State of Chiefs Passing Game After Week 2

The Chiefs passing game took a couple of steps back against a familiar foe.

What a difference a week makes in the NFL. Last week, I was expecting it was going to be possible for Hollywood to join the offense, maybe even against the Bengals. This week, he’s out, maybe throughout the season, and the Chiefs have also lost Pacheco for an extended period of time. Mahomes and the passing game will miss both, which isn’t good because Patrick took several steps back against the Bengals.

Patrick Mahomes

You don't want to go back to watch the interception film. On his first, the Chiefs gave him multiple options to beat the coverage with the play call, and he picked the one player he shouldn’t have thrown to: Travis Kelce. The second interception is not as bad as it was a placement issue vs. a decision. I’d be willing to take a shot with Worthy one-on-one, but you can’t leave it short if you throw it.

Mahomes was 3/3 passing on third down, which would normally be good, but all of the passes were short of the line to gain. The Chiefs ran the ball more on third down than they passed it, but it wasn’t by design. Mahomes did pick up the only third down conversion the Chiefs had, but it was on a scramble for five yards. Overall, watching the first half was much different from watching the second. If you remove the turnovers, the Chiefs were moving the ball against the Bengals consistently, but they couldn’t find a way to consistently put it in the endzone. They ended the day with two touchdowns and two field goals on nine drives.