Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs Escape Giants, but Serious Flaws Impossible to Ignore

The Kansas City Chiefs and their fans will have to spend much of this abbreviated week reminding themselves that Monday night's matchup with the New York Giants indeed resulted in a win rather than a loss. 

That's how poorly the Chiefs performed against an inferior opponent in a critical prime-time home game. "A win's a win" hardly holds up for a team in disarray. Superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes looks uncomfortable and pedestrian, his pass protection continues to be a problem, standout tight end Travis Kelce hasn't been right at all, and one of the worst defenses in football isn't helping matters. 

That unit, which ranked 31st in DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) at Football Outsiders entering Week 8, wasn't even the problem Monday night. Mahomes couldn't complete anything down the field as the offense committed multiple turnovers for a fourth consecutive game (tied for the longest streak in the league this season, according to ESPN).

Mahomes was intercepted for the seventh game in a row, he was lucky not to be picked off on a throw that hit a Giants defender in the hands, he had another interception negated by a Giants penalty, and he fumbled on a critical third-down play in the fourth quarter (the Chiefs recovered). 

He averaged just 5.2 yards per target on the ridiculous 18 throws he tossed Tyreek Hill's way, and he averaged fewer than 6.0 yards per attempt for the third time in his last four games. He was 0-for-6 on passes that traveled at least 15 yards down field, with his longest completion of the night coming on a toss to Mecole Hardman behind the line of scrimmage. 

"You just want to be executing at a higher level," Mahomes told ESPN after the game. "If we want to be who we want to be, we have to execute better for a full game." 

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

But at some point, you have to wonder if that'll happen again this season. Or if it'll be too late when it finally does. The Chiefs remain alive thanks to this 20-17 win, but it was a borderline pyrrhic victory because the mistake-prone Giants let Kansas City off the hook with three killer fourth-quarter penalties. 

Few NFL teams would be as forgiving, and literally none except possibly the Denver Broncos exist on Kansas City's remaining schedule. They're in contention at 4-4, but their sked is the most challenging in the league from here on out, according to ESPN. The 7-1 Green Bay Packers are coming to town next, and then the Chiefs are in Las Vegas to face an AFC West-leading Raiders team that beat Kansas City at Arrowhead last season. 

They could easily find themselves three or four games out of first place when they play the 6-1 Dallas Cowboys ahead of their Week 12 bye. 

Yes, 4-4 starts happen. Even to great teams. On paper, the Chiefs are a great team. And they have the talent and experience to go on an absolute tear in November, December, January, maybe even February. I'm not counting them out and neither should you. Not yet.

But what's wild is the Chiefs are lucky to be 4-4. The Giants outplayed them, but they were bailed out Monday by a phantom facemask penalty, an offside penalty that wiped out a Giants pick and a brutal taunting penalty in the fourth quarter. 

They also easily could have lost to the Cleveland Browns at Arrowhead in Week 1, and they still have a negative scoring margin (minus-12) despite Monday's victory. 

The Chiefs hit a rut around this time in 2019, but Mahomes wasn't healthy and we figured they'd bounce back as soon as that changed (they did). They ran into a wall late in 2020, mainly because the offensive line was in shambles. Those were easy diagnoses. 

But this? The root causes are plentiful, which is why it's fair to panic entering the second half of the season. The quarterback isn't himself. His new-look line hasn't put it together yet. His weapons aren't coming through. His defense is a liability. The upcoming schedule is terrifying and the division is stronger than it's been in years with the Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers both emerging this season. 

At the very least, it's now or never for the 2021 Chiefs. 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012. Follow him on Twitter: @Brad_Gagnon.