The Chiefs have a receivers issue.
It’s not one that can necessarily be easily solved either, as the club heads into a Week 14 matchup with the Bills.
Kansas City still ranks No. 8 in total yards and No. 11 in points scored. But those are the team’s lowest marks in both categories since Mahomes took over as the starting QB in 2018. And they’re a far cry from finishing No. 1 in both categories last year.
Tight end Travis Kelce for an eighth consecutive 1,000-yard season. Rashee Rice has caught 52 passes for 591 yards. But beyond those two, Mahomes’ weapons have just been inconsistent throughout the season.
And now that the calendar has reached December, it’s not like there are going to be any significant changes in personnel.
So, Mahomes was asked during his Wednesday press conference if there’s anything different he can do to build more chemistry with the receivers.
“You just come into work and try to get better, that’s all you can do,” Mahomes said. “I think the guys have done a great job of trying to do that. We’re going to continue to get better. I thought we had a lot of great things in the last game, obviously just didn’t execute in the red zone. It’s the little things in this league that are the difference between winning and losing, so we’ll continue to focus on those and try to get better going into this week.
“You can work on the stuff that didn’t work in the game, you try to adjust those things and maximize the stuff you did well. At the same time, this league is close, these games come down to one score, and it’s whoever executes the small things that come out with the win.”
More often than not, once teams reach December, they are who they are. So Mahomes is right — the thing he and the receivers can do at this point is continue to work and hope it translates to the game.
Mentally, Mahomes said, the receivers “seem like they’re in a great spot.”
“In the locker room I think everyone knows we’re all trying to go out there and be great and trying to win football games,” Mahomes said. “I have a lot of trust in those guys. I see how hard they are working.
“For us, it’s about keeping it within the locker room — I mean we’re still sitting there atop the AFC West, and I think a lot of the stuff is out in front of us we just have to go out there and capitalize on it. I think if we can start this week with a great week of practice and try to beat a really good football team, the Buffalo Bills — it’s kind of like next week, we’ll be talking about how great we are. It’s kind of how the NFL works.”
There’s no question about Mahomes’ greatness. But even with a good game this week, Kansas City’s receivers are going to have to become much more consistent over the season’s last five weeks to give the club its best chance for a deep postseason run.
