Patrick Mahomes has compiled a 67-19 overall record since becoming the Chiefs' quarterback. While he's won the majority of his matchups, the former league and Super Bowl MVP and his team has had issues with the Bengals, the new kids on the proverbial block. Sunday's 27-24 loss in Cincinnati marked the Chiefs' third loss in the calendar year against the defending AFC champions.
Similarly to how the Chiefs' have had success against other teams, Mahomes offered his thoughts postgame when asked why the Bengals have had the Chiefs' number.
"First off, they have a great quarterback, and a guy who's won a lot of football games, even if that was in college, and now he's won a lot of football games in the NFL," Mahomes said of Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, whose recent play has put him in the middle of league MVP conversations. "He's someone that competes to the very end, too. They've got playmakers all over there, they're well-coached, have a good defense. At the end of the day, they've executed at a higher level in the critical situations."
When specifically discussing Sunday's loss, Mahomes pointed to the Chiefs' slow start, Germaine Pratt's forced fumble of Travis Kelce at the start of the fourth quarter and a missed field goal with 3:24 left as the main reasons for Kansas City's most recent loss.
The Chiefs trailed 14-3 early before rallying to take a 24-17 lead after Mahomes scored on a three-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter. Kansas City fell behind, however, after Burrow hit Chris Evans for the game-winning score on a drive that was set up by Pratt's forced fumble. Cincinnati held onto the ball for the game's final three-plus minutes after Harrison Butker missed his 55-yard field attempt that was made longer after Mahomes was sacked by Joseph Ossai on the previous play.
"If you just try to take away those two things in the fourth quarter," Mahomes said, "and if you're playing good teams and you make those turnover on downs basically in the fourth quarter, those are the things that kind of bite you in the end."
The Bengals didn't play perfect either, but they found ways to overcome their mistakes. Cincinnati scored on its first drive of the second half after coming up short on a fourth down try late in the first half. Pratt's big play came after Tyler Boyd's dropped touchdown pass forced the Bengals to settle for a field goal.
"Our team knows what it takes to win those kinds of games," Burrow said of his team's resilience. "It's December now. This is when we start to turn it up and find ways to win these games. We're going to get back to practice, keep getting better, correct the mistakes and move on."
Mahomes had more to say about the Bengals' offense, a unit that has averaged over 29 points per game in their three most recent matchups with Kansas City. He also praised a Bengals' defense that didn't allow a point in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game.
"Even though it has the playmakers, they'll take their time and kind of utilize the clock," he said. "Their defense changes up a lot of different coverages. They did a good job trying to take Travis away as much as possible, and that's why you saw a lot of the other guys making catches."
Burrow, who improved his record as a starter over the past two seasons to 21-11, would likely agree with Mahomes' sentiments on the Bengals. While Burrow is a massive reason for the Bengals' recent success, Cincinnati has built a talented roster around their franchise quarterback.
"We've got players that have been in these spots before," Burrow said after Sunday's game. "Whether it's college or last year, we've accumulated players that the organization has done a great job of finding the right guys. It matters to them. They're going to work really hard to put on their best performances every Sunday. The character of these guys. That's what wins games down the stretch, in December, in January, in the fourth quarter.
"We have one of the best locker rooms I've ever been around. You feel the energy in that room every single day. We have the utmost faith in one another that if one unit isn't playing great, the other one is going to step up and make plays to help us win games."