Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs find themselves in a rare spot heading into Week 12 of the NFL season—on the outside looking in at the playoff picture.
After last Sunday's last-second loss to the Broncos in Denver, Kansas City sits at 5-5 heading into this Sunday's showdown with the 8-2 Colts at Arrowhead Stadium.
Mahomes has been to the AFC championship game in each of his seven years as a starter for the Chiefs. He's been to three straight Super Bowls and five of the last six. But those streaks are very much in danger heading down the homestretch of the season.
What's hurting the Chiefs' playoff chances even more is that they have lost to each of the three teams—Bills, Chargers, Jaguars—that currently hold the final playoff spots in the AFC, meaning tiebreakers are not in their favor at the moment.
So what's been wrong with the Chiefs thus far? Colin Cowherd says a lot of it falls on Mahomes, who has struggled to rack up wins on the road this year, going 1-4, but even worse, the three-time MVP is currently 0-5 in games in which the Chiefs have trailed in the fourth quarter.
Cowherd went in on Mahomes during his FS1 show this week, using the play of rival Josh Allen to back up his argument.
"Part of Kansas City’s problem is Patrick Mahomes," Cowherd said. "In the last two seasons he has not been in Josh Allen’s galaxy. Josh has been more accurate. Josh gets to the end zone more. Josh uses his legs to a greater degree and he’s just a better runner. Right now Mahomes is not Josh Allen the last two years. And Patrick has become kind of a bad road quarterback this year. This year he’s 4-1 at home. On the road he barely completes 60 percent of his throws. His passer rating is in the low 80s. You could say he doesn’t have the weapons that he needs. Josh Allen does? Actually [Mahome's] got better weapons than the 2022 season in which he was MVP."
Cowherd then compared a key state between Mahomes and Denver's Bo Nix.
"Bo Nix is 5-0 this year when trailing in the fourth. Mahomes is 0-5 this year trailing in the fourth," Cowherd said. "That can’t be all zany coincidence. Bo Nix has been the late-game quarterback. In my opinion, Kansas City needs a reboot."
Here is Cowherd's full take on Mahomes and the Chiefs:
"Part of Kansas City's problem is Patrick Mahomes. In the last two seasons he has not been in Josh Allen's galaxy."@colincowherd thinks the Chiefs need a full reboot pic.twitter.com/ZoalQfRrL4
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) November 18, 2025
The Mahomes-Allen comparison isn't exactly the fire that Cowherd thinks it is, however. They have similar stat lines on the year in terms of passing: Mahomes has 2,625 yards with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions while Allen has 2,456 yards with 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Allen, however, has rushed for 351 yards and 10 touchdowns compared to Mahomes's 288 yards and four touchdowns.
So it's pretty close between those two star quarterbacks. The biggest difference, however, is where it matters the most—wins and losses. Allen and the Bills are 7-3 with a win over the Chiefs earlier this year, while the Chiefs are 5-5.
The next two weeks are going to be huge for the Chiefs. After hosting the Colts they face the Cowboys in Dallas on Thanksgiving. If they lose both of those games you can likely stick a fork in their chances. And if that happens, especially with a huge national audience watching on the holiday, expect to hear more takedowns of Mahomes and the Chiefs.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Colin Cowherd Uses Josh Allen to Completely Tear Down Patrick Mahomes Amid Struggles.
