Patrick Mahomes says the Chiefs’ skid comes down to missed plays, admitting he passed up a key shot to Hollywood Brown.
After another close defeat, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes cut through any noise and put the skid on himself and the offense. Speaking to Sports Illustrated about why the Chiefs have now dropped multiple tight games they used to finish, he said it comes down to execution in key moments.
“Just not making the plays, not making the throws at the right time,” Mahomes explained. He pointed to one missed opportunity in particular, noting he had Marquise “Hollywood” Brown early on a route that could have jump-started a drive and flipped momentum.
For Mahomes, the fix is going back to basics: staying true to his progressions, trusting the offensive line to hold up, and giving his receivers chances down the field to change games with one play.
Mahomes’ comments signal he knows that, for all the outside chatter about coaching or roster moves, Kansas City’s stars will ultimately be judged on whether they hit those throws and catches when it matters.
He has already conceded the road back to an AFC West title is steep after falling to 5-5 with a 22-19 loss in Denver, telling SI it will be “hard to get back in the division race” and shifting the focus to simply getting into the playoffs and trying to make a run.
Mahomes went 29-of-45 for 276 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in that game, briefly putting the Chiefs ahead with a strike to Travis Kelce before a blocked extra point and two Wil Lutz field goals flipped the result.
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill may be in Miami now, but his eye is still on Kansas City. During the Chiefs’ Week 11 loss to the Denver Broncos, Hill jumped on X, formerly Twitter, to praise his former quarterback, saying Patrick Mahomes was “feeling good slinging the rock” and that he loved seeing KC take shots downfield.
Former Chiefs wideout Gehrig Dieter immediately chimed in that Hill was “trying to come back to KC,” a half-joking reminder that, even after leaving in 2022, Hill keeps showing public love for Mahomes and the franchise while they grind through a 5-5 start.
The bigger concern is how often those minor mistakes are accumulating. This isn’t a Chiefs team getting blown out; it is one repeatedly letting winnable games slip. Drops, protection issues, and timing miscues have turned what used to be automatic fourth quarters into coin flips.
As he put it, Kansas City is “at that point where we got to find a way just to win football games,” one tight margin at a time.
Chicago Bears defensive back Nahshon Wright was playing for a higher purpose on Sunday afternoon against the Minnesota Vikings.
Wright’s former college coach, John Beam, was shot and killed on the Laney College campus in Oakland, Calif., on November 13.
Against the Vikings, Wright pulled down his fourth interception of the 2025 campaign, when he picked off quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the end zone with :35 remaining in the first quarter of Sunday’s 19-17 Bears victory, in Minnesota.
Wright was visibly emotional, kneeling to pray with his teammates before jogging to the sideline.
“He meant the world to me,” Wright told reporters after the game. “When my dad was killed, he came to my house and got me out of the bed. He was someone I could confide in, someone that I just love dearly. We talk once a week, easily.
“He did a lot for me and my brother and my family. He been there. He’s been there every step of the way, and it won’t stop. I gained an angel.”
Wright had one of his finest performances of what has already been a strong season, clearly carrying Wright’s memory with him into the NFC North showdown that propelled the Bears into first place in the division, following the win.