Similar to last season, the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense has required a bit of help from the defense in order to win games. Unlike the 2023-24 campaign, though, the inconsistent play of quarterback Patrick Mahomes can’t be mostly chalked up to a lack of execution or talent around him.

Sunday night’s triumph over the Atlanta Falcons was a perfect example of that. Mahomes completed 26 of 39 passes, but the two-time MVP winner amassed just 217 yards through the air with a pair of touchdowns. His 87.2 passer rating was far from what folks have grown to expect, and the eye test backs it up.

Following Kansas City’s win in Atlanta, head coach Andy Reid said his team has “a ton of things to work on” moving forward. A good chunk of that is on the offensive side of the ball, which ties back to quarterback play.

Fueled by a turnover in the first quarter, Mahomes averaged just 0.12 EPA per play against the Falcons. That made his Week 2 figure (-0.19) look impeccable, but it also trailed his Week 1 mark (0.42) by quite a bit. This middle-ground performance isn’t good enough for the Chiefs to have sustained success.

Using his early interception as proof, Mahomes believes he needs to get back to the basics. It will make him more effective in games, bringing the Chiefs’ offense along with him.

“I think just footwork stuff,” Mahomes said. “I’ve got to get my base right. I think I’m trusting my arm too much on some of those throws. Even the first throw of the game, I just kind of flicked it – kind of off-balance – and don’t hit Rashee (Rice) going down the seam there. I’ve got to get back to my fundamentals. That’s stuff that I go through sometimes [but] not usually early in the season like this. Luckily for me, I’m not playing my best football and we’re still getting wins. I’ve got to get better to make the offense better.”

Three weeks into his seventh run as the Chiefs’ full-time starter, Mahomes has thrown four interceptions. Last season, he set a career-high in that department with 14. Despite topping the 4,000-yard passing mark and tossing 27 touchdowns on the year, it was viewed as a down effort from the consensus best quarterback in football. With wideout Xavier Worthy added into the fold for this year, many expected Mahomes to approach or reach the statistical heights he had in 2022. That hasn’t been the case thus far.

Mahomes will take the wins over impressive numbers, surely, but a higher floor for him will have a better impact on the Kansas City offense. Even with the 29-year-old scuffling a bit, Rice has picked up right where he left off as a rookie. On the heels of a 12-catch, 110-yard performance, he said he loves that his quarterback thinks there’s room to improve.

“I love that, just because he’s the greatest quarterback I’ve ever played with,” Rice said. “Whenever he feels like he hasn’t had a great game, I feel the same way. We’ve just got to get back to practice so we can get better together.”

Read More: Four Takeaways from the Chiefs’ 22-17 Win Over the Falcons