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The Kansas City Chiefs' 2023-24 season has been defined at certain points by dropped passes.
In the kickoff game against the Detroit Lions, wide receivers Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, and Rashee Rice failed to catch one pass each. That issue continues to be a major topic even as the team clinched their eighth straight AFC West title, and now seems to have spread to their receiving leader.
During Saturday's Wild Card game against the Miami Dolphins, Travis Kelce dropped two easy passes from Patrick Mahomes:
This led to a few pleas for him to retire, even though the Chiefs are leading 16-7 at halftime:
But the nine-time Pro Bowler is adamant about continuing his career even after a loss, telling reporters on Thursday:
“I love it. We still have success, come in with the right mindset. I just love the challenge that it gives me every single day to try to be my best. Like I said, I have no desire to stop anytime soon.”
NFL exec claims that Patrick Mahomes does not trust Chiefs’ WR corps amidst dropped passes
It is no surprise that dropped passes had troubled the Chiefs in 2023-24, but the numbers most especially brutally prove this notion. They led the league with 44 drops, joining the Cleveland Browns (42) as just the two teams to have at least 40. By contrast, the NFC-leading San Francisco 49ers had just nine, the only team to keep their count below double digits.
Wide receivers contributed towards 26 of them, with rookie Rashee Rice leading the way with eight. An anonymous executive recently told The Athletic’s Mike Sando that it subsequently had a profound effect on Patrick Mahomes’ confidence in his passing attempts:
"They still have Patrick Mahomes, so they are dangerous, but they are not playing on time like they have in the past, and Mahomes does not trust who he is throwing to."
Among tight ends, Travis Kelce himself had seven drops out of 121 targets. Backup Blake Bell had one out of seven.
