The Kansas City Chiefs are once again one of the front-runners when it comes to odds of winning the Super Bowl. They came up short in their big showdown with the Eagles last Monday night, though they remained near the top of the odds board at +500 entering Week 12. But there is a noticeable difference between this year’s team and other Chiefs rosters in recent history, and it has already cost them games this season.

Mahomes Working Extra With Chiefs Receivers

The #Chiefs still expect big things from their WRs this season, with QB Patrick Mahomes’ faith never wavering. A deep dive into KC’s pass-catchers, how they got here and what’s next.

My story: https://t.co/IZ7V9PXv6Dhttps://t.co/IZ7V9PXv6D

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 26, 2023

It became apparent immediately, when Kansas City’s wide receivers dropped multiple passes in a narrow opening night loss to the Detroit Lions. Kadaruis Toney was in the spotlight for his miscues, but it was thought that the Chiefs would rebound, given that they were able to win a championship last year with a less-than-stellar wide receiver group.

The case of the dropsies reared its ugly head again in one of the most important games of the year in Week 11. Mahomes had multiple passes bounce off of the hands of his receivers, including Travis Kelce this time, but there was none bigger than Marquez Valdes-Scantling dropping the deep ball that would have accounted for the go-ahead score with less than two minutes remaining.

Instead, the Eagles were victorious, and the Chiefs are now in limbo when it comes to obtaining the #1 overall seed in the AFC.

Numbers Are Poor For Kansas City’s Wideouts

UPDATE: The #Chiefs lead the league in drops with 12, which led QB Patrick Mahomes to spend extra time with his WRs to help them be more precise in their routes so they’ll be where he needs them to be, per @RapSheet

From the report: “On some of the drops, sources say, receivers… https://t.co/NgVo8Io2YG pic.twitter.com/Ja1gjBLKuM

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 26, 2023

Mahomes is doing some extra work in order to rectify the situation, according to reports. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday that Kansas City’s quarterback has been putting in extra work with his wide receivers in order to help them be more precise with their routes.

The Chiefs lead the league in drops this year with 12, which is an issue that will need to be fixed if they hope to play deep into January and beyond. They’ll have to make do with the players that they have on their roster, though none of them has put up any notable numbers yet this season. Kansas City is one of the three teams in the entire league who doesn’t have a 450-yard receiver though the first 11 weeks.

Mahomes and company will play against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday afternoon. They are listed as 9.5-point favorites.