Chiefs Rumors: Claypool connection, Mahomes takes blame, Chris Jones contract prediction

Chiefs Rumors: Patrick Mahomes accepts responsibility for passing game issues

Months ago, if someone had said Jets quarterback Zach Wilson would outplay Patrick Mahomes in the Chiefs-Jets regular season matchup, he would have been ridiculed to no end.

But that's exactly what happened in Week 4, when the Chiefs scraped by in a narrow win against the Aaron Rodgers-less Jets. Mahomes threw two picks, which would have been three if the referees didn't call a questionable holding penalty. He had struggled to gel with his wide receiver corps for the first three weeks of the season and the Jets game was no exception.

In a Wednesday press conference, Mahomes put his hand on his chest and called the Chiefs' passing woes his fault. He said, "If I start playing better, everybody will start playing better."

Mahomes noted that he has to make "better decisions" and be less "greedy" when it comes to vertical downfield passes. On the topic of his ugly turnovers, Mahomes said that limiting his interceptions is "something that I have to continue to get better and better throughout my career....It's something that you have to do at this quarterback position in order to have success."

When Mahomes threw two picks earlier in the season, the blame for those turnovers fell on his receivers. In Week 4, Mahomes was uncharacteristically sloppy and inaccurate; his first pick was wildly underthrown to Noah Gray in midfield, and his second pick was also underthrown into double coverage on Travis Kelce.

Outside of Mahomes' nasty habit of turning over the ball last week, he may look to better incorporate his wide receivers in the passing game. Behind Kelce, rookie Rashee Rice is the only wideout to record double-digit receptions (13). The Chiefs will need more production out of Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore this season, and Mahomes, the team's ever-humble ring leader, will play a large part in getting the best out of them.