Former NFL center turned analyst, Jeff Saturday, does not believe that Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are a strong contender for this season’s Super Bowl.
On Wednesday’s episode of ESPN’s “Get UP”, the Super Bowl XLI champion highlighted the Chiefs’ offensive line struggles. This failure to protect Mahomes on the field impacts their chances of making scoring plays on the field while putting the quarterback at risk.
“No (they are not Super Bowl favorites),” Saturday said. “And honestly, if you watched them against the Bills. … man, their offensive line has not protected Patrick Mahomes. When you see the Chiefs lose, it’s typically because the offensive line is not protecting Patrick Mahomes.
“All the fast receivers and all the explosive plays and all those things, … you can throw all those plays in the trash because they are no good if you can’t protect the quarterback. And right now, they have not done a good job with that. …When you watch him play, he doesn’t seem comfortable. Hopefully in the bye week, Andy Reid, they get this thing right. … But what I’ve seen so far, … I don’t see how you would say it’s just a clean sweep they should be the favorite for the Super Bowl.”
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This season, the three-time Super Bowl champion has tallied 2,349 yards and 17 TDs passing, along with four rushing touchdowns for the Chiefs. However, Mahomes is also the 19th most sacked quarterback this season (17 sacks).
During their Week 10 loss to the Buffalo Bills, he completed 15 of 34 passes for 250 yards and one interception. Mahomes was sacked a total of three times on the field, raising questions about the O-line’s capability of providing him protection on the field.
Patrick Mahomes gets honest about facing the Denver Broncos in Week 12
The Broncos currently lead the AFC West, with the Kansas City Chiefs placed third following Week 10’s results. During Wednesday’s press conference, Patrick Mahomes was asked to share his thoughts on facing their division leaders after their bye week.
“It’s a really good football team. There’s no way around it,” Mahomes said. “So we have to go out there and play our best football and I don’t think we’ve done that yet. So after this bye, let’s go out there. Put in a great week of practice together and find a way to win in a hostile environment with great football.”
The Broncos are 8-2 with a seven-game winning streak following their 10-7 victory against the Raiders in Week 10. They will take on the Chiefs at home on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET.