Chiefs' Preseason Offensive Woes Raise Concerns for Mahomes' Return
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The Kansas City Chiefs head into the regular season with an 0-2 preseason record—a statistic that normally carries little weight. But the way they have stumbled through those two games has raised a subtle yet significant concern around Patrick Mahomes as he works back from a major knee injury. The Chiefs fell 20-12 to the Los Angeles Rams in their opener, then dropped a 16-15 decision to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday night. In both contests, the offense moved the ball well enough to reach opposing territory repeatedly. Crossing the goal line, however, proved far more difficult.
Against Tampa Bay, Kansas City reached Buccaneer territory on five of its first six possessions but managed only a 9-0 halftime lead, thanks entirely to Harrison Butker. The kicker drilled field goals of 26, 48, and a stunning 69 yards—the latter breaking an NFL record. While a 69-yard field goal is a spectacle, relying on a kicker to set league marks is no recipe for sustainable offense. The Chiefs failed to score an offensive touchdown in their first preseason game, and it took until the fourth quarter of the second game for rookie running back Emmett Johnson to plunge in from three yards out. That score came after a holding penalty had erased a similar Johnson touchdown run earlier.
Justin Fields, competing for the backup quarterback role, completed nine of 12 passes but averaged only 5.3 yards per attempt. One promising drive ended when he was strip-sacked after the Chiefs crossed midfield. Penalties, protection breakdowns, and short completions repeatedly stalled drives. Many starters sat out, so declaring the regular-season offense broken would be premature. Preseason football is essentially audition tape dressed as competition. Still, the pattern is hard to ignore: Kansas City has scored just 27 points across eight quarters, with only one offensive touchdown.
Patrick Mahomes has not appeared in any preseason game this year. Andy Reid has exercised extreme caution as his quarterback returns from the significant knee injury he suffered last December—a decision that makes perfect sense. Mahomes has participated fully in training camp and reportedly wants to play, but whether he takes the field against the Seattle Seahawks in the preseason finale remains undecided. The Chiefs cannot learn much from risking him behind a shuffled offensive line, especially with Trey Smith and Josh Simmons currently sidelined.
The larger concern is what Mahomes will inherit when the real games begin. Kansas City missed the playoffs last season and cannot expect its quarterback to immediately erase every penalty, missed assignment, or failed red-zone possession after major knee surgery. His ability to rescue ugly drives has covered plenty of offensive flaws over the years. Asking him to do it again immediately would be a dangerous assumption. The Chiefs have one preseason game remaining to clean up the details around him. Nobody should care whether they defeat Seattle. Producing touchdowns without requiring Mahomes to perform weekly sorcery would be far more encouraging. Kansas City's 0-2 record will disappear when the regular season begins. Its habit of wasting productive possessions could follow it there.
Article commentary
The Kansas City Chiefs' preseason struggles are being dismissed as meaningless, but the pattern of offensive inefficiency warrants closer scrutiny. The team has generated yardage, moved the chains, and reached scoring territory with regularity. Yet they have consistently failed to convert those opportunities into touchdowns, settling for field goals or coming away empty-handed. This is not merely a matter of rust or vanilla play-calling; it reflects a systemic issue that plagued the Chiefs even before Mahomes' injury. Last season, they missed the playoffs, and the offense often lacked the explosive finishing ability that had become their trademark. The concern is not that the Chiefs are 0-2 in August. It is that the same problems that derailed their 2024 campaign—penalties, protection breakdowns, and red-zone stagnation—are resurfacing. And they are doing so while Mahomes remains on the sideline, recovering from a major knee injury. The narrative that Mahomes will simply return and fix everything is comforting but risky. His mobility and improvisational brilliance have masked weaknesses in the offensive line and the receiving corps. After a serious knee injury, expecting him to immediately replicate that magic is a dangerous gamble. The decision to hold Mahomes out of preseason action is prudent. Andy Reid knows that risking his franchise quarterback behind a shuffled line with key starters injured is not worth the evaluation. But that caution also means the Chiefs will enter Week 1 without having seen their full offense operate against a live defense. The timing of Mahomes' return, the readiness of the offensive line, and the ability of skill players like rookie receiver Xavier Worthy to step up will all be critical. What stands out most is the lack of a reliable red-zone threat beyond Mahomes himself. Travis Kelce remains a target, but he is another year older. The running game has not shown the ability to punch the ball in from close range. The Chiefs need to develop a scheme that can generate touchdowns without relying on Mahomes to extend plays. That means better protection, crisper route running, and a commitment to the run inside the 20-yard line. One preseason game remains against Seattle. The score will not matter, but the process will. If Kansas City can string together a few sustained drives that end in touchdowns, that will provide a much-needed confidence boost. If they continue to settle for field goals, the alarm bells will grow louder. The Chiefs have the talent to be a contender, but they cannot afford to waste possessions in the regular season. Mahomes' return will elevate the offense, but expecting him to carry the entire burden after major surgery is unrealistic. The team around him must show it can finish drives on its own.