KC Chiefs: How next few weeks could go without Patrick Mahomes

The KC Chiefs are fortunate that Patrick Mahomes’ injury won’t sideline him for the remainder of the season. That being said, they will have to stay afloat over the next – at least – three weeks until he’s healthy again.

It won’t be easy for the Kansas City Chiefs to win games without their MVP quarterback, but it’s definitely possible. While fans might point to the years of Alex Smith and note how the team played fine when he’d be out for a game or two, yes, that’s true, but Smith isn’t quite the player that Patrick Mahomes is.

Mahomes is the reigning MVP. The Chiefs don’t go 12-4 last year without him. Their defense isn’t good enough to win games if the offense isn’t helping cover up the blemishes.

This also isn’t the same situation as teams like the Saints and the Panthers because those teams have other areas that help them out immensely. New Orleans has a great defense while Carolina has MVP hopeful Christian McCaffrey to help lighten the load on their quarterback.

Anyway – With Mahomes expected to miss AT LEAST three games, let’s take a look at the Chiefs’ chances in said games.

WEEK EIGHT – GREEN BAY PACKERS

This game had everything. It was going to be Sunday night under the lights at Arrowhead with the two teams who played in the first ever Super Bowl. It also was going to pit Patrick Mahomes against Aaron Rodgers, two of the best quarterbacks in the game right now (if not the two best).

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Now instead of Mahomes vs Rodgers, we’ll get Matt Moore vs Rodgers. Not quite the same draw, but it’s too late to flex this game out now, plus the Chiefs aren’t all of a sudden the Miami Dolphins. They’ll still put up a fight in this game.

Green Bay, like Kansas City, has a terrible run defense and that’ll be what the Chiefs will need to lean on to win this game. The Packers’ pass rush is tremendous and that could be problematic if Eric Fisher is still out, but if the Chiefs can start running the ball better and not force Moore to make all of the throws, KC has a shot in this game.

More than likely though, the Packers will take this one at Arrowhead.

WEEK NINE – MINNESOTA VIKINGS

This game wouldn’t have scared me much in the first few weeks of the season, but the Vikings are playing much better football now. Even when they weren’t playing well, their run game was still enough to scare Chiefs fans.

Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs won’t be easy for the Chiefs secondary to contain and with Mahomes under center, we could have expected a shootout between these two teams. Not anymore. Unless atrocious Kirk Cousins comes to town (please let that version come to KC), then the Vikings likely leave Arrowhead with a W.

WEEK TEN – AT TENNESSEE TITANS

This is the one game during Mahomes’ current timetable that the Chiefs should be able to win. Yes, the Titans have had KC’s number recently (we’re not talking about that stupid playoff game here), but Tennessee is bad, man. They got shut out by a Broncos team that the Chiefs just put 20 points up against AFTER Mahomes had gotten hurt (yes some of that was via the defense, but still, let me have my moment).

Derrick Henry poses a threat for sure, but with two mediocre quarterbacks in Nashville, the Titans will only be able to run the ball. Their defense is good and this could be a low scoring affair, but the Chiefs should be able to win.

HOPEFULLY MAHOMES COMES BACK AFTER WEEK TEN

The initial report has said Patrick Mahomes is expected to miss AT LEAST three games, which, if true, would mean he returns after the Titans game.

It is worth noting, however, that the Chiefs play the Chargers on Monday Night Football in Mexico City in week 11 and their bye week follows that. It might make more sense to keep Mahomes sidelined in week 11 and then have him return to action in week 13 against Oakland.

If the Chiefs manage to go 2-2 without Mahomes (we’ll count the Broncos game here), they’d be 7-4 when Mahomes is projected to return. Unless a team is within striking distance in the AFC West, the Chiefs can probably beat the Chargers with Moore at the helm and that’d put them at 8-4.

The Raiders are only a game behind as of now, but their schedule is tough over these next few weeks. If they’re able to keep pace with KC, then yes, Mahomes might need to return sooner rather than later, but if the Chiefs get a big enough lead in the division, let the guy rest.

Kansas City isn’t getting home field advantage (it must be nice having six easy wins every year, eh Patriots fans?), so let’s not go for that. Win the division and maybe, just maybe, the Chiefs will still be in play for that two seed in the postseason.

Beating Green Bay and Minnesota won’t be easy, but Tennessee is a winnable game for sure. Matt Moore can do enough to not lose games for the Chiefs during this time and the defense will need to play as well as they did last week if KC wants to stay afloat while their MVP is out.