates.
“It is so sloppy,” Tice said of watching the unit led by coach Andy Reid. “This team led the league in penalties per snap on offense going into last week and I don’t think their numbers are going to change much. This Chiefs skill-position group — receivers, tight ends a little bit because (Travis) Kelce can be a little loose and running backs — is probably the lowest collective football IQ I have ever seen, at least from a contender.”
Despite Mahomes throwing a pick-six, getting sacked four times and loudly challenging his offensive linemen on the sideline to perform better, analyst Sheil Kapadia of The Ringer absolved the league’s reigning MVP because of the suboptimal circumstances he has had to perform in.
“I have no time for those Mahomes arguments,” Kapadia said Tuesday on “The Ringer NFL Show.” “I don’t want to see any clips this week of, ‘Oh, this is the way the play is drawn up (or) he should’ve gone in structure here.’ They have sabotaged his season. He is looking to be the greatest quarterback of all time. He’s in his prime, he’s healthy and they have riddled him with garbanzo beans pass catchers, garbanzo beans offensive tackles and coaches with no answers for how to help him.”
Even former receiver Dante Hall, the Chiefs’ newest Ring of Honor member, pleaded with Mahomes on Wednesday morning to change his play style — from less mesmerizing backyard-like gunslinger to more captain checkdown — to help improve the offense’s effectiveness.
“I love you; you’re my favorite quarterback,” Hall said on “Good Morning Football.” “But I think you need to fall in love with the mundane. Yes … we’ve been used to the big play to (receiver) Tyreek (Hill), to Kelce. It’s time to be checkdown Tom Brady. Fall in love with the swing route, the checkdowns. These plays have been there for the taking. … Get a rhythm
