Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Chiefs receiving corps is hurting team's Super Bowl aspirations

Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the NFL, but a Week 11 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles shows he can't thrive without consistent pass-catchers.

In the 21-17 loss, the Chiefs had five dropped passes , including wideout Marquez Valdes-Scantling letting a go-ahead TD slip through his fingers with 1:42 remaining in the game.

Following the defeat, Mahomes— who completed 24-of-43 passes for 177 yards, two touchdowns and one interception — didn't blame his wideouts. 

"That didn't just lose the game. There was a lot of stuff that happened," the QB said in a postgame news conference. "It starts with me. I've got to make better throws at certain times. I didn't make good enough passes in certain situations."

To be fair to the Kansas City pass-catchers, the weather was awful, as it rained throughout the game. However, dropped passes have been a problem for the team. The Chiefs have the second-most dropped passes (25) in the league, per Pro Football Reference.

As a result, the Kansas City offense has lost its firepower. It's 14th in the NFL in points scored (22.5), and they've been shut out in the second half in three consecutive games, via NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano.

"Fourth-quarter comebacks and explosive plays used to be the Chiefs' entire thing," wrote The Ringer's Danny Heifetz. "And without those deep shots [an Andy] Reid-Mahomes offense that was defined by come-from-behind wins is now unable to score in the second half at all."

Despite the offense's concerns, Kansas City is still a Super Bowl contender. As of Tuesday, oddschecker gives it the second-best Super Bowl odds (+475) behind Philadelphia (+450).

Still, if the Chiefs receiving corps doesn't improve by the end of the season, Kansas City might not capture its third title in five years.

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