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The Kansas City Chiefs are heading into a new season, and the best way to bring home a championship with Patrick Mahomes is to be prepared.

With so many championships under their belt over the past few years, the Kansas City Chiefs are easily considered one of the best teams in the NFL. So, one would think that quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who brings the numbers, would feel pretty good going into the new season, but one might be wrong. Mahomes might have an uphill battle, judging by some new research.

Mahomes is one of those quarterbacks who’s gifted enough to deliver with or without a solid offense around him. But, as with any NFL quarterback, it’s sure a lot better when he has a strong offense surrounding him. That’s often been the case with the Kansas City Chiefs, so Mahomes has been fortunate. But, if the team wants to win another championship soon, it’s something they’ll have to watch.

Now, the 2025-26 Chiefs season is approaching, it’s an apt time to study the Chiefs’ roster and see if they have enough power and grit going into the new season to help Mahomes win another championship for Kansas City. It would be a dream to see the Chiefs go all the way again, and it would give Travis Kelce the opportunity to retire with a championship win, but first, the hard work has to be done. A lot of that has to do with Mahomes and the players around him.

Chiefs Offense News May Make Patrick Mahomes Sweat

The Chiefs have enjoyed a solid offense as of late, and head coach Andy Reid is a wise man who knows how to build a team. In a Tuesday, July 8 feature for ESPN, NFL expert Bill Barnwell discusses the best offenses in the NFL, and the Chiefs are one of the teams that he profiles.

So, let’s get to the Chiefs. Barnwell has Kansas City’s offense at No. 12 on the roster. It’s wild to think that a team that’s had as many championships as the Chiefs in recent years wouldn’t even have a top 10 offense going into the 2025-26 season.

Right away, he has a little dig at Kelce, stating that “while there were occasional glimmers of the old Travis Kelce, it’s fair to say Father Time might have finally gotten to the best tight end in NFL history” and names off some statistics showing that, for the most part, Kelce’s numbers in 2024 weren’t what they have been in the past.

“I’d argue that Kelce is still an above-average tight end with this skill set given how difficult it is to find real upside at the position,” he adds, “but I’m expecting something a lot closer to the 2024 version than the dominant 2022 edition.”

He adds that the team’s running back position is “muddled” following Isiah Pacheco’s last season, in which he suffered a fractured fibula. On the bright side, Barnwell is “cautiously optimistic about the Chiefs’ wide receivers,” so that’s a good thing. What’s not to love about Rashee Rice being back and healthy again?

“If the Chiefs can somehow get full seasons out of Rice, Worthy and oft-injured third wideout Hollywood Brown, we could see something more like the younger, more explosive version of Patrick Mahomes,” he adds.

Slightly Better News for the Chiefs

ESPN and Barnwell aren’t alone in their views on the Chiefs’ offense. Gennaro Filice of NFL.com names the best offenses in the NFL in a June 11 piece, and he doesn’t have the Chiefs ranked inside the top 10 for 2024 but, thankfully, does have them at No. 10 for the 2025-26 run.

In the piece, he notes that “after weighing all viable options at No. 10,” he’s taking the “the easy way out: Betting on Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes.” We like that.

Anne Erickson is an award-winning reporter for Heavy Sports covering the NFL, NBA and college football. Anne Erickson has years of experience covering the NFL and additional sports, and her work has been published via ESPN, Fox Sports and more. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Erickson also hosts several podcasts and is a Detroit-based radio host. More about Anne Erickson

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