Chiefs wide receivers are playing surprisingly well in the playoffs
The Chiefs wide receivers are playing their best football when it matters most.
After struggling mightily with drops for much of the regular season, Kansas City's pass-catchers are playing mistake-free in the playoffs.
Per Pro Football Reference, the Chiefs led the NFL this season in dropped passes (44) and drop percentage (6.9%). On more than one occasion, wide receivers' inability to reel in perfect passes led to gut-wrenching losses for Kansas City — namely against the Lions in Week 1 and Eagles in Week 11.
Yet in the postseason, QB Patrick Mahomes' top targets are playing like a top-tier unit.
Rookie wide receiver Rashee Rice has been targeted 14 times in the playoffs and has zero drops, per PFF. His 177 receiving yards rank fifth-best in the NFL, with Lions' Amon-Ra St. Brown (187 yards) being the only player who's ahead of him and still in the playoffs.
Wideout Marquez Valdes-Scantling, meanwhile, was integral in the Chiefs' 27-24 win over the Bills in the divisional round. The 29-year-old made two massive 30+ yard catches that kickstarted touchdown drives, including a beautiful back-shoulder reception to begin the second half. He was subsequently named PFF's highest-graded WR from the divisional-round games ( 82.0).
With more trust in his wide receivers, Mahomes is becoming even more dangerous in the deep passing game. Per Next Gen Stats, the star signal-caller completed all three of his deep passes for 84 yards against the Bills, marking his most deep completions in a game this season.
Since trading Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins in March 2022, the Chiefs have lacked a reliable deep threat to complement tight end Travis Kelce. When the speedster wideout was on the team from 2018 to 2021, Mahomes completed 3+ deep passes in 23 of 73 (31.5%) games, compared to just two contests since 2022.
If Kelce — who's seven catches away from passing Jerry Rice as the all-time leader in postseason receptions — and Kansas City's wide receivers are able to continue playing at a high level, the Ravens will have their hands full trying to slow down Andy Reid's offense in the AFC Championship Game.
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