The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, led an impressive 12-play drive that went 86 yards and gave the Chiefs a late lead in the fourth quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Despite a pick-six earlier in the game, Mahomes’ composure and the offense’s ability to fight back right after a huge play by the defense in that drive impressed offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.

He praised how the offense and defense worked alongside rather than blaming each other. However, he reminded the locker room that this must ultimately lead to their goal.

Coach Matt Nagy praised the offense’s complementary football efforts but emphasized the team’s singular focus moving forward. “We want more, and we know in the end, none of that stuff matters, other than just winning. And we don’t care how ugly or pretty it is, we want to win,” Nagy said ahead of the Detroit Lions matchup.

Nagy’s comments delivered a straightforward directive to Patrick Mahomes and the offensive unit. Victory is the only metric that matters, regardless of style or statistical beauty. The coach’s willingness to accept “ugly” wins signals a potential shift from Kansas City’s historically explosive offensive philosophy toward a more pragmatic, results-oriented approach.

The Kansas City offense is pulling out all the stops to get back on track. Their offense has generated its most productive output over the past two weeks, scoring 37 and 28 points while accumulating 382 and 476 total yards, respectively, both season highs. Despite a 1-1 record in those games, the statistical surge indicates positive momentum.

“We’re getting better,” the QB said. “That’s all you can do. We’re getting better and better. Obviously, we got one more week that we’ll continue to have Rashee [Rice]. Just getting him into the offense as well. But at the end of the day, it’s all about winning.”

Having wide receiver Xavier Worthy has also helped the offense. Apart from the noticeable improvement, the Chiefs are also likely to have wide receiver Rashee Rice back on the roster in Week 7. Before that, however, the team will need to build more unity and explosiveness when they face the Lions, who currently have one of the league’s best offenses and defenses.

To counter that challenge, Mahomes and the squad must address one of their most glaring issues, which has been the penalties. The Chiefs racked up a season-high 13 penalties in their last game. This was called out by both Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid.

These penalties have come at critical moments, ultimately costing the team. But troubles seemingly don’t end there.

Mahomes’ offensive line has more trouble

The offensive line is doing its job well, but much to Reid’s disappointment, the running backs seemingly haven’t been able to turn that into many impactful runs.

“#Chiefs RBs have been contacted behind the line of scrimmage on just 38.9% of their carries,” Nick Jacobs reported on X. “2nd lowest in the NFL. But they have gained only 68 yards before contact (11th fewest) and 7th lowest in explosive run rate at 7.8% per Next Gen Stats. #ChiefsKingdom.”

This must be a concerning stat for head coach Andy Reid. However, there have been good aspects of the Chiefs’ offense. Tight end Travis Kelce admitted the fans’ doubts after the losses, but he commended the effort shown by the offensive players.

“People may not think that the run game is what it is,” Kelce said on New Heights, “or it’s not as consistent as it needs to be, man, but those guys are showing up when we need them, especially the past two weeks.”

Kelce especially mentioned running backs Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco. The two combined for 85 yards on 14 carries in the game against the Jaguars. After addressing the issues, Mahomes also reassured that the offensive line has been putting in work.

The Chiefs were just as undisciplined on defense last week. On a crucial 3rd-and-13 from their own 14-yard line, safety Chamarri Conner was called for defensive pass interference after failing to turn his head while defending Brian Thomas. The penalty handed Jacksonville a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line. One play later, Trevor Lawrence capped it off with one of the most bizarre touchdowns of the season.

The play has since gone viral, not because of Lawrence’s awkward yet effective scramble to the end zone, but because of the lack of effort from Chiefs All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones. After Lawrence tripped over his center and fell, Jones barely reacted as the quarterback got back up and crossed the goal line. Whether Jones could have stopped, the score is debatable, but his lack of urgency was glaring, the kind of lapse in discipline that can derail Kansas City in high-stakes games.

Be it on offense or defense, the Andy Reid and Chiefs must make significant improvements if they hope to compete with a powerhouse like the Lions. Those adjustments need to translate into results because at the end of the day, whether the wins are pretty or ugly, winning is all that matters.