The Kansas City Chiefs are in an unfamiliar place — Andscape

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – On Sept. 9, 2018, Patrick Mahomes started his first regular-season game as the Kansas City Chiefs’ No. 1 quarterback.

That day marked the beginning of the Chiefs’ dynasty – one of the greatest stretches of sustained success by a club in NFL history. But history tells us that, eventually, all empires fall.

The Chiefs’ standing in a league they had dominated for years is now an open question, and there’s more to debate after their 20-17 loss Sunday afternoon to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Just as they did in Super Bowl LIX last January, the Super Bowl-champion Eagles (2-0) outplayed the Chiefs in their hosts’ home opener at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Granted, the Eagles in Week 2 didn’t overwhelm the Chiefs as they did in their 18-point blowout to close last season. The outcome, however, was the same for Kansas City.

Accustomed to inflicting pain on others since Mahomes has been under center, the Chiefs have become the ones who are suffering lately amid failed expectations.

Kansas City appears to be a team searching for answers more than at any point over the past eight seasons. And unlike in the past – when Mahomes’ brilliance often enabled the Chiefs to overcome their deficiencies – having the league’s best player at the sport’s most important position no longer seems to be enough.

For the first time in the Mahomes era, the Chiefs (0-2) have lost their first two games to start a season, and they’re in last place in the AFC West – a division they’ve owned. Including the Super Bowl drubbing at the hands of the Eagles, the Chiefs have now lost three straight games. That’s the first time that’s happened since Mahomes became their starter.

There’s no doubt about it: The Chiefs are in a very bad, unfamiliar place.

The bigger problem: It’s not at all clear how they can get out of it.

“Obviously, we’ve never been 0-2, but we’ve had times where we’ve dealt with challenges before,” Mahomes said. “The guys that we have in this locker room will go back to work with that mindset of, ‘We’re going to continue to work even harder.’ So that when we step on that field this next time, we can find a way to win in those big moments, like we haven’t in these first two weeks.”

Even in their worst nightmares, the Chiefs couldn’t have envisioned their current reality.

They’ve faced intense national scrutiny since their season-opening 27-21 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in São Paulo, Brazil. That raised the stakes in their home opener.

Even playing without injured second-year wide receiver Xavier Worthy, who suffered a dislocated right shoulder against the Chargers, and top wideout Rashee Rice, who will miss the first six games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, Kansas City hoped to show improvement in the passing game against Philadelphia. It didn’t happen.

For most of the game, Mahomes struggled to connect with receivers.

On the Chiefs’ best passing play of the day, he connected with wideout Tyquan Thornton for a 49-yard touchdown pass on a picturesque deep ball. That helped the Chiefs cut the Eagles’ lead to three points (20-17) with three minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

Unfazed, the Eagles recovered an onside kick at the Chiefs’ 41-yard line, gained one first down and ran out the clock. Even with Mahomes’ long strike to Thornton – an element missing from the Chiefs’ passing attack since Tyreek Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins before the start of the 2022-23 season – he finished with only 187 passing yards.

“Knowing the guys in the locker room, man, I think they’re just going to respond by working,” Mahomes said. “That’s how we’ve gotten to the point that we’ve gotten to in our career here in Kansas City, is that we believe the work kind of puts out the product.”

And then there’s tight end Travis Kelce.

A future first-ballot Hall of Famer, Kelce is arguably the greatest pass-catcher at his position in league history. He’s an eight-time Pro Bowler and a five-time Associated Press All-Pro (three first-team selections). Kelce played a key role in the Chiefs winning three Super Bowl championships in five seasons, including becoming the NFL’s first back-to-back champions since the New England Patriots in 2004 and 2005.

That established, he turns 36 in October. Over time, we all lose our fastball.

Kelce no longer brings the heat as he once did.

For the Chiefs, Kelce’s key miscue early in the fourth was a gut punch.

Trailing, 13-10, the Chiefs drove from their 20-yard line to the Eagles’ 6-yard line. As he’s done innumerable times in practice and games, Mahomes passed to Kelce in the middle of the field. But the ball bounced off Kelce’s hands and into the arms of Eagles safety Andrew Mukuba, who returned it 41 yards.

Ten plays later, quarterback Jalen Hurts scored on a 1-yard run to help the Eagles go ahead by 10 with 7:48 to play. The Chiefs never recovered.

There were other problems on both offense and defense.

For the second time in as many games, Mahomes led the Chiefs in rushing, finishing with 66 yards on seven carries, including a 13-yard touchdown run. Mahomes has set a tone with his aggressive running style, inspiring his teammates in the process. He’s shouldering more because of the Chiefs’ shortcomings. It’s what he does.

On the other hand, this isn’t sustainable. The Chiefs have to become more efficient in the running game without Mahomes in the lead there as well.

Mahomes can’t do anything about the Chiefs’ weak pass rush.

Just as in the opener against the Chargers, the Chiefs struggled to pressure the passer without blitzing. On many of his drop-backs Sunday, Hurts could have flipped several racks of ribs. And sauced them.

“This is a moment for us to come together as a team,” All-Pro defensive lineman Chris Jones said. “A little adversity is tough, but adversity builds character. We can come together.

“We have the team, we have the guys to figure this out and make a change. It’s only the first quarter of the season, it’s two games, we have 17 games. It’s a long journey ahead, we can figure this thing out and get back on the right track with a win next week.”

Many Chiefs observers argue that it’s unfair to judge the offense without Rice and Worthy in the lineup. Rice’s suspension will end. Worthy is expected to return, too.

As for the other side of the ball, Steve Spagnuolo is one of the greatest defensive coordinators in the sport’s history. Overall, with the exception of the pass rush, the Chiefs were better defensively than in Week 1. Perhaps that’s something to build on.

It just seems that there are cracks forming everywhere.

Way back in 2018, Mahomes threw four touchdown passes in a 38-28 road victory over the Chargers. Something big had begun.

Now, increasingly, it feels like – just maybe – it’s starting to slip away.