Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes at a loss for penalty struggles this season

Adam Schultz

•

Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes at a loss for penalty struggles this season image

The Kansas City Chiefs, for so long, have been a well-buttoned-up team on both sides of the ball, not often being the masters of their own downfall.

But in 2025, those standards, for whatever reason, appear to be slipping, and against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Chiefs had a whopping 13 penalties, along with a crucial Patrick Mahomes interception that was returned for a touchdown.

The 31-28 loss will be tough to swallow for Kansas City, given that it took the lead late in the fourth quarter, but couldn't hold on.

But the big theme of the night was the penalties, and for Mahomes, it has plagued them all year.

“It kind of just talks about our whole entire season,” Mahomes said on the penalties. “I feel like we have the guys and we've executed at certain points of games and looked really good, and then we crush ourselves with penalties, mistakes, interceptions, fumbles. We've done that to ourselves all year long. It's been one guy here or there, and in this league, it's so close that those change games. We got to be better, we've lost too many games already.

"We got to find a way to be better as a team, come together and play better throughout the rest of the season.”

More: Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes details game-changing 99-yard pick-six - 'they got me!'

Are Chiefs becoming undisciplined?

As it stands, the Chiefs are the fourth-most penalized team in football, with 42 total penalties, only two behind leaders, the Minnesota Vikings.

It isn't something we often associate with the Chiefs, but in Weeks three and four, Kansas City had 13 combined penalties in those games, and in Jacksonville, the team had 13 through four quarters.

Is this becoming the new norm? We hardly think so, and we imagine the Chiefs' coaching staff will be working tirelessly to make sure that the volume of penalties doesn't happen again, because you could make the case that it played a role in the loss.

All eyes are on Week 6 and the Detroit Lions.

More Chiefs news:

Adam Schultz

Adam Schultz is a freelance writer at The Sporting News. An Australian journalist with years of experience covering the Dallas Cowboys and the NFL, Adam has interviewed several high-profile athletes in Australia for various sites and brings a unique view on the NFL.