The Kansas City Chiefs have conceded as many defeats after the first five NFL games as in the entire 2020 season. The home defeat against the Buffalo Bills exposes glaring weaknesses. Patrick Mahomes also appears unsettled and is self-critical.

Munich – Andy Reid is one of the most successful and experienced coaches in the NFL. Nevertheless, the Chiefs head coach looked perplexed after the clear 20:38 home defeat against the Buffalo Bills. Yes, even almost perplexed.

“I didn’t see this coming,” the coach admitted. With a record of 2-3, the reigning AFC champions have already conceded as many defeats as in the whole of last season – including the Super Bowl. The Chiefs are currently in last place in the AFC West.

The reasons for the false start of the highly touted title contenders are numerous.

Even superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes showed weaknesses in the first five games that we have not yet seen from him in this form. With 16 touchdown passes, the 26-year-old delivered his usual spectacle, but with six interceptions he has already thrown as many as in the 2020 season. 

Mahomes commits too many turnovers

Some NFL quarterbacks have already attracted attention for their high-risk, sometimes reckless style of play. The difference with Mahomes: With him, those actions work or, more often than not, don’t lead to turnovers. Passes where every fan first thinks “oh, no” often end with a long touchdown.

The ease with which the MVP of 2018 turned chaos into positive plays has been lost this season.

Turnovers are costly, especially against a top team like the Bills. A third-quarter interception was returned for a touchdown by Micah Hyde. Mahomes’ fumble in the final quarter was emblematic of the playmaker’s current mini-crisis.

On a routine snap, Mahomes dropped the ball, possibly because he was already looking for a deep pick. The Bills recovered the fumble and the last chance to win was gone.

Against the Bills, his insecurity was palpable. The simplest passes were sometimes too inaccurate or thrown too short.

Mahomes: “Have to rethink my game”

After his rocket start, has the shooting star of recent years been deciphered by the league’s defensive coaches after all? Mahomes is self-critical: “It starts with me. Turnover differential decides games in this league. I have to rethink my game and my decisions. “

The superstar could certainly claim extenuating circumstances. After losing the Super Bowl to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Chiefs invested a lot of money and draft capital in their offensive line, but the completely new line has to find its feet first.

Even top linemen like Joe Thuney and Orlando Brown need some time to find the right fit in this position group. Thuney got hurt against the Bills to make matters worse.

Kansas City Chiefs: Injuries complicate Bills game

The rushing stats against Buffalo look solid at first glance: 23 running plays, 120 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per run. However, Mahomes contributed more than half of the rushing yards with 61 yards – in part because running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire was out early with a knee injury.

But it also underscores that Mahomes often had to escape the opponent’s pass rush. On the other hand, it was noticeable that he no longer fully trusted his pass receivers to complete catches in tight situations.

The pick-six was also on Tyreek Hill, who couldn’t hold onto the ball. Hill and Travis Kelce were also bothered by injuries during the game, according to Reid.

Chiefs defence shockingly weak

The Chiefs wouldn’t have to ask Mahomes to do miraculous things so often, though, if the defence didn’t show itself to be so frighteningly spotty. Not one turnover forced. Not even a sack. The otherwise so strong defensive line around Frank Clark and Chris Jones has looked strangely toothless for weeks.

There are also several lapses by the secondary. On Stefon Diggs’ 61-yard touchdown, safety Daniel Sorensen was let down by his teammate. The speedy Bills star is almost unstoppable in single coverage. That should be well known.

In addition, there were missed tackles and unnecessary penalties – mistakes that a top team like the Bills punishes mercilessly. Overall, the Chiefs are allowing an average of 32.6 points per game – last in the NFL.

Chiefs: Reid vows improvement

“I think most of their explosive plays were only possible because a receiver was running completely free down the field,” Chiefs star safety Tyrann Mathieu said. “So obviously we’re going to practice that. Our coaches will teach us about that.” 

In the end, even the ever-popular Head Coach Reid has to take credit for the false start. Neither offence nor defence are able to play to their full potential and are making life difficult for each other.

“We didn’t present ourselves well today. It’s my responsibility to fix that. I’m looking forward to when the offence and defence play well together because then we could be a really strong football team,” the 63-year-old exulted.

The Reid-Mahomes duo can definitely be trusted with this positive turnaround. But at the moment, the Chiefs are only really strong on paper.