The Kansas City Chiefs have reached the point of the regular season where the offense should be finding a rhythm after working out the kinks during the first few months of the regular season. But that’s far from the case, and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy is calling on quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce to step up to help the team right the ship.
“You start with the leaders we have; these guys have been doing it in this offense – I’m speaking of Pat (Mahomes) and (Travis) Kelce – for a long time,” Nagy said during his December 7 press conference when asked what he has tried to instill in the offense as it continues to struggle. “I think for us mentally going into this year we (understood) that it’s going to be a different year identity-wise, we are getting that, I think we’re there, now it’s just fine-tuning it. We’ve got to have this ability to make sure that when adversity strikes, the leaders in the room take over and we as coaches can help with that as well.”
Despite failing to find consistency after 13 weeks of regular season play, Nagy is still confident that Kansas City’s offense has what it needs personnel-wise to succeed down the stretch. “The guys are seeing right now that where we sit it’s hard to win in this league,” Nagy continued. “We’ve got the guys; we’ve got the talent. It’s now time to really start putting this thing together and make this push and play our best football at the end of the year.”
Mahomes: Locker Room Strong Amidst Struggles
Speaking to the media on December 6, Mahomes was asked if he has felt any waiver of confidence within the Chiefs’ locker room as a result of losing two of their last three games, which puts the team’s record at 8-4 with five games remaining in the regular season.
“I haven’t. I’ve been on a team that was 6-4 and ended up winning the Super Bowl,’ Mahomes said. “We have confidence every week that we’re going to find a way to win the football game. Obviously, these last few weeks we’ve lost a couple, but we still have that mindset. We understand the challenge that’s in front of us. At the same time, all you can do is go work every single day and get better, then go out and give whatever you can on the football field.”
In Week 14, the Chiefs will face a 6-6 Buffalo Bills squad that is in desperation mode as it attempts to keep its playoff hopes alive. So, the defending Super Bowl champions don’t exactly have an easy bounce-back effort after a loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football in Week 13.
Chiefs Banged Up vs. Bills
The Chiefs have released their final injury report for Week 14 and have several starters that will be inactive for the home game versus Buffalo: running back Isiah Pacheco, left tackle Donovan Smith, safety Bryan Cook, and linebacker Drue Tranquill. The good news is that Nick Bolton (IR, wrist) is not listed on the final injury report, which signals that the Chiefs could activate him from injured reserve before Sunday’s game. If he is active, it would be the first time Bolton has played since Kansas City’s 31-17 win over the division-rival Los Angeles Chargers on October 22.
