Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes believes that his offense -- which scored just one touchdown in a 13-7 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday -- will eventually snap out of its troubling funk during the second half of the season.
But the Chiefs' offensive slump isn't exactly ordinary. The unit currently ranks 15th in the NFL in average points (24.6), the lowest total in the Mahomes era. And at the moment, Audacy NFL insider Brian Baldinger isn't convinced that their glaring issues will be solved by uninspiring victories.
"They can't get the ball down the field -- the big play simply doesn't happen anymore," Baldinger told The Zach Gelb Show on Monday. "You can say teams are just sitting back, not letting it happen. But when Mahomes scrambles and gets outside of the pocket, they can't play streetball and get the ball down the field. So, that frustrates the team. That's not how Mahomes likes to play...
"[Playoff hopes are] seriously in doubt. They're trying to fortify the defense, they played great against Jordan Love. But they had to blitz a lot in order to win that game, defensively... I just don't see them stacking wins right now. That's what's missing from the Chiefs... I don't see that being the norm for them right now. And if you can't stack wins, it's hard to get into the playoffs."
The Chiefs' offense still has questions that've yet to be answered. On Sunday, Mahomes threw for a career-low 166 yards, and averaged a measly 4.5 yards per attempt. The 54.1 completion percentage was also his third-lowest mark in a regular season game, and according to ESPN Stats & Info, his 3.2 air yards per completion ranked second-lowest in a game he started and finished.
Through nine games, Mahomes has totaled 2,534 yards with 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions (second-highest in NFL). Although the Chiefs' defense bailed him out against Green Bay, the unit still ranks in the bottom-10 in both points and yards allowed on average.
Kansas City (5-4) will visit the Las Vegas Raiders (5-3) in a marquee Week 10 matchup on Sunday night. According to FiveThirtyEight, the Chiefs now have a 56-percent chance to reach the playoffs and just a 3-percent chance to win Super Bowl 56.
The entire NFL conversation between Baldinger and Gelb can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The Zach Gelb Show on Twitter @ZachGelb and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.