The Kansas City Chiefs secured a hard-fought 23-14 victory over the Houston Texans in the AFC divisional round, with Patrick Mahomes leading the charge. However, despite the win, Mahomes acknowledged that the offense was far from perfect.
The Chiefs’ offense was clearly rusty after a nearly month-long layoff, with Mahomes throwing for just 177 yards and one touchdown while taking three sacks. The usually explosive offense was held in check by the Texans’ defense, which kept Mahomes under duress throughout the game.
One of the most striking aspects of the game was the lack of involvement from the Chiefs’ wide receivers. Only four players caught passes for the Chiefs, with Travis Kelce dominating the targets with seven catches for 117 yards and a touchdown. Xavier Worthy, Noah Gray, and Kareem Hunt were the only other players to catch passes, while Hollywood Brown, DeAndre Hopkins, and JuJu Smith-Schuster were shut out.
Mahomes acknowledged that the offense needs to improve, particularly in terms of diversifying the passing attack. “We need to make sure we’re getting everyone involved,” Mahomes said. “We can’t just rely on one or two guys. We need to make sure we’re spreading the ball around and making it harder for defenses to key in on one guy.”
The Chiefs’ defense was the real star of the show, with George Karlaftis’ three sacks leading the way. The defense held the Texans to just 14 points, ensuring that the Chiefs’ offense didn’t need to be perfect.
Despite the win, Mahomes knows that the offense needs to step up its game if the Chiefs are to make a deep run in the playoffs. “We need to execute better,” Mahomes said. “We need to make sure we’re running the right plays and executing them to the best of our ability. If we can do that, I think we’ll be tough to beat.”
The Chiefs will face either the Baltimore Ravens or the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship game next week. With the offense still finding its rhythm, it’s clear that Mahomes and the Chiefs have their work cut out for them.
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