The Kansas City Chiefs were beaten in the heavyweight clash with fellow AFC powerhouses the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, and NFL pundit Skip Bayless firmly believes Patrick Mahomes is the man to blame.
There were sprinklings of trademark Mahomes brilliance in a thrilling duel with Josh Allen at Arrowhead Stadium, but when the Bills quarterback capped a clutch fourth-quarter drive with a bullet pass into the arms of Dawson Knox to go ahead 24-20 with a minute left, the KC QB could not respond.
After racking up 338 yards and two touchdowns earlier in the game, he tossed his second interception, with Taron Johnson jumping the route to clinch a memorable – and potentially crucial – victory for the Bills. Both teams are the top contenders for the number-one seed in the AFC and the Bills (5-1) now boast a tiebreaker over their rivals in pursuit of home advantage and a first-round bye.
The first interception was ugly, too, and cost the Chiefs what could have been vital points on the board. On third and goal late in the first quarter with the game scoreless, he bought time but was punished when Kaiir Elam snatched a floated pass intended for Marquez Valdes-Scantling in the endzone.
The Chiefs (4-2) remain atop the AFC West and they will be buoyed by the strong performance of wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster, who hauled in five catches for 113 yards and his first touchdown since moving from the Pittsburgh Steelers in the summer, with head coach Andy Reid eager to fill the void left by Tyreek Hill after his trade to the Miami Dolphins.
But the Undisputed host Bayless believes familiar flaws in Mahomes were on show on Sunday, costing the Chiefs victory, and he believes the outcome of the game confirmed Allen is the better of the two players.
"Typical careless Mahomes," he tweeted. "His two interceptions lost this game. Josh Allen >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Mahomes."
Mahomes' interception count has risen in the past two seasons. After incredible performances is 2019 and 2020, with just five and six picks respectively, he gave up 13 last year and after four in six games this term, he is on course for similar numbers.
Of course, those numbers are still not terrible and his gunslinging style opens up many opportunities for Reid and Eric Bieniemy's offence, but Mahomes was error-strewn on Sunday in a game played in a play-off atmosphere, and a similar performance in January could be terminal for the Chiefs' season.
A trip to San Francisco is next on the slate for the Chiefs on Sunday, with their bye week following immediately after.
