Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid’s TIME100 quotes on Patrick possibly joining Royals Kc Spring training

Patrick Mahomes was already slogging through the roughest regular season of his career, before the Las Vegas Raiders nearly ruined Christmas.

In the weeks preceding the December 25 matchup, frustration began mounting in Kansas City. Receivers kept dropping Mahomes’ passes. He had thrown a sideline tantrum against the Buffalo Bills, after an offsides call negated a late go-ahead touchdown. Mahomes was fined $50,000 for his outburst. 

The world’s eyes had turned toward Kansas City. Chiefs games reached new viewership milestones, thanks in no small part to Taylor Swift’s budding romance with the team’s star tight end Travis Kelce. So every sport-tavern gadfly and Swiftie seemed to be wondering the same things: What was wrong with the Chiefs? Especially on the offensive side of the football, where Mahomes, the two-time NFL MVP, called the shots?

Christmas Day, which Mahomes calls the low point of the 2023 season, compounded all these problems. Mahomes yelled at his offensive linemen after a first quarter in which the team recorded minus-18 yards of total offense. Then he threw a pick 6. The dropped-ball habit continued in Las Vegas’ 20-14 victory at Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas City lost its fourth game in six weeks and forfeited all hope of clinching the top seed in the AFC. More likely than not, the Chiefs would have to win a road playoff game or two to make the Super Bowl. Mahomes had never even played on an opponent’s home turf in the postseason.