For the first time since 2014, the Kansas City Chiefs are 0-2.
Storylines have avalanched the NFL with the Super Bowl regulars, questioning whether or not the Chiefs’ dynasty is coming to a close.
Week 1 International Loss Started The Talks
It all started in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where the NFL visited the country for just the second time in its history to watch the Chiefs and Chargers start AFC West play.
Everyone knew this matchup would have fireworks as Mahomes and Co. would be determined to put last year’s Super Bowl disappointment behind them, but that is not exactly how it played out.
Although the Chiefs played relatively well, their errors proved costly, and QB Justin Herbert made them pay the price by notching 318 passing yards with three touchdowns, and they eventually took a 27-21 opening day win of their own.
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Back to Week 1, Mahomes was decent, throwing for 258 yards (one touchdown, zero interceptions) and rushing for 57. He also made the record books himself as having thrown to Travis Kelce for their touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter, passing NFL legend Dan Marino’s record for the most regular-season touchdown passes by a player under 30 in league history.
To put it bluntly, that is a hell of an achievement as the Hall of Famer’s record has stood for the last 34 years (September 8, 1991).
While you would have expected that and the Chargers victory to take all the headlines in the aftermath of the game, Mahomes made the news for a different reason and despite the new season being only a few weeks old, we have already seen the return to allegations that Mahomes and the Chiefs are unfairly protected by the league.
The controversy was again sparked in the third quarter. Trailing 13-6 and facing 3rd and 8, Mahomes somewhat predictably decided to scramble for the first down before naturally running out of bounds.
However, just prior to going out of bounds, the two-time NFL MVP lowered shoulder to cornerback Ja’Sir Taylor, which left him flattened.
For some reason, the NFL decided to post this particular play to their social channels with the caption ‘Mahomes throws his shoulder,’ but Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy was not alone in thinking that, rather than being a great play, it was nothing more than a ‘cheap shot’ that should have earned the QB a 15-yard penalty.
Mahomes avoided any punishment for unnecessary roughness. And as he returned to the line of scrimmage, he was seen shrugging his shoulders in the direction of the Chargers’ defense, which many others felt was poor sportsmanship at best.
The now 30-year-old does have form for this style of play, and it has regularly infuriated opposition fans across the years, but it is equally fair to say that any member of the defense who gets trucked should also probably be looking at themselves.
One thing is for sure: this debate is not going away, and we will see a repeat of the complaints all the way through to the end of the regular season.
Chiefs Drop Super Bowl Rematch
In what was another opportunity for avengement and/or reestablishing their dominance, the Chiefs fell again in Week 2 to the same Philadelphia Eagles they were embarrassed by in February.
Mahomes had a forgettable day, completing only 16 of his 29 passes and throwing for just 187 yards (one touchdown, one interception) and was sacked twice. They had a brief 10-7 lead in the second quarter, but failed to score again until the final three minutes of the game.
Nonetheless, alarms don’t appear to be going off in Kansas City just yet. Mahomes maintains high confidence heading into their Week 3 matchup against the New York Giants.
This is a must-win for Kansas City, as they have the mighty Baltimore Ravens in Week 4.
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