Cam Newton says there’s a blueprint for beating Mahomes and the Chiefs, ‘the cat’s out now…’

The Chiefs lost to the Eagles again, and Cam Newton explains how Philadelphia did it

The Chiefs suffered their second defeat of the season on Sunday afternoon, despite only allowing 216 total yards against Jalen Hurts and the Eagles. They kept Saquon Barkley and the run game from creating explosive plays, and the coverage downfield was superb for the majority of the game.

Despite that, Kansas City was still outscored 20-17 in their home stadium, and the struggles they’ve had of late when it comes to moving the football were apparent once again.

Analysts have been critical of the Chiefs, warning that they’re not the same threat they used to be.

Patrick Mahomes completed just 16 passes, equal to his lowest total from the 2024 season. Travis Kelce led the group of pass catchers with four catches for 61 yards, and Tyquan Thornton eventually collected a deep ball for a touchdown after multiple failed attempts from Mahomes to hit him deep downfield.

Cam Newton believes there is now a blueprint on how to beat the Mahomes-led Chiefs, and we saw it again on Sunday from the Eagles defense.

On First Take this morning he said:

“I think the cat’s out now. From the philosophical standpoint, all we have to do is really frustrate Patrick Mahomes, and we’ve got to play man-to-man, and we bracket Travis Kelce.”

He also pointed out, “We have never seen the Kansas City Chiefs rely on Patrick Mahomes as their viable running source, like we have in these last two games…”

It’s abundantly clear that the Kansas City Chiefs have bigger problems, and we need to find viable options that can consistently beat man-to-man coverage and that’s not number 87.”

The Chiefs are missing Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy right now, both of whom are capable of supporting that theory against man-to-man coverage.

Rice can win contested balls and fight off defenders in close coverage, and Worthy has the speed to dominate a man defender if Mahomes has the time to let longer plays develop.

That said, Cam Newton’s argument comes back to the Tyreek Hill conversation. The veteran has been one of the best separators in the NFL for the last decade, and the Dolphins’ second loss of the season at the weekend only increases the chances of him being traded.

The Chiefs need to figure it out quickly as lack of rhythm on offense continues to be an issue

The Kansas City Chiefs had a down year offensively in 2024. That always seems like a crazy thing to say for a Super Bowl team, but Mahomes threw career lows in passing yards and touchdowns last season, as well as averaging less than seven yards per pass for the first time in his NFL career.

The Chiefs know they need to work on the deep ball and threaten teams vertically. Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said it had been a focus of the offseason, and Vic Fangio was expecting them to try it in Sunday’s game.

The problem is the personnel. The offense still doesn’t look good, and while Mahomes was trying to hit Tyquan Thornton deep, the inconsistencies were showing with multiple misses between the two.

The narrative may change when Worthy and Rice return, but it remains very difficult to rule out the Tyreek Hill reunion in Kansas City.