Arrowhead Pride
You can argue that in 2025, the Kansas City Chiefs have struggled to maintain their own high standards in all three phases of the game. But the offense has stood out. While it was expected to be more explosive this season, it has sometimes struggled to score — particularly when playing from behind against good teams.
Kansas City is now 0-5 in one-score games — and these offensive problems have contributed to most of them. This was especially true in Week 9’s 28-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills and Sunday’s 22-19 defeat at the hands of the Denver Broncos.
What has led to the offense’s inability to perform when the chips are down?
“I think for us, No. 1, it’s the mindset,” offensive coordinator Matt Nagy told the media on Thursday. “You have to be able to finish — and that’s what we talked about at the beginning of the week when we went back and reviewed the tape.”
The offensive staff also did some self-evaluation during the bye week.
“There’s a few things internally that schematically, we talked through as an offense,” said Nagy. “What [do] we want to do? It’s creating that ownership from the coach’s side of, ‘OK, what plays are we putting in? What are we running?’
“And then when the play is called, there’s a lot that goes into that moment — making sure we have it in the right direction or [we’re] running the right route… There’s so many things that go into it, and I think in that moment when you know you’ve got to finish the game in four minutes — whether it’s tied or whether you’re winning — finishing with the ball in your hands is our job no matter how you do it.
“We didn’t do it — plain and simple — and that’s been our focus. OK, how are we going to get in that situation again and win the game? Stating the obvious: it hasn’t been done much this year, with the 0-5 number that’s out there. So we take that seriously. We understand that, and we all want to make sure that we’re locking in on our jobs.”
One miscue that hurt the Chiefs’ offense early in the game was quarterback Patrick Mahomes missing on a couple of deep shots on the first drive, overthrowing two wide receivers on plays that should have been big gains for Kansas City.
“We’ve got to hit on those when we throw them,” declared Nagy. “We’ve got to make them connect.
“I know we’ve talked about giving a guy an opportunity. Sometimes, we’ll use the phrase, ‘If he’s covered, he’s uncovered.’ So sometimes, [it’s about] being able to give [the receiver] a chance to catch the ball.
“That’s what Pat was upset about with himself: making sure he gives the guy a chance. On both of those — the overthrows — you just don’t have a chance.
“[I] love the mentality of what he did. You know, there’s two other throws...
