The Kansas City Chiefs have had a rough and uncharacteristic season with two-time Most Valuable Player Patrick Mahomes under center.
Of course, Mahomes suffered a torn left ACL and PCL in Week 15 against the Los Angeles Chargers, the loss that officially knocked the Chiefs out of playoff contention. But when he wasn’t hurt, the Chiefs didn’t look like the same team from the last five to 10 years.
This is mainly because of the reconfigured offensive line, Chiefs receivers leading the National Football League in drops and not having an established running game.
One player from the offensive line that was having a great rookie season before it ended due to injury is left tackle Josh Simmons. ESPN’s Nate Taylor voted Simmons as Kansas City’s top rookie this year.
“Although he played in just eight games, the Chiefs' first-round pick proved he has the talent to be the blindside protector for quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the future,” Taylor wrote Tuesday. “Before his season-ending left wrist injury, Simmons allowed a pressure rate of just 6.6%, the third-lowest mark among left tackles and the second lowest by a rookie left tackle since 2018 (minimum 150 pass blocks), according to NFL Next Gen Stats.”
Despite playing only half of the season, Simmons had a great year to build upon for next season.
Kansas City has struggled on third-down and in one-score games, both areas where they have dominated in the past. Even with Mahomes trying to work his magic every game, the team just didn’t have the same luck that they’ve had in recent years (11-0 in one-score games in 2024).
The offense dealt with adversity early as receiver Xavier Worthy was injured on the first play of the season and standout receiver Rashee Rice was suspended for the first six games for an off-the-field incident, but the Chiefs have plenty of weapons and could have overcame these absences.
The defense hasn’t consistently put pressure on opposing quarterbacks and that has hurt their ability to get stops. Against the second-most sacked quarterback in the NFL (51), the Chiefs only sacked Tennessee Titans QB Cam Ward twice for a total loss of 16 yards. Ward played arguably the cleanest game in his young career, completing 21 of 28 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns in Tennessee’s 26-9 win.
One week after Mahomes suffered a knee injury, backup Gardner Minshew had to leave this game with a knee injury as well and was replaced by backup Chris Oladokun. It is uncertain who will start at QB for the Chiefs against the Denver Broncos in Week 17 with the team signing QB Shane Buechele off the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad. He spent two seasons with Kansas City.