Chiefs Patrick Mahomes Drops Blunt 4-Word Reply to Bills Cornerback

The Kansas City Chiefs face what may be their most important regular season game since Patrick Mahomes took over as full-time starting quarterback in 2017. Since then, Mahomes has led the Chiefs to a 95-30 regular season record, winning the AFC West division every season, and advancing to the conference championship game every year as well.

But Mahomes and the Chiefs’ incredible string of success stands in peril on Sunday when the Chiefs come out of their bye week — though still nursing the wounds of a devastating 28-21 defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Bills in their final game before the weeklong break — to face the new West division leaders, the Denver Broncos.

Bills rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston who collected his first NFL interception in the game off a Mahomes throw, couldn’t resist adding a little insult to injury in his postgame comments.

At the podium for the first time since the aftermath of the Buffalo game on Wednesday, Mahomes delivered a pointed, four-word response to the rookie.

In fact, Mahomes said that Hairston’s remarks might help the Chiefs deal with their immediate problem — the Broncos.

Loss to Broncos Could End Division Win Streak

Behind sophomore quarterback Bo Nix, Denver’s first-round pick, 12th overall, out of Oregon in 2024, the Broncos have powered their way to what, at least so far, looks like their best season since 2015 when Denver won its third Super Bowl in franchise history.

More importantly, at 8-2, the Broncos stand 2 1/2 game ahead of Kansas City in the divisional standings. The Chiefs not only are looking a steep comeback to win the division, but they are currently out of a playoff position altogether, occupying the eighth seed in the conference.

A loss to the Broncos could effectively put an end to the Chiefs’ hopes of winning an eigth consecutive division title — and could put them in danger of not making the playoffs at all. According to a mathematical formula created by

The Athletic, the Chiefs currently have a 75 percent chance of making the playoffs, but that probability falls to 61 percent if they fail to defeat Denver on the road Sunday.

Hairston Identifies Worthy’s ‘Tells’

Clearly, the Bills need to address some flaws in their performance if they want to prevent that scenario, and one of those flaws was identified by Hairston. In the aftermath of the Bills’ win over Kansas City, Hairston — who was playing in only his second NFL game — said that he had identified certain body language “tells” in wide receiver Xavier Worthy that enabled him to lock down the Chiefs’ second-year pass catcher.

“Finding a difference in his posture and his effort for real — when he knows he’s not getting it, when it’s a run,” Hairston said, as quoted by journalist Tyler Dunne. “So just applying what I saw from the film room and taking it out to the field. There are tells that everybody gives. It’s just about finding it.”

Mahomes Responds to Hairston

Told of Hairston’s remarks on Wednesday, by reporters at Mahomes’ media appearance, the Chiefs’ two-time NFL MVP signal-caller had four words to say.

“I appreciate the info,” Mahomes remarked.

The three-time Super Bowl winning QB went on to say that the information provided by Hairston would help the Chiefs in their crucial game against the Broncos on Sunday, in a game that will be televised to almost the entire country by CBS in the 4:25 Eastern time slot.

Bo Nix Gets Reality Check as Broncos Prepare for Raiders on Thursday Night Football

The Denver Broncos have the utmost faith in second-year quarterback and 2024 first-round draft pick (No. 12 overall) Bo Nix. However, they are not the only ones high on the former Oregon Ducks star, especially if he can put it all together.

Nix and the Broncos are off to a 7-2 start, sitting atop the AFC West and tied for the best record in the NFL.

Despite some flaws in his game, Nix is garnering MVP attention beyond the halfway point.

Broncos QB Bo Nix Garners MVP Love

Nix has thrown for 1,976 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions on 61.2% completion this season. He has another 207 yards and 3 TDs on 42 carries. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell listed Nix 12th among his MVP hopefuls.

Barnell wrote that “Nix has been incredible when the Broncos have needed him most,” but that is also the caveat.

Nix and Co. struggled to generate consistent offense during the first three quarters of games.

“In the fourth quarter this season, his 77.1 QBR is the fourth-best mark in the league, and the second-year quarterback is tied for the league lead with four fourth-quarter comeback victories,” Barnwell wrote on November 6. “In the first three quarters, though, Nix is 20th in QBR, as he is running the league’s third-worst completion percentage and fifth-worst first-down rate. Nix takes sacks at the lowest rate in the NFL, which helps raise his floor, but he’s only an MVP candidate for 15 minutes per week.”

On the whole, Nix ranks fourth in pass attempts and passing touchdowns. His interception rate is near the middle of the pack, ranking 19th out of 35 qualifying passers. He also ranks 10th in passing yards.

Nix would need to see his fourth-quarter prowess translate to the other three quarters of games to have a legitimate shot at MVP.

Per Vegas Insider, Nix is 17th (+1000) in MVP odds, making the Broncos QB a long shot.

Bo Nix Knows Broncos’ Offense Must Be More Consistent

Nix has not shied away from the fact that the Bronocs have not been as effective as they would like during the first three quarters in games. He also acknowledged the difficulty level of what they have accomplished in the final frame.

“We always want to score, every drive. That’s, point blank period, that’s our goal. Sometimes we fall short of that goal, and we have to rely on the next drive and go score the next drive. But I think at times we execute better than others,” Nix told reporters on November 4. “We’re always really close. And so, that’s the good thing.”

Nix said the Broncos’ 14th-ranked scoring offense (13th overall) must “execute” on every possession as if it were the “most important thing ever.”

The Broncos’ defense ranks fourth in scoring and third overall.

“We have so many things that we want to correct. And we feel like we haven’t even played a complete game offensively, much less, as a team,” Nix said. “Until we’re hitting all the ones that we need to hit, I don’t think we’re going to be able to be relaxed. Because we have a lot of guys that are competitive. We don’t have a bunch of frontrunners. We just got a locker room full of guys that are trying to race to improve, and improve faster than everybody else in the league.”

Bo Nix Puts Raiders on Notice

Nix said that games like the Broncos have on “Thursday Night Football” against the Las Vegas Raiders, “have the most weight,” to the players because of what they mean to the franchise and the fanbase, let alone their record and the standings.

“These are the fun ones,” Nix said. “It’s like playing a conference game in college. These are the ones that you look forward to. These are why you’re a Bronco: to beat teams like this. But just like all the other ones, it’s not going to be easy. We’re going to have to play really good, and it’ll be a fun ‘Thursday Night Football’ environment.”

The Raiders enter this contest 2-6. Nix and the Broncos swept the Raiders last season.

They must overcome a new-look group that still includes 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year Brock Bowers, but added rookie No. 6 pick Ashton Jeanty and head coach Pete Carroll.