The Kansas City Chiefs are one of the two remaining undefeated teams in the NFL, even though their star quarterback has not played as well as he would want.
They will be up against the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football in Week 5, and it is a prime opportunity for Patrick Mahomes to flip the script and be back to his usual self. But there is another issue that Mahomes and mates have to deal with – an emotional one.
Through the first four weeks of the season, the two-time MVP has six passing touchdowns, but he also has five interceptions. This puts him on pace for 21 picks, which would be by far his career-high, but he will be hoping that he can turn it around and limit the turnovers.
That seems doable. A different sort of task? Recovering from the emotions of losing top receiver Rashee Rice to a freak knee injury that during last Sunday’s win over the Chargers when Mahomes collided with the wideout while trying to make a tackle after throwing an interception.
Mahomes initially had no idea what had happened. Video of the play showed him an awful truth.
“I didn’t notice it in the moment, I more worried about trying to get the ball,” Mahomes said. “But … when I saw the replay, I felt like s*** that I hit Rashee … I wasn’t worried about myself. I was worried … and hoping it wasn’t as bad as it looked because I was the one that hit him.”
Head coach Andy Reid said on Thursday that the Chiefs are still gathering information on the nature of the knee injury, but it is assumed it’s likely season-ending for Rice, who caught 24 passes for 288 yards with two touchdowns in the season’s first three games.
Can KC handle the Saints without Rice as a top weapon?
In three of the Saints’ first four games, they have allowed 230 passing yards by the opposing quarterback. In two of those games, those being against the Eagles and the Cowboys, they allowed over 290 passing yards.
Mahomes will be hoping that he can continue that trend, as it could get him back on the right track. He finished the Chiefs’ Week 1 game against the Baltimore Ravens with 291 passing yards, but has been fairly quiet on that front since then.
He has had an interception in every game so far this season, but he will be looking to end that trend against the Saints. … and looking to put other awful thoughts behind him as well.
