The Kansas City Chiefs have been going through some adversity this season. They bounced back from two straight losses with a win in New England on Sunday, although the Patriots did give them a bit of a scare.
Patrick Mahomes was visibly frustrated on the sideline after Kadarius Toney’s drop led to an interception that allowed the Patriots to take a 10-7 lead in the first quarter. However, Mahomes and the Chiefs were able to settle down and doubled up the Patriots the rest of the way for a 27-17 victory.
Mahomes addressed his visible frustration on the sideline and reiterated his support for Toney during his weekly appearance on “The Drive” on 610 Sports Radio in Kansas City.
“I think the biggest part is you’re frustrated because you’re putting the defense in a bad position. I had two interceptions, both of them put the defense in short fields and they were able to hold them to a field goal on one of those,” Mahomes said. “It’s hard whenever a defense is playing that well to give the offense a short field.
“You want to make sure even if you don’t have success as the offense, you want to make sure you’re backing their offense up and giving the defense the full field to work with. Obviously, it didn’t work out. I was frustrated at the interception and doing that to our defense, they really played a great second half.”
The first interception immediately gave the Patriots the ball back at the eight-yard line after New England scored to tie the game 7-7 in the first quarter. The Chiefs defense held strong, though, holding the Patriots to one yard and the field goal mentioned by Mahomes.
Then the interception that bounced off of Toney’s hands led to a quick touchdown by the Patriots to make it a two-score game in the fourth quarter.
Mahomes knows he has to be more responsible and find the balance of risk and reward.
“There were a couple of times where I feel like in that last game there were some throws there that I got a little too greedy and wanted to go downfield, but that’s kind of my nature,” he said. “I have to find that right balance of when to take the underneath stuff and when to go for the deep shot… You have to find that right medium where your aggressiveness is a good thing for the team and when it’s a bad thing for the team.”
Toney has had more than his fair share of mistakes and misplays throughout the Chiefs’ rollercoaster season. He’s caught 27 passes on 38 targets through 13 games this season with one touchdown.
The Chiefs don’t have a go-to weapon outside of tight end Travis Kelce on offense. They spread the ball around nicely against the Patriots but Mahomes still believes in Toney.
“You keep believing in him, man. I think that’s the biggest thing with anything in sports or in life. Mistakes happen,” he said. “I’m not always perfect. I have a lot of interceptions this year and I think it’s something where you just got to keep believing because I know the guys believe in me and I keep firing.”
“It’s going to take everybody to win the Super Bowl and we know that, so we’re going to keep having that confidence in everybody that’s on that football field that they’re going to go out there and give everything they have to the team.
“You see the work ethic. You see how hard the guys are working during the week. You know at some point that’s going to translate in a big way, a big game that we can go out there and hopefully at the end of the year have another championship. It’s going to take every day going to work and putting in the time.”
Toney did come through with a big play in last year’s Super Bowl. He caught his lone target for a five-yard touchdown to give the Chiefs a 28-27 lead in an intense fourth quarter.
Mahomes believes that Toney is just a play away from snapping out of his rough stretch.
“I think everything in this league is always closer than you think it is. Bad and good. I think if you’re playing good and you’re on top of the world, that’s when the league kind of gets you,” he said. “Whenever you make some mistakes and you feel like you’re down in the dumps, one play can change the whole rhythm of things.
“I’ve noticed that in my time it’s never as good as you think and it’s never as bad as you think. All you can do is stay neutral and try to do the best you can that day or that play, honestly, and if that play doesn’t work you just come back with the mentality that next time you’re going to make it happen and hopefully it works out next time.”
The star quarterback has seen a lot of things during his career and reiterated that it’s best for players to turn the page and focus on what’s next.
“It feels like the whole world’s against you sometimes, especially with social media and everything these days, but at the same time, all you can do is focus on being the best you can be in that next day or that next moment and hopefully that turns into good things not only for yourself but for everybody.”
Mahomes and the Chiefs are turning the page to what could be a division-clinching matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium on Christmas Day.
Listen to the full interview with Mahomes in the player above.