Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Dallas Cowboys
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Los Angeles Rams
Minnesota Vikings
New Orleans Saints
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Washington Commanders
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Denver Broncos
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
New York Jets
Pittsburgh Steelers
Tennessee Titans
Kansas City are experiencing a low point after a home loss to the Raiders ruined Christmas.
A loss at Arrowhead to the Las Vegas Raiders was not how Chiefs fans wanted to mark December 25th.
But this was the reality for Patrick Mahomes and co, who saw their faint hopes of securing a play-off seeding disappear.
This time there was no Kadarius Toney to blame either, with the under-fire Chiefs wide receiver sitting out injured.
Chiefs contenders or pretenders verdict
A 20-14 loss to the Raiders even saw a rare Patrick Mahomes Pick Six, with the visitors earning a surprise W.
Now, in a segment on ESPN, former NFL defensive end Marcus Spears answered the question whether the Chiefs are Super Bowl contenders or pretenders, and says they have a big problem.
While much of this year’s focus has been on the receivers, who lead the NFL for drops, Spears says there is a more serious issue plaguing Mahomes game.
Spears explained: “They are pretenders. This hurts to say man. The big issue for me is these offensive tackles, that is the issue.
“When you start talking about the last time we saw Patrick Mahomes not have success, it’s been because he’s been unprotected, and even when they do make a play, they seemingly always have a penalty that negates it. I haven’t even got into the drops.
“When I look at the Raiders game they were dominated up front, all season long it’s been holding penalties, false starts, giving up a lot of pressures, I think we have seen these receivers drop the ball so much we haven’t all paid attention to how much duress Patrick Mahomes has been under.”
A failure to protect Mahomes has hurt the Chiefs in the past, notably in the Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay.
Spears added: “He’s had to use his legs more in the regular season more than I can remember.”
He went on to say that he just can’t see the Chiefs going to Baltimore and winning, a task one AFC team are going to need to do.
The Ravens looked strong in Week 16, winning in San Francisco, and Lamar Jackson is now the favourite for the MVP.