Patrick Mahomes Issues ‘Apology’ to Chiefs Fans
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes may have some deep affinity for his fans, but loyalties apparently end where college football objectivity starts.
Mahomes was tapped to serve as a guest expert on ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday, a job that entails picking the games of the day. The former Texas Tech quarterback had to share love with his former in-state rival, even though it came at the expense of the favorite team for Chiefs fans.
Patrick Mahomes Sorry for Picking Against Chiefs Fan Favorite
When it came to picking the showdown between No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 22 Missouri, Mahomes had to go with the Aggies. The Chiefs quarterback shared a mock “apology” to Chiefs fans for picking against the college representing their state.
“I’m taking Texas A&M. Marcel Reed, that defense getting after it,” Mahomes said. “Sorry to all my Chiefs Kingdom, a lot of Mizzou fans there, but I’m going with the Aggies.”
Mahomes was proven right a few hours later when the Aggies dispatched the Tigers 38-17, solidifying their place near the top of the College Football Playoff rankings.
Chiefs Taking a Break After Big Setback
Mahomes had a chance to relax a bit this weekend, with the Chiefs entering their bye week following a disappointing loss to the Buffalo Bills. The Chiefs appeared to get their season back on track after an 0-2 start, winning five of their next six games to reach 5-3, but the team fell flat against their conference rival.
Mahomes was hounded in the loss to the Bills, taking three sacks and throwing a critical interception.
The Chiefs have now fallen two and a half games behind the Denver Broncos for the lead in the AFC West and have dropped out of the playoff picture entirely, falling to No. 8 in the AFC. The team faces a challenge in climbing back into contention, and Mahomes admitted this week that every game on the schedule will be a challenge.
“There’s no easy game coming up,” Mahomes said. “There are no more chances that we can really take losses. You’ve got to learn from it fast. We’ve got to be better as a team. Offensively, we’ve got to be better, especially on some of those big drives we had in the second half. I think we’ll just continue to push away and learn on this bye week, and then come back and be ready to play our best football coming off of it.”
The Chiefs have a chance to get back on track, facing some of the AFC’s top teams. They come out of the bye week facing the Broncos, then host the Indianapolis Colts.
The Chiefs quarterback said after the loss to the Bills that they know what it takes to get back on track.
“We’ve had great moments and we’ve had bad moments,” Mahomes said. “We’ve got to be more consistent as a team, I’ve got to be more consistent and we’ve been in a lot of these tight, close games in our history, but they’re not going our way.”
Patrick Graham deserves praise after taking blame for Raiders' tackling issues
The Las Vegas Raiders have struggled to put together a complete game on both sides of the ball this season. While they had their best offensive showing in Week 9, scoring a season-high 29 points against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the defense let them down, as they gave up 30 points in the loss.
Las Vegas had a short turnaround before its Thursday Night Football matchup with the Denver Broncos. The defense answered the call, however, holding their division rivals to just ten points, which was tied for the Raiders' fewest points given up all season.
Unfortunately, it was the offense's turn to lay an egg, as the group finished with just seven points, thanks in part to numerous mistakes by their skill position players. Part of the reason for the defensive turnaround was the significant improvement in tackling.
Patrick Graham helps lead Raiders' defensive turnaround in Week 10
This was a key area that defensive coordinator Patrick Graham emphasized during the short week. After all, the Raiders' defense had an ugly outing in Week 9, as they missed 15 tackles in the loss for a missed tackle rate of nearly 19%.
Their inability to finish plays allowed the Jaguars to finish with over 150 rushing yards in the close overtime loss. Graham stressed the importance of tackling during his weekly press conference on Tuesday.
"There's never any excuses. One, I got to do a better job of getting them prepared during the week. That starts there with me," Graham said. "Some of the issues that came up, the guys were trying. There were plenty of good tackles and just the consistency, but again, it starts with me just making sure that we're tracking the near hip, trusting to shoot, and just doing a good job of getting our eyes where they need to be and pursuing through it, and just with the right angles. But I just got to find ways to just keep emphasizing it and making sure that it's consistent throughout."
RELATED: Geno Smith said what every Raiders fan was thinking about Jakobi Meyers
The defense answered the call against the Broncos, as they finished the game with just seven missed tackles, a significant improvement from their previous performance. The unit did a great job of shutting Denver's offense down and put the team in a position to pick up their third win of the season.
Their missed tackle rate of 11% was not great, but it was an improvement. Plus, Las Vegas forced two turnovers, had two sacks, and allowed just 220 total yards. That marked the fewest yards allowed by the Raiders' defense this season, and also the fewest yards gained by the Broncos' offense in 2025.
While the defense has shown flashes, the consistency has simply not been there on either side of the ball. Las Vegas sits at 2-7 and will have over a week to attempt to bounce back as their next matchup will come on Monday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys, where, hopefully, they take another step.
