Chiefs Finally Win, But Patrick Mahomes Still Doesn’t Look Right

The Kansas City Chiefs finally got that elusive first victory and that was step No. 1.

But it wasn’t a vintage victory and there weren’t too many style points to boast about.

Of course, 1-2 always beats 0-3 so nobody is giving back Sunday night’s 22-9 road victory over the New York Giants.

Kansas City was desperate for a victory, especially with the Baltimore Ravens being next week’s opponent.

“We’ve been searching for one win and trying to figure out how we can get this thing going,” Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton said after being the best player on the field and making 14 tackles. “The main thing now is just keep working, keep stacking and try to get another, then get another win.”

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes mentioned numerous times during the 0-2 start that the Chiefs weren’t playing up to their standard.

And that sure was the case when Kansas City didn’t score a touchdown in the first half. The Chiefs led 9-6 on three Harrison Butker field goals.

But the offense was better in the second half as Kansas City put together touchdown drives of 74 and 77 yards.

Mahomes finished with 224 yards, including a touchdown toss to Tyquan Thornton.

It hasn’t been a ferocious start for Mahomes, who is completing just 59 percent of his passes to go with three touchdown passes.

His career completion percentage is much higher at 66.5. And he has thrown three or more TD passes in a regular-season game on 42 occasions, including twice tossing six.

The 22 points on Sunday was a season-high for the Chiefs, who have played their first three games without Rashee Rice (suspension) and also lost Xavier Worthy (dislocated shoulder) on the first series of the season.

Figure on Mahomes’ stats improving when those two receivers are back.

The Kansas City secondary also put together a strong game as Giants star receiver Malik Nabers had career lows of two catches and 13 yards.

New York quarterback Russell Wilson passed for 160 yards and was intercepted twice. With the Giants falling to 0-3, Wilson is now on a very short leash.

It makes sense to start Wilson against the unbeaten Los Angeles Chargers next week. But if New York drops to 0-4, it is time to turn to first-round draft pick Jaxson Dart.

Giants coach Brian Daboll heard the boos for Wilson and the chants for Dart. How could he not?

Dart briefly was in the game to hand the ball off twice before retreating back to the sidelines.

Daboll clearly feels the time isn’t right to turn the future quarterback into the starting signal caller.

“Yeah, look, Jaxson is progressing well,” Daboll said. “We'll continue to work with him. I got a lot of confidence in him, his development that he's had.

“That’s what we’ll continue to do. Look, I would be booing, too, to be honest with you, in terms of not being good enough, not scoring, not finishing. I understand that. That’s the nature of it. We got to do better.”

The Giants better get better super duper quick or Daboll might not last the season.

The Giants went 9-7-1 and won a playoff game in 2022 during Daboll’s first season. That playoff victory – the franchise’s only one since winning the 2011 season Super Bowl – surely helped him survive last season’s 3-14 campaign.

But since that first season, New York is just 9-28. You can almost feel the pink slip being prepared.

The Giants lost running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. to a right shoulder injury in the first quarter and that opened the door for rookie Cam Skattebo.

The former Arizona State star racked up 121 yards from scrimmage. He averaged 6.0 yards per carry (10 for 60) and 10.2 yards on six receptions (for 61 yards).

Skattebo’s crashing style displayed that Kansas City defenders only needed to be run over once before they seemed a bit tepid the next time he was in the vicinity.

Next week’s offensive game plan should be heavy on Skattebo touches. If so, Giants’ football will be a lot more fun.