Patrick Mahomes: Chiefs Not Playing ‘Best Football’ Despite Clinching Playoff Berth

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Paul Kasabian Featured Columnist IINovember 30, 2024

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

The Kansas City Chiefs survived another close game Friday, defeating the Las Vegas Raiders 19-17 after they recovered a botched snap in the closing seconds with the Silver and Black on the enemy 32-yard line.

The 11-1 Chiefs clinched a playoff berth with the win and will now have a chance at the NFL’s first-ever Super Bowl three-peat, but quarterback Patrick Mahomes admitted to reporters postgame that the team isn’t playing its “best football” right now (1:30 mark).

“We just hold ourselves to such a high standard that we don’t feel like we’re playing our best football altogether and it seems like every game it’s offense does good, defense does good, kind of vice-versa. We gotta find a way to build up so we can play great as a full entire team. It’s awesome that we’re finding ways to get wins. At the end of the day that’s what you’re going for, but our goal is to get to that Super Bowl. So, we’re going to try to continue to get better and better so that we’re playing our best football hopefully by the end of the year.”

The Chiefs haven’t been playing their best football, and they’ve been pretty lucky too.

Kansas City is now 9-0 in one-score games. The Chiefs’ point differential at the end of regulation in their last four wins has been plus-seven.

Despite being 10 games over .500, the Chiefs are just 11th in point differential in the NFL. They’re third in their own division, the AFC West, behind the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos on that front.

Historically, the Chiefs don’t compare well with other NFL teams that started 11-1 either.

Stathole @Statholesports

It is indeed a statistical fact that the Kansas City Chiefs are the worst 11-1 team in modern NFL history with just a +54 point differential. pic.twitter.com/EcQs8OrnCY

Sheil Kapadia @SheilKapadia

Since 2000, there have been 23 team with 11+ wins through Week 13.None have had a worse point differential than the 2024 Chiefs, and it’s not close.Average point differential for those teams was +139. Chiefs are +54 — 34 points worse than every other team in that sample.

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