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Following a superb gameplay and a win over the New England Patriots on Sunday, Patrick Mahomes addressed the issue with dropped passes among the Kansas City Chiefs’ wide receivers.
“I think it’s just, the guys gotta have the confidence to know that I’m gonna keep throwing it back to them and they gotta make the plays happen,” Mahomes told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “It’s part of football. Obviously, been too big of a part this year for us, but I trust the guys. I know how hard they’re working at it.”
Despite throwing for 305 yards and two touchdowns against New England’s secondary, Mahomes was intercepted twice as well. His second interception occurred after wide receiver Kadarius Toney bobbled a pass that fell right into the hands of linebacker Jahlani Tavai.
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Deflected and picked off by the @Patriots defense
📺: #KCvsNE on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/kw7mays4qU pic.twitter.com/mkIJBSjcrD
According to Pro Football Reference, Kadarius Toney and rookie wideout Rashee Rice own the second and third-highest drop percentage per target among all wide receivers this season. On top of that, deep threat Marquez Valdes-Scantling has only dropped two passes this year.
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Chiefs had a chance to score the go-ahead TD on this play 😬 pic.twitter.com/lFR4oMLOna
“I think it’s all confidence,” Mahomes said, per Florio. “I think that those guys can catch the football. I’ve seen some of those guys make the best catches I think I’ve ever seen. So I think it’s just going out there playing confident, being them, and if they do that, that stuff will kind of help itself.”
As they prepare for the upcoming matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 16, Mahomes will expect more consistency from his receivers. The Raiders are known for allowing just 209.6 passing yards per game, the 11th-best mark in the NFL.