How Patrick Mahomes has navigated the worst season of his career

ON SATURDAY, The Kansas City Chiefs opened the playoffs the same way they did in each of quarterback Patrick Mahomes' previous five seasons as starting quarterback: with a game at Arrowhead Stadium.

But the way they got there was very different.

The Chiefs did not bring with them their usual passing attack and offensive attack capable of intimidating their opponents. Instead, they finished the regular season ranked 15th in scoring.

The Chiefs led the league in dropped passes (38), were second in offensive penalties and ninth in turnovers. Mahomes has always been asked to shoulder a heavy load, but never more so than this season.

Mahomes has had some standout moments this season, none better than his 424-yard, four-touchdown game against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 7. He conquered the subzero temperatures, gusty winds and Dolphins defense from Miami last weekend in nature. card trick, throwing for 262 yards and a touchdown to lead the Chiefs to the divisional round.

But the late-game magic he is famous for never materialized this season. The Chiefs have lost five games by one score, and they had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead in four of them.

They failed every time. These failures were not often due to Mahomes. Dropped passes and penalties ruined many of these comeback attempts.

The Chiefs won enough games to claim an eighth straight division championship, but this season that in itself was a meager accomplishment. No other team in the AFC West finished with a winning record.

The Chiefs finished the regular season at 11-6, the worst record of Mahomes' career. His QBR (63), passing yards per game (261) and yards per attempt (7.0) were low. He threw a career-high 14 interceptions, but two were well-placed passes that wide receiver Kadarius Toney deflected to a defender.

Mahomes has had to adapt to the issues around him like never before. He will play in the first road playoff game of his career Sunday when the Buffalo Bills host the Chiefs at Highmark Stadium (6:30 p.m. ET, CBS).

“He's smart enough to understand that every year is different,” offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. “And with that comes the ability to adapt.

“He understands perfectly that now [that] we have an outstanding defense that keeps teams out of the end zone and does some really good things. So let's play complementary football. We're so used to 40, 45 points all the time and that's the goal. But we also have to understand during the season how we are going to win.”

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WITH JUST MORE With one minute remaining in the fourth quarter in Week 14 and trailing the Bills 20-17, the Chiefs needed to go on a winning streak to avoid losing consecutive games for the first time since Week 3 of the 2021 season.

On second and 10 for the '49 Bills, Mahomes completed a 25-yard pass to Travis Kelce, who then threw a cross-field pass to Toney that ended in a touchdown. It was exactly the late-game magic the Chiefs needed, except it didn't count.

Toney had lined up offside, negating the go-ahead touchdown. Mahomes' frustration spilled over as he chased three officials and was caught venting to Bills quarterback Josh Allen after the loss.

Mahomes was visibly frustrated this season in a way he rarely — if ever — was earlier in his career. He was disheartened after Toney deflected a catchable pass to a defender for an interception in a Week 15 game against the New England Patriots, when the Chiefs held a sizable lead and were trying to kill the clock.

As the Chiefs struggled to contain pressure from the Las Vegas Raiders defense the following week, Mahomes was seen yelling at offensive linemen on the sidelines.

But Mahomes was also willing to take the blame.

“You have to be critical of yourself,” Mahomes said at the end of the regular season. “You have to be true to what's in the movie and what's happening. I think a lot of people will make excuses and that's why they don't take the next step or get better through it .But you have to see the film. You watch the film, you made a lot of mistakes that you can't make in this league.

“There were times where there were throws and I didn't make them. There were times where I went through my reads, maybe I didn't get to the last one. That's is just things I need to be better at. I think if I'm better at that, it'll make the whole offense better.”

Mahomes said at times during the season he felt hungry, trying to force throws for big plays when there weren't any. He threw two interceptions in a Week 4 win over the New York Jets after the Chiefs took an early 17-0 lead.

The plays helped the Jets get back into the game, although the Chiefs ultimately won.

“I've had times in my career where I haven't had the best weeks in a row and so I have to make sure I can go back to basics and try to be better for the team and then rely on others .guys to make plays,” Mahomes said. “I think that’s somewhere I can be better is just getting the ball out of my hands and letting these other guys play.

“It's something I have to continue to improve on throughout my career. Sometimes when things aren't going well or I want to throw that deep shot, I try to force it whereas There are just times when I “

COACH ANDY REID, Nagy and quarterbacks coach David Girardi were careful not to try to take away from Mahomes' aggressive nature. Instead, they preached a balance between that and doing things differently.

The Chiefs have a struggling wide receiver group — wide receivers accounted for 25 of the team's 38 dropped passes, the most by any team's receivers since 2012 — but the best defense they've had since the finish of Mahomes in 2017.

“He wants to make plays,” Girardi said. “[The coaching points] are more time and place. It is the most important. When can you take these photos? When can you be aggressive?

“You don't want to take away that aggression from him. It's really a question of when and where. Do we have points on the board? Where are we on the pitch? How is the game going?”

Reid said: “He knows better than anyone when [he forces a throw]. He came back later [against the Jets] and I just said, 'Hey, look, I need to check it out there or run it.'

“My point [to Mahomes] was, “Look, you're doing what got you there, and that's attacking. If you need to verify it as part of the attack, verify it. [If the defense is] settling in deep, check it out and keep shooting, keep shooting. There are still a lot of matches left to play. It's positive that way. He knows that and he will normally say something to me before I say something to him.”

The challenge for Mahomes if the Chiefs want to make another deep run in the playoffs is not to outscore their opponents like they have in the past. Mahomes and the Chiefs have scored 35 or more points in at least one playoff game in each of the last four seasons. They beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 last year to win Super Bowl LVIII.

This season's Chiefs haven't been equipped to win like that. They have reached 35 points just once this season.

Mahomes' quest is to lead the Chiefs to victory even if they experience a few unproductive quarters, as has often happened this season. The Chiefs successfully defending their Super Bowl championship could depend on it.

“Not everything is going to be easy,” Mahomes said. “You have to find different ways to win.

“It's always good when you find ways to win. You can win pretty, but you also have to win ugly to win the Super Bowl. As much as I hate it while it's happening, I feel like it makes you better in the end if you win. matches where everything doesn't go perfectly.”