Chiefs Are Relying On Patrick Mahomes’ Legs Too Much

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had the most rushing yards he’s ever had in a regular-season game, and one came on a sensational play, in which he mowed over a Philadelphia Eagles defensive back.

But that’s actually a bad thing for a couple reasons.  For one, Mahomes is taking a lot of shots for this early in season. After twice lowering his shoulder into a defender in Week One while rushing for first downs, he plowed his left shoulder into Eagles rookie safety Andrew Mukuba for six yards in Week Two and followed that first down with a 13-yard rushing touchdown on the next play.

“He trains that way,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said. “He’s not going to not take an opportunity if it’s given.”  Though Reid defended the strategy and Mahomes used his non-throwing shoulder to convert that 3rd and 5 against Mukuba, it’s concerning to have your most valuable commodity — literally to the tune of $450 million over 10 years — launching himself into defenders.

“I don’t want to see him get the big hits,” Reid said. “But he’s a pretty competitive guy.”  Mahomes said he rushed for 66 yards — totals he only tied in the Super Bowl LVIII win against the San Francisco 49ers and exceeded in the famous “13-second” divisional playoff victory against the Buffalo Bills — because the Eagles were playing a lot of man coverage, leaving open rushing lanes.

“I usually don’t try to run over big guys,” Mahomes said. “I did a good job of protecting myself. You have to be smart in those situations.”  And yes the 225-pound Mahomes actually outweighs Mukuba, a Tyrann Mathieu-esque ballhawking player by 40 pounds, but it’s also a bad sign for the offense when your quarterback has more rushing yards than any other player has rushing or receiving.

In a disjointed offensive performance, they dropped passes, including two by tight end Travis Kelce, misconnected on deep balls and had passes deflected passes in the 20-17 loss.  “Things here and there,” Mahomes said, “that we just didn’t do at a high enough level.”

That helps account for the Chiefs having not scored in the first quarter in two straight games.  That streak runs to three if you count Super Bowl LIX. And if you count that postseason contest, the Chiefs have lost three games in a row for the first time since Mahomes became the starter.

The Chiefs also lost three straight to the Eagles, including an embarrassing 40-22 loss to the Eagles (in which they trailed 34-0 at one point) in Super Bowl LIX, which gave the Chiefs plenty of motivation heading into this game.

“We still have a bad taste in our mouth,” Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones said before facing the Eagles. “It offers the chance to play them again and also get some payback.”

Instead the Chiefs are back to the drawing board after a second consecutive regular-season loss — and a second consecutive game in which Mahomes led the Chiefs in rushing.

He had 57 in the 27-21 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil before acknowledging the difficulty in balancing his competitive desire for more yards with preserving himself for the rest of the season.

“It’s a long season. So I try to get back to running out of bounds as much as possible,” Mahomes said. “I’m just gonna try to manage that throughout the season so I can be there for the playoffs.”

To make the playoffs, the Chiefs must bounce back from a daunting 0-2 hole.  Reid’s message to the team afterwards was: “Keep playing hard,” and the players preached resilience.  “This is a moment for us to even come together as a team,” Jones said. “Adversity builds character.”