Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs visit the also-winless Giants aiming to avoid an 0-3 start
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs visit the also-winless Giants aiming to avoid an 0-3 start
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Starting a season 0-2 is not normal for Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Mahomes last did it in 2011 as a sophomore at Whitehouse High School in Texas. The Chiefs last did it in 2014, Andy Reid’s second year as their coach and the last time they missed the playoffs.
“Definitely new territory as far as being 0-2,” Mahomes said. “In my eyes, it looks like what an opportunity. What an opportunity to prove who we are as the Kansas City Chiefs.”
The Chiefs get that chance Sunday night, needing to beat the also-winless New York Giants to avoid falling into an 0-3 hole that only one NFL team this century recovered from to qualify for the postseason. The three-time reigning AFC champions with perennial Super Bowl aspirations are favored to win on the road against an opponent with no such realistic hopes right now — they just need to do it to silence any doubters.
“Listen, we haven’t won a game, so, I understand — I get it," Reid said. "We’ll keep pushing and working forward and seeing what we can do going down the road here.”
The road here started with a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil in the opener, followed by a close home defeat to Philadelphia in a rematch of the most recent Super Bowl. Mahomes, who turned 30 on Wednesday, has lost three in a row for the first time since 2016 at Texas Tech.
Mahomes has been Kansas City's leading rusher in each of its first two games but has completed just 40 of 68 passes for 445 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Giants coach Brian Daboll isn't paying attention to those numbers.
“He’s as good a quarterback as there is in the league when you watch him play,” Daboll said. “He’s instinctive, he’s accurate, he’s got leadership. He’s one of the best to ever do it. He plays at a high level when he’s out there, pretty much on every snap. He’s as good as it gets.”
The Chiefs are 6 1/2-point favorites on BetMGM Sportsbook. While Mahomes said he and his teammates need to get their first victory of the season, the Giants actually might have to find their highest level to pull off the upset, given the urgency on the other sideline to turn things around.
“They’re a very good football team: They’ve been that way for a long time, a model of consistency in this league for the past decade-plus,” Daboll said. “We’re going to have to do a good job of evaluating and studying them, but also improving on the things we need to improve on and do the things we need to do.”
Russell Wilson threw for 450 yards and three TDs in Week 2 against the Cowboys. His last pass was an interception in overtime that set up Brandon Aubrey's winning field goal that turned a stalemate into a 40-37 loss for New York.
Before that, 160 yards worth of penalties piled up, and Daboll stressed it wasn't one play or player that cost his team. Scoring so much actually provided some optimism after failing to get into the end zone at Washington on Sept. 7.
“We believe that we can do it,” said receiver Wan'Dale Robinson, who had eight catches for a career-high 142 yards at Dallas. “From top to bottom, I feel like we have the players that can go out there and get the job done. Just continue to go out there and score points each and every Sunday. That gives us a chance to go out there and win.”
The Giants are the only team the Chiefs have never beaten on the road, but Mahomes still has some of his fondest memories there. His dad, Pat, pitched for the Mets during the 1999 and 2000 seasons, going deep into the playoffs each time.
“Playing in those National League Championship Series against the Braves, or the World Series against the Yankees, I think that’s when I started to remember stuff,” said Mahomes, now a part owner of Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals. “I don’t know what the rules were back then, but I used to be out on the field. I was taking groundballs like Derek Jeter, shagging fly balls. It was super cool. I had a lot of great experiences.”
Mahomes has played one professional game at the Meadowlands, beating the Jets there in 2023.
In the lean times that are the 2020s for the Giants, they've been a little better when Andrew Thomas lines up at left tackle. They've won nearly 39% of their games with him on the field and just 20% without him, including the first two this season.
Thomas has not played in 11 months, since surgery to repair a Lisfranc injury in his right foot, opened training camp on the physically unable to perform list and spent the past several weeks working to be ready. It could finally be time for Thomas, which comes at a great moment after fill-in James Hudson was benched for a series of penalties.
The Chiefs have played most of their first two games without three of their top four wide receivers. Xavier Worthy was hurt early in their loss to the Chargers, Rashee Rice is serving a six-game NFL suspension and rookie Jalen Royals has been out with a knee injury.
Worthy and Royals were ready to log a full week of practice, though, and there’s a chance they could be available.
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AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta in Kansas City, Missouri, contributed.
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